What is SaaS sales?

 

You may not know it, but SaaS is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world right now. In 2020 it was worth a massive $157 billion – and that figure is predicted to almost double to $307 billion in the next five years. 

In this article, I’ll explain what SaaS is and what is driving this dramatic growth. Finally, we’ll look at why you need to be on this rocket ship and what you need to do to get there. Let’s go!

What is SaaS?

SaaS stands for Software as a Service. SaaS is software that makes people’s working lives more productive. Often, SaaS takes tasks that humans used to do themselves and automatically completes them, saving time, reducing errors, and lowering businesses’ costs. 

SaaS products are always hosted wholly in the Cloud, which means they are easy to download, use on the go and upgrade. Most companies purchase their SaaS products on a subscription basis, paying a yearly fee rather than a one-off price.

What is SaaS sales?

SaaS sales is the process of selling subscriptions to these cloud-based products to businesses. There are two aspects to SaaS sales:

• Winning new customers
• Retaining current users (and getting them to spend more)

The philosophy of SaaS sales is that you are not trying to sell a product to a prospect so you can make money, you’re trying to solve a genuine problem that your prospect is facing. Then, you’re both making money.

Sales drives growth

While it’s the brilliant engineers, designers and developers that make SaaS products and bring them to life; it’s the sales teams who take them to market. 

For example, Salesforce is a $250+ billion company. It makes excellent software that helps salespeople do their jobs faster and more effectively. But, it’s their sales team that does the job of actually getting it into users’ hands, communicating its value to prospects and customers. Salesforce could not be a multi-billion dollar company without its salespeople.

With over a thousand new SaaS companies starting every year, each looking to become the next Salesforce, there is a need for excellent salespeople. If you have the right sales skills, you can join the SaaS revolution – and be very well-rewarded. The average starting salary for an entry-level SaaS salesperson in London is around £30K. As you hit your targets and make progress in your career, your salary could easily exceed that of people who work in finance, law or other traditional high-flying industries.

What makes a great SaaS salesperson?

So, how do you know if you’ve got what it takes to succeed in SaaS sales? The good news is you learn to be great at sales – it’s not something you’re born with. We can teach you everything you need to achieve great things in sales.

However, we find that the people who go on to achieve the most have what we call raw talent – a personality that lends itself well to sales. Do you have these attributes that could make you a sales success?

• Curiosity – The best salespeople always seek to understand. They have a natural curiosity that makes them want to make that call, get to the bottom of a prospect’s pain point and try to offer a solution.
• Coachability – You never know it all in sales, even after you have been doing it for many years. The best salespeople appreciate this and are always open to learning new techniques through coaching.
• Resilient – Sales isn’t easy. You face rejection many times every day, especially at the start of your career when you do a lot of cold calling. If you are resilient enough to keep on getting up no matter how many times you get knocked down, you will succeed in sales.
• Hard-working – Sales often means making more than 100 calls a day, getting up early or staying late so you can reach your prospects in other countries. You also have to invest time in learning as much as you can about your product and the industry.
• Communication – Sales is not about reeling off as many facts as you can on the phone; it’s about making connections and building relationships. If you are good at establishing a rapport with people you have just met, you may have an advantage in your sales career.