{"id":15034,"date":"2018-04-13T11:00:29","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T10:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.intercom.com\/?p=15034"},"modified":"2020-12-12T20:51:17","modified_gmt":"2020-12-12T20:51:17","slug":"the-5-insights-understood-by-all-great-saas-sales-reps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/the-5-insights-understood-by-all-great-saas-sales-reps\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 insights understood by all great SaaS sales reps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Great SaaS sales reps can change your entire business.<\/p>\n

The best ones are efficient, motivated, effective, and creative in how they operate on a day-to-day basis. They have a knack for identifying quality prospects, making strong impressions quickly, and closing deals that seem out of reach.<\/p>\n

But before we jump in further, here’s a quick refresher:<\/p>\n

What is SaaS sales?<\/h2>\n

SaaS sales is the process of selling web-based software to clients. SaaS Salespeople focus on acquiring new customers and upselling or retaining current clients.<\/p>\n

So what is it about these SaaS sales<\/a> reps that differentiates them from the rest? What do they know about the industry that mediocre sales reps don’t?<\/p>\n

Let’s break down the top 5 SaaS sales tips<\/span> that all the best SaaS sales pros<\/a> understand.<\/p>\n

1. Upselling value to existing customers is key<\/h2>\n

Tomasz Tunguz<\/a> explains that the fastest-growing SaaS businesses rely much more on upsells than their slower-growing competitors. And the larger the business, the greater the impact of upselling. While SaaS salespeople know that there are significant growth opportunities in upselling, far too many overlook it for one simple reason:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard.<\/div>\n

Integrate the product into your efforts.<\/p>\n

Upselling is hard because when a relationship has already been established, it\u2019s not always easy to know when to re-engage and offer something new. On top of that, an existing customer already knows your flaws, and they have an opinion on whether or not you\u2019re delivering. So when you\u2019re looking to make an upsell<\/a>, you\u2019re going into the interaction with previous baggage and need to show them the product possibilities that they could tap into if they give you even more money.<\/p>\n

One of the best ways to make an upsell happen is to integrate the product into your efforts<\/a>.
\nTake advantage of the very technology you\u2019re selling. Rather than picking up the phone on a whim to see if your customer would be interested in a premium plan, leverage data from their account. Track how close the customer is getting to their usage limits or their data threshold. Pay attention to any interactions within the product that could provide a reason for this customer to upgrade to a premium account.<\/p>\n

2. Persistence is a key driver of SaaS sales<\/h2>\n

According to a study from The Bridge Group<\/a> and their inside sales metrics<\/a>, the average sales development rep makes 52 calls per day. If you\u2019re not cut out for this type of persistent effort, it\u2019s going to be tough for you to make the leap from a good sales rep to a great one \u2013 especially when you consider these stats from TOPO<\/a>:<\/p>\n