Increasing SaaS sales is very crucial in this competitive industry. Each company must choose strategies that are suitable to their audience and applicable to their branding.
What is Software as a Service (SaaS)?
Software as a Service, commonly known as SaaS, is a cloud-based service in which you access the application through the internet instead of downloading the software on your computer to run. SaaS is sometimes called web-based software, on-demand software, or hosted software. It is available for a wide range of uses. It could be in sales, eCommerce, marketing, business development software, and many more. Since the software is not installed on the users computer, all the data lives on the SaaS provider's servers.
What is the SaaS sales process?
SaaS is the process of selling web-based software to clients. It focuses on acquiring new customers and upselling current clients. SaaS is maintained and supported by an external company; the price is high and it requires a longer sales cycle from Sales and Marketing before the client is ready to purchase or subscribe. The marketing team nurtures each lead until they are classified as sales qualified. A salesperson will follow up with the lead to try to proceed to the next step. However, being sales-qualified does not mean they're ready to buy.
What are the types of SaaS Sales models?
There are many SaaS models in the web and software industry. Here are the main SaaS models you should know:
Self-Service SaaS
These are low-priced items and software that are easily understood by new users. Most self-service SaaS such as Spotify, Slack, and Dropbox have a high volume of subscriptions. In this type of SaaS model, there is no sales team involved. Free trials and freemium models are common in this type.
Transactional SaaS
This type is more complex and higher-priced. The clients want to know that the company is credible, reliable, and trustworthy, and that they can access support whenever they need it.. Demos, meetings, and training are conducted by the company's sales representative. In this model, the client and the sales representative go through customized plans or set-ups to ensure that new users see the full value in subscribing to the product since these types require a much bigger investment.
Enterprise Saas
This model requires a highly skilled sales team to pitch and close deals within a demanding corporate environment. It involves selling a lower volume of subscriptions at a significantly higher price than the previous two models. The success of this model relies on a company's team and their ability to understand and explain the product to sell high-ticket packages to large companies, organizations, and brands.
Top Leading SaaS Companies in 2021
1. Zoom
Zoom is a California-based video conferencing provider that covers anything from company meetings to family virtual gatherings. By the end of 2020, Zoom's sales soared over $115 billion, gaining almost 520% over its 2019 value (PakWired, 2021). Zoom has become an essential tool in organizations and companies, and this increases its sales.
2. Slack
Slack is one of the collaborative platforms that most companies use; it offers its users a channel-based platform to exchange messages, share files, and organize their teams. It can be customized and is easy to use. This SaaS company can integrate an array of other tools to remote teams from Google Workplace or Zoom. Overall, Slack's paying customers increased by 35% to over 140,000, making for nearly a 40% gain in revenues. With the continuing trend toward remote work, it is well-positioned for the future.
Strategies on How to Increase SaaS Sales
1. Clearly Display the Price
Pricing will always have a direct impact on your SaaS sales and revenue. Pricing is one of the key deciding factors for the customers to subscribe or register to your platform. Make sure to build your pricing page in such a way that customers can decide swiftly whether or not they can afford the price.
2. Reduce Friction in the Sign-up Flow
When you want people to try your software, you should make the sign-up process as smooth as possible. Take note that asking for the credit card information in a free trial stage could end up losing a potential customer. Make it easy.
3. Improve Customer Experience
Improving the customer experience is the most essential marketing strategy according to experts. Making your customers stay with you depends on a great customer experience, and to do so you need to make your service as personalized as possible. The most common way to do this is to personalize welcome and notification emails. You can also provide a video translator to increase personalization, or a live chat option on your website to immediately solve your customers' inquiries and concerns.
4. Create an Incentivized Referral System
A SaaS customer will often do anything to get a free month of service, including referring a friend, family, or colleague to your platform. Similar to other marketing strategies, a referral system is an effective way to attract and reach new customers. Find ways to encourage your current SaaS customers to bring in new customers. This could be in the form of subscription discounts, free premium features, etc. This system will surely increase SaaS sales.
5. Generate Qualified Leads through Content Marketing
One of the best SaaS marketing strategies for lead generation is Content Marketing. High-quality content posted on your website that is suited and relevant to your target audience is an effective way of attracting new visitors. But there's a catch! Creating and finding unique content regularly is a big challenge, especially when other important tasks are to be done. You should consider using tools such as Hubspot or hiring a virtual assistant who could manage your content marketing. Through content optimization with the right keywords and relevant topics, you can rest assured that you will attract the right audience for your platform.
6. SEO to Generate More Leads
Aside from Content Marketing, search engine optimization is another one of the best SaaS marketing strategies for lead generation. SEO works hand-in-hand with content marketing & SaaS backlinks which aims to attract visitors to your website and make your website visible to the relevant target audience..
Software as a Service is a business model changing the way organizations work. Today, an increasing number of business apps are built this way - from marketing tools to SaaS call centers. Due to the rapid growth in this industry, competition is rising. To increase SaaS sales and revenue, you need to learn the basics and complexities of SaaS such as its definition, sales, models, and even learn from the well-known leading SaaS companies in your industry. Most importantly, apply the strategies of successful SaaS products to increase your own SaaS sales in the future. Many VA services can help you boost your SaaS Sales. Grab the opportunity to hire remote services to generate leads for your SaaS business.
