Effective Selling
1. Know who you are selling to and how to sell to them
In the fast-evolving landscape of B2B software sales, adhering strictly to traditional sales techniques can often fall short. Hema shares some insightful reflections on why bowing to pressure to use standard playbook SaaS sales strategies, like using Sales Development Reps (SDRs), does not align to Silicon Valley best practice.
“We wasted about three years trying to execute this beautiful SaaS playbook that basically just didn't fit our company (Beamery). For example, everyone said, ‘Do SDR calls, that’s the only way it's going to be scalable’. If you’re selling to chief execs, they won’t answer SDR calls, so that was a great way to burn away cash in a pointless model.
Key Takeaway: Don’t feel pressured to run out and adapt textbook sales methods without first outlining your key customer buying patterns and their decision making process. This alone will enable you to tailor strategies to ensure that resources are invested in approaches that directly address how your target decision-makers operate and prefer to engage.
2. Use your network: build relationships and make them work for you
The power of your network in scaling sales cannot be understated, particularly in B2B environments where relationships and referrals reign supreme. Hema shares how pivotal referrals are:
Majority of business in Silicon Valley comes from relationships and referrals. So, when you realise that VC playbook methods aren’t working, please take a look at the SV models our which leverage the network effect. We focus on our networks. The people we really need to focus on, not everyone on the market. We don't need a mass model. We need something that is effective for our audience. So knowing who your ideal customer profile is, is gold. For me, it was about targeting CEOs and Chief Strategy and Planning Officers to influence decisions, planning of digital spend in the early days at Microsoft. How are you going to reach them?
Basically many investors would say the only way to sell software to enterprises is to know someone. But if you don't know anyone, what do you do? Create events, round tables, get on to panels, stages, anywhere where your audience will be.
Key Takeaway: Tailoring sales strategies to focus on the most influential contacts within your network can optimise resource use and enhance customer acquisition. Evaluate your current network and identify key influencers who can act as bridges to larger pools of potential clients. Consider creative networking strategies that go beyond traditional settings to engage these pivotal connections in meaningful ways.
3. Content cannot be playbooked
The debate over the efficacy of high-volume marketing communications is another playbook move that doesn’t necessarily deliver ROI. Hema explains, “We were told we should have this massive, high volume content marketing strategy. But again, we found that CEOs don’t pay attention to that stuff. Again, it’s a great exercise in how to lose money."
Experimenting and testing marketing content results is important, but a targeted approach is more important and yields better results for his company.
When you're building something brand new, it's like a different door. No one's searching for what you're doing. You can't do advertising online because nobody's actually looking for it. Understand what your audience reads, the events they attend, and be present. Network! Educate them, slowly drive influence and ultimately get your foot through the door and that’s the main objective. As for content, invest in high quality ‘amazing content that educates’. So not high-volume content, but, ‘A-ha, I’ll read that and think differently content.
Key Takeaway: Assess your current content strategy. Is it in a format and sent in a way that your audience uses and engages with? Have you tracked whether high-quality, search-optimised pieces that address specific topics your target audience is actively searching for might work better? This approach not only increases the relevance of your content but also enhances its longevity and impact.
4. Tailor your sales strategy to each product
Understanding that different products demand distinct sales approaches is crucial for optimising market penetration and revenue.
An AI writing tool requires a different approach from targeting CEOs with innovation and long term partnership growth. These are two different sales motions. This indicates not only the complexity of managing multiple products but also the strategic necessity of customising sales approaches to each product’s market dynamics and buyer behaviours.
It can also be hard to introduce new products. Experienced sales people are generally reluctant to put their reputation on an untested product as clients will demand a case study to prove it works. Other clients will gladly be beta test partners. Leverage them! Sometimes, be aware top sales people may decide not to sell these products until they are tried and tested, as otherwise they risk losing the customer.
The alternative, is to ask product leaders or product marketings to conduct the first handful of sales, to prove there’s an appetite for the product in the market so that the onus is them, rather than on the the sales team initially unless you have key beta test partners.
Key Takeaway: If your sales team is great at selling one solution and poor at another, take a step back and consider whether the poor performing product meets the unique market needs of the customer, or there is a sales incentivisation challenge? Conduct a thorough analysis of your product portfolio to identify differing customer behaviours for each solution. Develop targeted sales strategies that align with these insights to maximise impact and efficiency.
5. For new market entry, make sure you have a leader on the ground
Navigating international expansion requires a nuanced understanding of local markets. The worst thing you can do is to make a market feel like they’re disconnected from you, you need a founder, or a leader based there initially. Spending time on the ground in the US will enable you to realise the nuances, where the sales come from, the customers first hand. If 80% of your revenue is influenced by US decision makers, you need to know that. It follows your sales and marketing efforts should align to this. Know your decision makers and then understand where the sales talent is and where they need to be based. Lots of sales happen in places like New York, Miami, Chicago, Austin, SF and Seattle and many enterprise sales people are not based on the coast or major cities given cost.
The other important aspect is being on the ground makes it easier to get to meetings and networking events. It’s easier to get to events in Miami or Vegas by being based in the US. You’re there and more inclined to go and see what comes of it, if it’s a shorter flight than if you’re 8+ hours away.
Key Takeaway: When expanding in a new market, you have to be committed, from the Board down. Don’t delegate the new region to someone else (who has to learn the company's market, products, and culture remotely), if it's important, relocate yourself or one of your most trusted leaders. Conduct thorough market research to understand specifics of the local market and target customers.
6. Hire wisely: why the person who gets the meeting might not be the person who closes the deal
Today, about half our sales team are from a traditional sales background. There are huge advantages of diversifying team roles based on unique skills sets and experienced sales people from Silicon Valley are like gold, especially if they bring a black book.
Additionally, the differentiation between roles within the sales process is important. Align individual capabilities with specific stages of the sales cycle: Hire people that get you meetings. They don’t have to also be the ones to close the deals. But getting the meetings is the first step.
Key Takeaway: Building sales teams with diverse professional backgrounds can enhance team performance. Also consider creating specialised roles for initiating sales contacts and separate roles for closing deals to optimise each phase of the sales process.
7. Understanding and adapting pricing strategies for scalable growth
Navigating pricing strategies, especially in the era of AI, requires a deep understanding of what your customers value and are willing to pay for and both speakers shared how they had adapted their approaches to better align with market expectations and their own long-term business goals.
There is a temptation to undervalue or even give them away for free in order to attract initial usage. Understand what the market is willing to pay. There's always a temptation to give away a product to see if people use it. But what happens when you double your price? And I think that the right way to build it is reverse engineering, which is figuring out with as much guesswork and proximity as you can, a willingness to pay and then figuring out what product you you can build for that amount. Adaptable pricing models are essential, especially when dealing with different market segments from SMEs to enterprise clients.
Should there be a strategic focus on higher-tier clients due to the complexities involved in broader market pricing? Maybe you can win the same amount of mid-market business at the same price. It's really hard to have one price model that stretches from a FTSE/Nasdaq company to a SME with 10 people in it. The result might be to focus solely on enterprise and delivering the services that they need at a high level, like security. SMEs don’t need that level of security and so they don’t need to pay those prices just yet. Know your audience, the market, the willingness to pay and keep testing. It’s a moveable feast and one size definitely doesn’t fit all.
Also understand the financial aspects of service delivery within the software sector, and have a target for sustainable profitability: We look for businesses that have 50% margin on services. If you can’t do that then work out how to do it or stop doing it.
Key Takeaway: Implement a pricing strategy that starts with a clear understanding of the value your product offers and what the customers in your market are willing to pay. Consider tiered pricing to accommodate different market segments effectively, ensuring that each is optimised to deliver profitability from that customer relationship over its lifetime (Customer Lifetime Value). Regularly review your pricing structure to ensure it continues to meet your strategic business goals, particularly in terms of service margins.