Simple SaaS: How to manage your Enterprise Sales Pipeline

You are working through a complex never ending sales process for a big enterprise opportunity. Its the most important thing for your B2B SaaS right now. Ever find that your CRM system just doesn’t reflect reality? (Or ever wonder why a sales pipeline tool is called customer relationship management for that matter?)
 
Sorry I digress. This is not a process problem. Leads and various other clear and specific data are all recorded neat and precise in CRM.  Yet all the things that matter seem to be missing. Or hidden in notes and free text fields. 
 
There is a simple reason. CRM systems are designed for selling standard repeatable solutions. To customers with similar needs and predictable buying processes.   

SaaS: You are selling a service not software

​Unfortunately none of these things exist in the world of B2B SaaS. You are selling a service not software. (Check out this excellent article from Darmesh Shah for more). Customers will frame their needs in a different ways. Cultural factors will warp the style and method of adoption for your SaaS.
 
Layer on top of this the spaghetti medusa that is enterprise procurement and buying processes. There are a thousand different ways to SaaS. (Another small sidebar: Do yourself a favour and ignore any book/ article/ advice that offers a standard model for business procurement. These things are peppered with terms like influencers, decision makers and hierarchies. Its all rubbish. Every large organisation is different. Most don’t even know their own process very well.)
 
So your standard pipeline definitions are of no more than marginal relevance. You need to think about your enterprise sales pipeline a different way. Let me offer you a simple and flexible model which will help.
 
I claim no credit for this. I learned it from a lovely man and  good friend, Carl Erickson the CEO of Beacon Worldwide. I have been using it for 10 years and it has never failed me. It unites people with 100% opposite approaches to sales. It drives intense debate about all the right things. And as a business leader it kept me informed and in touch with future growth prospect like nothing else.

​A brief explanation of each step. And more important the simple test for moving an opportunity from one stage to the next. 

0 - Development

​Here you have the basics of your marketing plan. Which segments are you targeting? What is your value proposition? How do you reach the right audience? Nothing is specific at this stage. Its a way of capturing your market strategy.
 
Move after: A lead moves from 0 to 1 when you have direct contact with a named organisation.

1 - Identify

Inbound or outbound this is where you capture live leads. At this stage you only need to be able to name the organisation. If you can identify the key individuals or at least the department so much the better.
 
The key question: Is this the right type of customer? Deciding whether it is worth investing in the pursuit is the next stage. For now, you only need to know if this organisation would benefit from your SaaS. And figure out if they are the right fit for your company.
 
Move after: You have had a direct person to person communication. You have identified the customer business issues. You have confirmed the date of the next meeting/ discussion. (Note: you need to meet all of these criteria.)

2 - Qualify

This is where the toughest decision lies. Now that you are taking to someone, how much time and effort should you invest in the opportunity. The key to answering this question has nothing to do with business value. Instead you must answer three questions:

1. How does this organisation make this type of buying decision?
2. Can you engage directly with those who have the power to make that decision?
3. Why will this organisation buy now?
   

Note: The first two questions must be answered in that order. If you don’t understand the buying process, you don’t know if you are talking to power. Job titles mean absolute zero. Even if it says Director In Charge of Buying SaaS on the business card, it means nothing.
 
Note: For an established company with time to wait, question 3 is part of the evaluation stage. A startup can’t afford this time so answer it early.
 
Move after: You know you have access to power. No exceptions. 

3 - Evaluation

​Now you are in the traditional phase of enterprise sales. Responding to requests for information, completing bid documents, checking out the competition, agreeing budgets and so on. 
 
This is expensive. And it feels exciting and important. But observe that the most critical decisions have already been taken. Your SaaS is a good fit for the customer’s business need. You know who makes the decisions and you are talking to those people (almost never one person). You also know that this is the right time for the customer.
 
I hope its clear why you should have this stuff sorted before you start heavy investment in an opportunity.
 
Move after: You have verbal confirmation that you are the chosen supplier. 

4 - Selection

​Read that last sentence again. When the call or email comes through to tell you you have won, the sale is not made. So don’t hold the party. Don’t pay commission. Don’t bank the money. Don’t count your chickens.
 
There is a whole load of contractual stuff to resolve. Most times, there may also be a bunch of interested parties inside your customer’s business who get involved for the first time. You know people who might use your product, that sort of thing. It can be a painful journey.
 
Contractual questions tend to dominate. But never lose sight of the need to deliver value to your customer organisation. A beautifully framed contract has an ARR of Zero.
 
Move after: The contract is signed AND you have a clear plan to install your SaaS with the customer. 

5 - Win: Now Celebrate!

Keep the customer name on the column for a little while to remind yourself of success. But don’t think its over.  Now is when real customer relationship management starts. Procurement's job is to sign contracts. The buyers are the users, managers and leaders who see the value your SaaS delivers every day. 
 
Its become fashionable to call this Upsell. In reality its plain good business. Selling more to your existing customers rather than spending money acquiring new ones. A fundamental since forever. 

The Chairman's View

​For many B2B SaaS enterprise sales are the key to growth and success. There is a tremendous quantity of bad advice available in this areas. And the whole process is often built on the worst named IT category ever - CRM.
 
Despite the apparent complexity and the repeated insistence on structure, process and experience, its quite simple: Listen to the customer; Learn how your SaaS can add value; Remember you are always dealing with people not companies.