Software solutions have never been easier to buy. However, they’ve also never been more difficult to sell. While at first glance that may sound confusing, when you consider the fact that software is typically sold through traditional distribution channels that only roughly 25% of SaaS businesses sell through – it starts to become more clear. […]
SaaS Sales Best Practices
Read, listen and watch SaaS sales best practices for founders and leaders of growing technology companies. Join SaaS co-founders and operators for guidance on sales, marketing, customer success, culture, and institutional readiness. And be sure to use the Sales Organization Maturity Report Card to get instant sales recommendations for your SaaS.
50 SaaS Sales VP Interview Questions I Always Ask
Yes, I really ask every single one of these when I interview candidates for sales leadership. Last week I posted some thoughts about what a new sales leader should focus on in their first 90 days. Since then a couple of people reached out and asked me to share my favorite interview questions for a […]
An Annual Sales Compensation Letter Example
The first time I did quota and commission planning I shared it with my team in a Monday morning meeting. One of the reps said innocuously, “When are you sending us our annual comp letters?”. I had no clue what they meant, but I nodded my head and told them to expect it any day. […]
What Should a New Sales Leader Focus On?
I’ve been interviewing a lot of candidates for Director of Sales lately, and there is one question I always ask. “What will you focus on in your first 90 days?”. Of course, the obvious answer is “results”, but there is a lot more to it than that. There isn’t one right answer to this question. […]
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 […]
New Customers Ghosting? Your Onboarding Could Be to Blame
Winning a new customer can feel like having an amazing first date: you seem to have the same objectives and you just know you’ll be a great fit. It all clicks. Then, a couple of weeks later…nothing. Though it’s hard to admit, your onboarding process could be to blame. Recently, a product manager for Hubspot […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
My Favorite Sales Engineer Interview Questions
There are only three things that matter when hiring a sales engineer. Culture fit, ability to understand your product & sales process, and their ability to demo. Everything comes down to these essentials. Here is how I screen for all three. Culture I’ll keep this one brief. You need to make sure your candidate can […]
