Notes from a 'Selling Value/SaaS sales' conversation workshop conducted by @ku1deep and moderated by @sahilk on @SmolCoach

(Disclaimer: errors and ambiguities are mine. The conversation was amazing. This is an attempt to convey key lessons)

Once you go past selling (B2B SaaS) to friends and family, you hit a point where you realise:
1. You sold your stuff for too low a price
2. You're selling to someone who's never heard of you or your product at all and yet they know or compare you to obscure competitors

To learn more about sales, study content by @mdcranney
https://a16z.com/author/mark-cranney/

(Nikhil's addition: Read 'Sell more faster' by @iamamoslee - especially for the W3 framework)

The purpose of sales is to create new value to customers. You need to understand on a fundamental level the benefit what you are selling provides to your customers.

In SaaS, you are often trying to set yourself apart from competition. You don't want to compete with anyone.

Added note: @pmarca 's principle about always raising prices till you hit that sweet spot where your customers feel you're expensive but still want to buy your product.

(Nikhil's note: I recommend reading/listening to @rahulvohra of @Superhuman talk on PMF and pricing.)

"The job of enterprise sales is to help customers through their own internal buying process"

"Organizations see value in a very different way than individuals do"

Study Slack vs Microsoft Teams to understand Top-Down vs Bottoms-up Sales.

All sales are about answering 3 questions:
1. Why should I buy anything?
2. Why should I buy from you?
3. Why should I buy now?

(Nikhil's note: @iamamoslee 's W3 framework adds to this: Who are you selling to? What are they buying from you? Why are they buying from you? )

Key tip: Learn to differentiate on how you are solving a problem.

"Why should I buy anything?"

You need a customer discovery process where you understand how your product adds value to your customer's business. Answer the question about value before sending out numbers/prices.

If you know what your customer will use your product for before you ink the deal, you win. Always note that in the path to real scale, you will walk away from a few deals and that is okay.

"No deal is better than a bad deal"

Before you even begin the discovery process, you must do your homework and qualify the customer. Are they a fit? Can they afford your product? Do they have the ability to integrate your solution? Who are the stakeholders involved? What is your pitch to each of them? etc

Especially with SaaS, it is sometimes easier to sell than it is to get most of your customers to use your product well or as intended.

Sales = Prospecting + Discovery + influencing + closing

On the customer's end, at the top there are Business objectives and Business plans that are broken down into initiatives or programs. Those lead to the capabilities needed and therein comes the need for solutions (which you can sell.)

Goals -> Plans -> Abilities -> Tools.

The discovery process is about extracting this information from the customer to sell the right tools.

Your job is to understand goals and plans to tie them back to wear capabilities your tool can help with.

Stakeholders:

L1 - Executives - Executives - Care the most about business plans and objectives

L2 - Managers - Care about initiatives/programs but also involved in building capabilities

L3 - individual contributors - Care the most about capabilities needed and solutions

Understand each level's motivation and you know how and what to sell to them.

Nikhil's Example:

L3 wants a better pay/more ESOPs
L2 wants a promotion/better street Cred
L1 wants a higher bonus or leave behind a bigger legacy

Typically,
L2 is a great starting point for selling. If you start with an L1 or L3, your job is to get to an L2 quickly. Only talk about what is relevant to each layer.
L1 signs the cheque and L3 has veto rights. Don't go to L1 if L2 doesn't like you. Bad in long term.

L1 typically approves if L2 likes you and/or L3 loves you/your solution.

Document your proposal using a framework as follows:

Our solution gives X output that results in Y and thus achieves Z objective from your strategy.

L3 cares about your in-depth demo, L2 cares about outcomes, L1 cares about value proposition and dashboards.

Internalize this and you'll know who from your team should get involved in each part of the process.

You need all 3 levels to make s successful sale. Never forget that

Also note that unless you're a behemoth like Salesforce, you cannot afford to stretch the delta between the deal being inked to value being seen. You typically have between 30 and 45 days to deliver value. Run with it and get shit done in a quick time frame.

To answer "Why buy from you?" - you need to craft a compelling story.

Value proposition gets broken into 3 parts:

1. Feature criterion
2. Approach criterion
3. Business criterion

Feature criterion: here are all the features that enable the capabilities the customer needs. Customise it. This valued the most by L3s and maybe by L2s. Show them how your features are the best in your niche/industry.

Approach criterion: Core message is about how your approach to the market/space is unique. Why are you best suited to solve this? Your product vision and roadmap come here. Valued by all 3 levels but especially L2 ( your champion) - product team needs to sell this.

Business criterion: Core message - We are a business they should associate with. Leadership team, Logos of Top customers, Investors, industry positioning, delivery focus, SLAs - Valued by L1 audience the most.

Use this to signal credibility. People want to work with good folks.

Deck/proposal structure:
1. This is what we understand about your business
2. This is how our tools solves your business objectives
3. These are our tool's features
4. This is how and why we build those features
5. This is why we are a great company and have many partners.

Additional zingers/lessons:
1. If you are talking to procurement, someone internally already wants you to win.
2. Procurement only negotiates price, they don't judge value.
3. Reciprocation principle works - Take the time to understand the prospective customer's business

Bonus: Early stage customers become a part of your tribe and have a sense of belonging. They become your brand ambassadors later on because they help shape your product trajectory.

Spend as much time as possible talking to them, learning from them , and building with them.

We've come to the end of this thread. Thanks again to @ku1deep , @sowmyarao_ , @sahilk , & everyone else involved.

My DMs are open if your business objectives involve :
1. Making sign-ups/logins seamless
2. Reducing fraudulent behaviour
3. Managing risks while keeping CX smooth