How To Improve Software Sales

Software  

⯀ When you develop a software startup, or if you work for an existing company that makes B2B software sales, it can be a tough industry. Software sales and SaaS sales can be more difficult than selling a lot of products because it can be tough to convey exactly the value provided. It’s even more difficult when the software is targeted toward a specific niche.

There are general ways to improve the productivity and effectiveness of a sales team, including having them use an expense report app so they can stay focused on what they’re out there to do without being bogged down by manual expense management. Along with general productivity tips, how can you boost software and SaaS sales specifically?

Offer Trials (But Keep Them Short)

If you’re a startup and you sell B2B software and SaaS, you probably already offer a free trial. If you don’t, you should. Along with that, you want to make sure that trials are the right length of time.

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A good rule of thumb is to offer a trial that’s no longer than 14 days. There are a few reasons for this. First, you want a free trial that lets prospects get a feel for the platform, but you don’t want it so long that the idea of actually buying it leaves their mind. You’re also shortening your sales cycle when you shorten your trial period.

When you do offer a brief trial period, make sure you’re getting in touch with users as soon as they sign up.

Focus On Value

One of the biggest mistakes any salesperson makes is not focusing enough on value. Skip the long spiels about all the features your software offers. It can be tough to resist the urge to talk about all the great features, especially when you’ve created something that you feel like really is in a league all its own.

Even so, customers want to know the value your software is going to bring. They don’t need to learn about the nitty-gritty of the features right out of the gate.

Start creating a customized USP for each customer by learning about their particular challenges and pain points. Then, build the value of your product around those for each prospect.

Stop Trying To Win Over People Who Don’t Want It

When you’re involved in the tech industry in any way, you probably think your product or service is the very best. That’s likely true, for the people that it appeals to, but it’s not going to appeal to everyone.

Salespeople, especially in tech and software, tend to spend too much time trying to win over people that are un-winnable.

Rather than doing that, know who your ideal targeted customers are, and create detailed maps of their buyer’s journey. It shouldn’t have to be such a hard sell if you’re focused on targeting a specific audience.

Finally, when you’re a tech professional in any capacity, you may have the urge to focus on the technical aspects of marketing. While digital marketing and the like are great, don’t take the human element out of your sales process.

By  33rd Square