I have been thinking a lot about the continuum of maturity in SaaS customer success organizations. It really boils down to degrees of a spectrum ranging from reactive to proactive. Here are the 11 areas I evaluate when assessing a customer success organization for strengths and weaknesses. How well they execute against these usually indicates […]
How To Give a Great SaaS Demo
If you are in SaaS sales, you know a great demo can make or break your chances of winning the deal. But what you may not know is what actually makes a demo great. Most demos—yes most—are simply terrible. Which is a shame, because giving a killer demo just isn’t that hard. Here’s a quick […]
The 4 P’s of SaaS: People, Product, Playbooks, and Process
When looking at a problem, I have a simple framework for evaluating what’s wrong. Is it People, Product, Playbook or Process (or some combination thereof)? When the 4 P’s are all aligned and functioning well, great performance follows. And if we aren’t hitting numbers or executing well, then something within the 4 P’s isn’t right. […]
Perfecting the SDR to AE Handoff
Last week I spoke on a panel at the Salesloft Rainmaker event on the topic of perfecting the handoff of a prospect from the SDR to the AE. The handoff can make or break the sale. This is a topic often left orphaned by sales leaders and something that needs far more attention than it […]
Are You SaaS God?
You know when you get a song stuck in your head and it won’t go away? What about getting a parody of a song stuck in your head? Yeah, that happened to us recently and so we just had to do something about it. If you know me, you know I love Eminem. And since […]
When Should You Hire Your First SDR?
A new sales leader reached out this week to ask when she should hire her first sales development representative (SDR). What a great question, and luckily, it’s a pretty black and white answer. Let’s start with when it’s not time to hire your first SDR. It’s too soon to hire your first SDR when: You […]
6 Ways to Create a Culture of Customer Success
As the leader of the customer-facing parts of a SaaS organization, I was quick to take accountability and responsibility for “customer success”, which of course really meant customer retention. It took me many years to realize how flawed my thinking was and to come to understand that Customer Success is bigger than any single department. […]
A SaaS Startup Sales Team Org Chart Example
I get a lot of questions from startup founders, as well as new sales team leaders, about how to organize the SaaS sales team, and what roles are needed to fill at key stages. The answer is surprisingly simple and pretty ‘textbook’. Maybe not so surprising is how few SaaS sales teams follow that textbook […]
How to Hire a Contracts and Compliance Manager
Last week I shared the reasons why your SaaS probably needs a contracts & compliance manager. Hopefully, I made the case and at least inspired you to consider this important role. Here’s more info on how to hire a contracts & compliance manager—what to look for, how to interview and get them up to speed. […]
Does Your SaaS Need a Contracts and Compliance Manager?
Yes! No matter what scale you are, if you are selling a SaaS product to the enterprise, you should hire a contracts & compliance manager as soon as you can. This role can accelerate your sales cycle, and help you meet the demands of the enterprise buyer. A contracts & compliance manager tames the chaos of […]
