5 Effective Sales Strategies for Saas Companies

The success of a company mainly depends on the effectiveness of its marketing and sales strategies. Therefore, in this article, I'll talk about five of the most effective sales strategies that will help you understand better how to take your business to the next level and briefly discuss two successful cases of the recent years. With no further do, let's start with the strategies.

1. Develop an excellent product

Doesn't sound much like a sales strategy, does it? Well, it's actually the most important thing to do in order to boost your sales long-term. If your product is raising potential clients' hopes but once they've purchased it they struggle with bugs and glitches, you'll end up with unhappy customers, bad reviews, and no retention.

On the other hand, if your product has a really simple, user-friendly interface a good back-end and a user flow focused on your buyer personas, you'll not only make your clients happy, but they will recommend your company to other people, thus your sales will steadily and organically increase.

Moreover, your business will be seen as a trustworthy, reliable one that delivers what it promises. So, as a rule of thumb, develop a flawless product that looks, feels, and works well.

2. Create a strategy based on customer satisfaction

Most companies say that their sales strategies are focused on meeting customer needs. However, few are those who really manage to do this.

Avoid being one of the many businesses that talk more and listen less. Conduct some market research, do surveys, interview your customers and create your buyer personas, adapt your sales strategy according to the results.

This way, you'll be able to create products and services that will keep your clients satisfied thus ensure the long-term success of your company.

3. Study the behavior of those who don't choose your products

Many companies only look at favorable situations in order to reproduce the success they have achieved. But it's equally important to analyze the scenarios which have failed, so as to identify which strategies and techniques should be avoided in the future.

If you really want to expand your business, you'll need to thoroughly examine the situations in which potential customers have chosen to purchase products or services from your competitors. Only then will you be able to discover the weaknesses of your marketing and sales strategies.

4. Consider the entire consumer experience

A lot of organizations believe that the marketing, sales and customer relations departments have completely distinct purposes; but customers don't always see things the same way.

From the moment they hear about your company, they begin to evaluate it and wonder if this is indeed the right choice for them. Your company will be judged according to how it compares to other competing businesses, so make sure you’re one step ahead in terms of customer service, product development, branding, and so on.

5. Measure marketing results according to the conversion rate

Instead of thinking that marketing strategies only help increase demand for products and services as well as build your brand image, it's highly advisable to measure each marketing activity according to the number of buying customers. Monitor each marketing campaign to see if it's worth using it again in the future.

Now that we've touched on the sales strategies, it's time to quickly analyze a couple of success stories.

Hubspot

This company certainly needs no introduction. What's extremely fascinating about it is that its success is mainly based on the first and second strategies I've previously talked about.

The organization's founders have developed an amazing product that meets customers' needs, analyzes the target audience's problems and offers valuable solutions.

Hubspot managed to revolutionize online marketing by creating an innovative and useful marketing software platform that allows human-to-human marketing. Wise, right? Another cool thing to point out is that Hubspot's success quickly peaked once they've started giving their clients a simple yet valuable resource as a tool for lead development.

Salesforce

Salesforce is another big actor in the industry. The company was among the first to deliver solutions to other SaaS businesses that needed an efficient way to enhance their customer experience. But what really makes Salesforce particularly successful is their 'humanly' branding campaigns.

Year after year, the organization markets itself as a transparent player and is constantly involved in philanthropic activities. The SaaS titan makes proactive efforts to increase its company equality and diversity. They've implemented a 1-1-1 model that consists of donating 1% of their SaaS, 1% of their employee time, and 1% of their equity to help worldwide communities. Therefore, clients not only choose Salesforce for its great software, but also for its generous endeavors.

These are just a few sales strategies and success stories from the SaaS industry. But, as I love hearing about other awesome organizations, I have a question for you: which are the SaaS companies you admire most and why?