SaaS, or software as a service, is software that is accessed, managed, and used over the internet. It is the present and future of software, and it necessitates a new style of selling.

SaaS sales is the process of selling clients web-based software. Salespeople concentrate on recruiting new customers as well as upselling or retaining existing clients. Because SaaS reps typically sell at a higher price, service and attentiveness are critical to closing the deal. As a novice or prospective SaaS salesperson, you may be unfamiliar with the concept of a SaaS product. However, you’ve most likely utilized a SaaS product without realizing it.

SaaS stands for software as a service. It is a type of software hosted, secured, and managed by a single provider. It can be accessed online, easily customized, and is serviced and supported by the provider’s own product engineers and customer success team. Remember the days of unwrapping CD-ROMs, uploading them to your computer, and only having access to that software from your computer? Those days are gone.

SaaS is hosted, secured, and updated by an outside vendor. This means SaaS often yields lower entry costs than traditional software, offers easier upgrades, and enjoys better integrations. What’s left is a more advanced, user-friendly, and evolving product. Examples include HubSpot, Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), and Adobe Creative Cloud.

It’s hard. You can’t sell a customer once and go on to the next deal. You have to keep selling your customers on the value of your product, month after month, year after year. Some of them will churn.

But below, we have provided some tips to help with your SaaS sales.

Selling a SaaS product is different than selling other products. Because the sales cycle is longer, it gives you more chances to hook prospects. Here’s how you or your sales reps can sell your SaaS offering.

1. Create strategic trial periods.

Many SaaS providers have a free trial offering as part of their sales process. A free trial is a great way to hook new users; however, in order for it to be worthwhile, your approach has to be strategic. When a customer has the opportunity to do a trial, they are able to see the true value and benefit of your offering. While there is no one-size-fits-all rule for how long the ideal trial period should be, here are some common trial lengths to consider, along with their benefits.

• 7-day trial period: If you offer a simple or straightforward product that a new user could pick up and adopt quickly, having a short trial period could be a good option. Additionally, if you offer a lower-cost product and don’t want to add unnecessary length to your sales process for a modest sale, you may also want to consider having a brief trial run.

• 14-day trial period: A two-week trial period is a common practice for many SaaS providers. For companies that sell SaaS B2B or have products with multiple tiers and added complexity, this trial period length could be a good sweet spot. While 14 days is still relatively short, it is enough time for a user to explore various features and benefits of the product while being brief enough to not hold up the sales process.

• 30-day trial period: For companies that have more complex offerings, or who take an enterprise approach to selling, an extended month-long trial could be a better option. Additionally, if there are various stakeholders who need a say on the implementation of a product, having a longer trial period can be useful.

2. Stay in contact with your prospects during the trial.

Regardless of how long your offer period is, it’s important to maintain regular communication with your prospects while they are trying the product. By checking in with them during the trial period, you can hear their feedback real-time, and you can keep them engaged and interested in the product. For many trial offers, buyers are left on their own to explore, making it easy to lose momentum.

Read Also: How do You Make SaaS Leads?

In addition to staying in contact with your trial users, the trial period can provide valuable insight on their usage and behavior patterns, which can give you a good indication of how likely they are to buy, and how they would use the software after purchasing.

3. Provide valuable demos.

The last thing you want to do is create an information overload situation for your prospects who participate in demos. For SaaS providers, the ability to conduct an effective demo is incredibly important. A good demo should demonstrate the value of your product, not overwhelm prospects with redundant information about features. One of the best ways you can prepare for demos is by researching the buyer and understanding what problem they want your software to solve.

When you know what they’re looking for, you can walk your prospect through hypothetical scenarios that are relevant to them, clearly demonstrating the value of your software and how using it will make their life easier. Aim to make your demos as straightforward as possible, walking the prospect through simple ways they can receive the most benefit from using your product, and leaving plenty of time for any questions they may have.

4. Leverage annual plans.

Many SaaS companies charge customers on a monthly subscription model to use their product. Though that’s a great way to bring in recurring revenue, including an annual subscription model can be a helpful strategy for pulling in more funds upfront and improving customer retention. By encouraging buyers to prepay for a year of your software at a discounted rate, it can provide necessary cash for your business and decreases the likelihood for cancellation.

5. Upsell and cross-sell existing customers.

Upselling and cross-selling your existing customers is one of the best ways to boost annual recurring revenue. This practice isn’t sleazy; rather, it helps you provide more value to your customers as they require additional features, bandwidth, and services. This method typically works for B2B SaaS businesses that offer different subscription tiers or levels. Just be sure that you or your sales reps tailor the upselling pitch to each prospect.

6. Gather feedback.

To increase software adoption in your target market, you’ll need to understand how to improve the product. If you’re a rep in SaaS sales, ask your current customers how they’re enjoying the product with a quick check-in email. Following up can help you cement your relationship with them, too, making it easier to upsell later.

If you’re the owner of a SaaS company, implement a company-wide customer satisfaction survey initiative. Have either your marketing or service team send them out to customers who’ve been using your product for a while. Based on the findings, you’ll want to act quickly and roll out the improvements. Don’t forget to check in with customers once the improvements have been implemented.

7. Use a CRM.

Because of its long sales cycle, SaaS sales are particularly susceptible to forgotten details and conversations. If customers are investing hundreds and even thousands of dollars in a software solution, however, they’ll expect a level of care and attention unseen in other verticals. For that reason, you’ll want to use a CRM to keep track of all customer details and ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Knowing your customers well can lead to a better relationship and a closed-won deal down the line.

SaaS Sales Strategy

A profitable SaaS sales strategy can be developed at both the organizational and individual levels, however, it is more typically set by a higher-up or even the company’s owner. Here are the steps you should follow to develop a sales strategy for your SaaS company.

“1. Choose a SaaS sales model.First up, choose a SaaS sales model. This will depend on the nature of your product, but you have three choices, which we covered above. You can adopt the transactional sales model, customer self-service model, or enterprise sales model.Most new SaaS businesses will be served well with a customer self-service model. As your company grows, you can consider going into transactional and enterprise sales.

2. Identify the target audience and create a value proposition for your software.

Identify the target audience by creating buyer personas and outlining the problems they face.

Follow the “Target Audience, Problem, Solution, Value” format to create an easy-to-scan summary of your software’s value proposition. Here’s what that looks like:

• Target Audience: Whom do you serve?
• Problem: What problem are they experiencing?
• Solution: How can your software help them solve it?
• Value: What value or results can they expect from using your software?

For instance, here’s a description for Sales Hub:

“For sales teams (Target Audience), friction is the ultimate foe. Stitching together individual point solutions and managing their complexities? It slows you down and stalls your growth. (Problem)

Sales Hub eliminates friction by bringing all your tools and data together on one easy-to-use, powerful platform your whole team will love. (Solution) Now you’re freed up to focus on what really matters: your customers.” (Value)

3. Set prospect qualification criteria.

Now that you know whom to target, it’s time to set further sales qualification criteria. The truth is, if your software is handy enough, it can serve plenty of customers and prospects. But you don’t want to target just anyone. Sales reps have limited time, and chasing unqualified prospects is a sure way to waste precious working hours and fail to meet quota. Learn how to qualify leads, then set targeted qualification questions that you or your sales reps can ask to weed out unqualified prospects.

4. Create a sales playbook with email templates, call scripts, and closing techniques.

You know whom you’re targeting and who’s qualified to become a customer. Now it’s time to create a sales playbook that you can use across your entire organization to increase the chances of a closed-won deal. A sales playbook will contain everything your sales reps need to nurture prospects.

Email templates, qualifying questions, call scripts, and closing techniques are just a few of the materials you can include. You can also add general information about the state of the industry, as well as a cheat sheet containing common characteristics of your target buyer personas.

5. Set activity and revenue goals for sales reps.

A sales strategy isn’t complete without objectives and goals. Setting activity goals and sales quotas will ensure your sales reps feel empowered to meet objectives for the betterment of the business. You can set volume quotas (e.g. “Sell 50 premium subscriptions a month”) or profit quotas (e.g. “Sell $25,000 in revenue every quarter”). Activity goals can be measured by the number of phone calls, emails, meetings, LinkedIn connection requests, and more.

6. Create a robust customer support program.

While this is technically not part of a sales strategy, creating a strong customer support program can help you sell the product better. Why? By knowing when and where customers run into snags, you can improve the product — thereby increasing good word-of-mouth and product adoption. Not to mention: Consumers increasingly take customer support into account when making a purchasing decision. By providing winning customer support, you can ensure your current customers stay with you and tell others about their experience.

7. Keep track of sales performance using key metrics.

Last but certainly not least, keep track of sales performance by tracking key metrics. That way, you can adjust goals as needed and celebrate wins for your company. You can use sales automation software such as Sales Hub to automatically keep track of the metrics.

Selling a SaaS product differs from other sorts of selling, but the core principle remains the same: it’s all about offering immeasurable value to your prospects and customers. With the advice and tactics we’ve provided, you’ll be able to launch a prosperous career in SaaS sales — or, if you’re developing a SaaS product, you’ll be able to increase your annual recurring income year after year.