Dear SaaStr: Should I Remove Monthly Subscriptions to Drive Down Churn?
Dear SaaStr: Should I Remove Monthly Subscriptions to Drive Down Churn? Generally — no. Annual plans only mask churn. They don’t eliminate it. And at least for SMBs and prosumer customers, not having a monthly edition can add significant friction to...
Dear SaaStr: Should We Over-Charge or Under-Charge our First Customers?
Dear SaaStr: Should We Over-Charge or Under-Charge our First Customers? My general rules: Overcharge if the customer is big, i.e., >$50k-$100k a year o nor so in ACV. Undercharge if the customer is smaller by revenue. There’s a method to the seeming madness...
Dear SaaStr: What’s It Like to Have Your Company Acquired by One of the Tech Giants?
Dear SaaStr: What’s It Like to Have Your Company Acquired by One of the Tech Giants? It’s a lot of change. The pressure is mostly or at least partially off. Unless there is a huge earn-out or retention payment tied to performance, the pressure is off. Not all of...
10+ Simple Tips To Help Any Account Executive Close More
Dear SaaStr: How can I boost my sales if I am in B2B sales? My top tips for AEs: Grab your CEO and bring her into bigger deals. Ask your CEO to join you on a few sales calls a month. Deals will close at a higher rate if the CEO joins. Customers love to talk to...
In SaaS, The CEO Never Gets to Step Away From Sales
The biggest mistake you can make as a founder when you hire your first VP of Sales is stepping out of sales I see this again, and again It only works with the very best VPs of Sales Every other first VP of Sales needs you doing at least half of what you were doing...
Dear SaaStr: What are Some Early Signs a New VP isn’t Going to Be a Fit?
The top one for me is when they don’t embrace the goals given to them. Sometimes it’s subtle, sometimes it’s aggressive and overt. What I see this again and again: A VP of Sales that just sort of ignores the plan for the next quarter or two. A CMO that focuses on the...
Dear SaaStr: I’ve Been Out of Sales For 6+ Years. Is It Too Late to Get Back In?
Dear SaaStr: I’ve Been Out of Sales For 6+ Years. Is It Too Late to Get Back In? I stayed at home as a parent and then played professional poker for several years. Ok here’s the thing: you have 2 flags already (and staying home for the kids isn’t...
Dear SaaStr: What Are Some Things Sales Can Do Besides Discounts And Add-Ons to Get a Customer to Buy?
Dear SaaStr: What are some benefits you can add to get people to buy a product besides discounts and add-ons? You can help them actually deploy your app. To actually, truly get the value out of it. Not just buy it. Buying a product is just Step 1, at best. Mediocre...
Dear SaaStr: What’s the #1 Most Important Thing To Look For In Your First Sales Rep?
Dear SaaStr: What’s the #1 Most Important Thing To Look For In Your First Sales Rep? The #1 most important criterion for your first 2 reps is: would you buy from her? For real? Would you truly, 100%, buy your own product from them? 98% of the reps you interview …...
Dear SaaStr: What’s Your #1 Opener in Sales?
Dear SaaStr: What’s Your #1 Opener in Sales? The best opener is sharing how a very similar company or a competitor uses your product — and the exact specific ROI that customer gets. Everyone wants to know the playbooks of similar companies and competitors. How...
Dear SaaStr: When Should I Pay Commission on B2B Sales that Close Themselves?
Dear SaaStr: When should I pay the commission for SaaS sales? All of our trial signups will get an automatic email from an account executive. How do we decide if the AE was responsible for the sale versus the sale just happened organically? Every company with a...
Dear SaaStr: What’s the #1 Mistake New Sales Leaders Make?
Dear SaaStr: What’s the #1 Mistake New Sales Leaders Make? Let me just summarize my #1 observation here: the top mistake first-time sales managers make is recruiting. In that — they can’t do it. They can’t recruit great reps. They can recruit some mediocre...
Dear SaaStr: What Qualities Make a CEO The Best In Their Industry?
Dear SaaStr: What Qualities Make a CEO The Best In Their Industry? I’ve invested in 5 start-ups that had a $1,000,000,000+ cash exit or IPO. The CEOs were all quite different. Some extroverted, some introverted. Some wicked smart, some merely very smart. Some direct,...
Dear SaaStr: As a Startup Founder What Was The Worst VC Meeting You Ever Had?
I pitched 150+ entities over the years as both a start-up exec and a founder. And now I’ve been on the other side of far more than 150 meetings as part of SaaStr Fund. Nothing in fundraising really phased me as a founder — for the most part. Except one set of...
Founder SaaStr
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