Want to Steal a Customer From a Competitor? Ask Them What It Would Really Take
Want to steal a customer from your competitor? 99% of sales reps, 95% of CROs, and 99% of CEOs never ask the one question that would get it done. And it’s so, so simple: “What would it take for you to move over to us? What problem could we completely, 100%...
Dear SaaStr: How You Deal With Long Sales Cycles, E.g. 7-8+ Months?
Dear SaaStr: How You Deal With Long Sales Cycles, E.g. 7-8+ Months? "What's the best way to shorten a long saled cycle from 6 months to 4-5 months? Hire a truly great CRO / VP Sales. They know how to do this. They know how to move deals faster. How to talk to...
Yes, Your CRO / VP of Sales Also Has to Be a Great Salesperson Themselves
"Hiring a seasoned CRO / VP Sales can make sense. But you have to make sure they still want to be … a CRO / VP Sales. That they still want to spend 100% of their time selling. Not being a COO, or President, etc. Not everyone really wants to sell...
10 Crystal Clear Signs Your VP of Sales Just Isn’t Going to Work Out
"The #1 thing that undermines confidence in a CRO: Unexpected Bad News. A CRO should have real visibility into the new few months. They may come in a bit above or below plan. But there shouldn't be massive variances. If so, the plan was Hope-ium."...
I Hired My VP of Marketing at $20k MRR. It Wasn’t a Week Too Early.
"Once you have any customers at all, hire a head of marketing. You really can't hire a VP of Marketing too early. If they just get you another 20%-50% leads, they'll more than pay for yourself. But that doesn't mean hire someone junior that can't...
Dear SaaStr: Should I Publish My Pricing?
Dear SaaStr: Should I Publish My Pricing? If you aren’t sure — then yes. Transparent pricing has many advantages: It makes the sales process simpler. It allows prospects and leads to do more discovery work on their own. And it places your app in pricing context with...
The #1 Hack To Making Sure a VP of Sales or Top AE Will Work Out
We’ve talked a ton on SaaStr over the years on how to make sure your CRO / VP of Sales and top hires really work out. That they are the right ones. We can pretty much summarize a lot of it into the following: Your VP of Sales should have lots of experience...
Dear SaaStr: I’ve Hired 2 SDRs. Can I Hire an AE to Manage Them?
Dear SaaStr: After closing a few deals myself as a founder, I hired 2 SDRs and closed some more. Should I hire an AE to take over the SDRs and close or a VP of sales? Try to find a VP of Sales now, and try to hire an AE now. You probably will find the solid AE...
The First Week of a Great VP of Sales. And The First Month of a Mediocre One.
Great VP of Sales, first week: – brings 2-4 great sales execs in ASAP. often week 1– identifies top existing talent, does what it takes to keep them– begins to move out underperformers– jumps into all critical deals Mediocre VP of Sales, first...
The CEO Never Gets to Step Away From Sales
"The #1 mistake founders make when they hire their first VP of Sales? Or even just their first sales rep? They step back from sales. No. You don't get that time back. It's just what you do in sales, changes." pic.twitter.com/wwUzRvrbt0 — Jason...
Dear SaaStr: How Long Should You Give a New Sales Rep?
Dear SaaStr: How Long Should You Give a New Sales Rep? The tough truth is from 1.0–1.5 sales cycles. And you’ll often, though not always, know sooner. Sales is tough. It’s a lot of Nos to get to a Yes. And while sales is pretty similar in SaaS at a given price...
Dear SaaStr: As a Founder, What Will I Learn Getting More Involved in Sales?
Dear SaaStr: I’m Pretty Hands Off on the Sales Team. What Will I Learn Getting More Involved in Sales? The most important thing that you will learn is how businesses truly scale on the revenue side. You may think you know this intuitively, but you don’t:...
The Top 10 Mistakes Folks Make Hiring Their First Sales Team (Updated)
Times for many are so different in B2B than they used to be. For those with AI tailwainds, growth is like nothing we’ve ever seen. For those without, it can seem like everyone wants to downgrade or cut. For some, it’s somewhere in the middle. It can seem like...
After $2m in ARR — Start Specializing Your Sales Team
There’s a set of questions I get asked all the time: Should you pay sales reps on renewals? Should you pay sales reps on upsells a long time down the road? Should you pay sales reps on … ? I am a huge proponent of paying sales professionals well. But for...
Founder SaaStr
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