SaaS Sales Enablement

The more complex a product is, the harder it is to sell. In the world of B2B SaaS, sales teams need to dedicate large amounts of time and effort to educating their buyers, answering detailed questions, presenting customized product demonstrations, engaging with multiple decision makers, negotiating product customization and support packages and executing contracts.

Buyers of B2B SaaS solutions can range from small businesses to large enterprises with thousands of users in multiple roles and functions. Sellers need to know how their solution provides value to companies of all sizes. Sellers also need to understand how their B2B SaaS solution integrates with all of their buyer’s business processes—such as product management, marketing, human resources management and customer support—to help their buyers see the value across their entire organization. And B2B SaaS solutions sometimes require extensive customization to be successfully implemented. Sellers need the right information, training and content to talk with their buyers about the value their solution delivers and the customization options available.

B2B SaaS sales cycles can be complicated, requiring meaningful interactions with buyers to keep them engaged throughout the entire sales process. Whether your B2B SaaS company focuses on short- or long-term sales cycles (or both), leading buyers down the funnel can be a rocky road full of pitfalls where buyers lose interest.

With a long-term sales cycle, it’s not uncommon for deals to take six months or longer to close. And lengthy sales cycles introduce the added challenge of staff turnover. Midway through a multi-month sales cycle, a B2B SaaS salesperson may find themselves working with new stakeholders with no knowledge of the product.

B2B SaaS buying decisions are typically made by a committee and not by an individual buyer. Buying committees usually include multiple stakeholders from different divisions within the organization—each with their own needs and requirements. B2B SaaS sales teams must understand the needs of every stakeholder and know what they need to do to meet those needs and close the deal. 

Today’s B2B SaaS buyers run the sale. Before a buyer even books a demo call, they’ve likely already defined their needs, done their research and looked at all possible solutions. Most buyers now wait until they’re already late in the sales process to contact sellers. This means SaaS sales teams must try even harder to prove their relevance, resolve buyer concerns, differentiate their product from that of their competitors and exceed buyer expectations every step of the way.

The majority of prospects who request information about a B2B SaaS solution won’t actually purchase for at least three months. And it’s not uncommon for some buyers to take over a year to sign the deal. For B2B SaaS sales cycles, lead-follow-up and lead nurturing are important to help your buyers make it further through the funnel. For reps to move leads closer towards a buying decision, the leads need to be nurtured with relevant product information, answers to their questions, responses and concerns, and trust-building social proof. This means your sales team needs an organized, systematic way of staying in touch with their leads over the entire course of the sales process.

B2B SaaS buyers expect meaningful content that addresses the challenges and questions they have at each stage of the buyer journey—from awareness, to consideration, to decision. This means B2B SaaS sales teams need to be equipped with the right content at the right times to help move their buyers forward.