New to SaaS Sales? Here Are 16 Success Tips You Need to Know

As a new SaaS sales rep you may have already gone through the onboarding process. If not, check out this article to help you navigate that initial learning phase. You’re probably wondering what you can do to become a better rep, strengthen your position with your current employer, and expand your advancement options.  Here are the first eight of sixteen success tips to help you accomplish that and take you from good to great.

1. Persistence

The Bridge Group found that SDR’s make an average of 46 dials per day to achieve 5.8 quality conversations. Their research also revealed there are an average of 8.2 attempts per prospect while working 265 leads per month. And these are just a few stats. Consistently reaching this level of activity requires a high level of persistence and the drive to succeed.

2. Sales team growth is not a threat

Many sales reps feel threatened by a growing team and don’t like the idea of competing with their new colleagues. Successful sales reps understand that a growing team and a growing company are a good thing. They know that the bigger the sales team, the more business partners they have. These partnerships help all team members get closer to their quotas because they learn from each other by sharing successes and best practices. This also raises the value of the company as a whole.

3. Don’t get caught up in sales tactics

When striving to be the best rep you can be, you will be exposed to many different sales tactics such as the Challenger Sales Model and the Sandler Method. There are many different sales methods out there and many more always being developed. Regardless of which tactics you find to be most effective, you must never forget that you’re a person selling to another person. For optimum results, learn as much as you can about your prospects before you call them. Do your homework by researching things like their industry, their history with your company, the individual you’re calling, and more. This will allow you to have a more intelligent conversation and know what questions to ask once you get them on the phone. Plus, when you don’t focus on tactics, you’ll allow the prospect to regulate the pace of the selling process so they don’t feel rushed. You’ll have more confidence and the prospect will be more comfortable, making it easier to qualify or disqualify them.

4. Learn from your experiences

Throughout your days in sales you will experience successes and failures, plus various degrees of highs and lows. Regardless of what happens, always learn from your experiences. You’ll learn how to deal with rejection as you hear variations of the word “no,” and you’ll figure out what works best for you and what not to repeat. Never stop learning from what happens in your day to day, so you’ll continue to grow and improve without repeating the same mistakes.

5. Always be honest

It may be tempting at times to stretch the truth, over-promise, or tell a white lie to fill the pipeline or schedule a demo. However, in SaaS sales it’s important to focus on the long-term success of a new customer. The best reps recognize that each deal is not a one-time payout. They understand that the payback period for the investment of onboarding each new customer can have a major impact on the future success of the company. So, remember that it’s not just about hitting quota, it’s about being honest so you have a happy customer for a long time.

6. Know your ideal customer profile inside & out

A poor match between customer and product can result in an unhappy customer who is more likely to churn. This means wasted time and resources used to sell and onboard them that could have been invested in a better match. This is why it is so important to be intimately familiar with your ideal customer, so you recognize them on your first encounter. When you connect with an ideal prospect, be sure that you have done your research. You’ll want to know how to speak with them about business challenges in their terms. Plus, if they don’t match the ideal profile, you can save everyone a lot of time and effort by disqualifying them to focus on the highly qualified ones.

7. Be fluent in technology

SaaS sales, more than any other type, requires a firm understanding and ability to discuss technology. You need to know your product and how it fits in with other technologies in the software stack. A familiarity with compatibilities and issues relating to these software relationships is advantageous. You also need to stay current with trends and developments in technology as it relates to your industry.  And, if you are able to easily understand new technology and learn how to use it quickly, this will be to your advantage. Although you don’t need to memorize everything that you learn about technology, you should be able to find the answer and access it quickly when needed.

8. Be a master of your time and your schedule

For maximum efficiency, create a daily schedule for yourself. Know your goals and objectives. Have a plan and stick to it. Be sure to streamline processes, eliminate inefficiencies, and continually make adjustments. You want to make the most of your time. This will help you accomplish more and meet or exceed your goals.

9. Listen

As Lyndon B. Johnson said, “You aren’t learning anything when you’re talking.” You need to make listening your primary objective during the sales conversation. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but are you actually doing it? If you’re going to properly qualify (or disqualify) prospects and propose the best solution, you need to understand their greatest challenges. Do this by asking open-ended questions and actively listening to what they’re saying. And just like any conversation, a good way to process the information is to repeat back what you’ve heard — “It sounds like x, y, z is what you’re trying to accomplish. I’d love to help you with this — is this correct?”

10. Understand the importance of timing

In sales, timing can make all the difference between success and failure. Be aware of the best times to call leads, when to follow up, and when to back off. You need to stay on top of new leads and follow up in a timely manner. Inbound leads should be responded to in an hour or less after they’re generated. This makes it seven times more likely that you’ll actually reach the contact and qualify them. Aside from your own timing for perform certain tasks and activities, it’s also important to understand when the timing isn’t right for a prospect. Make sure that you don’t push prospects too hard if it clearly isn’t the best time for them to move forward with your solution. If you do, you may risk losing the sale.

11. Maintain a sense of urgency

Maintaining a sense of urgency ties in with the timing example above. Strike while leads are hot. The same study referenced above also found that for leads more than an hour old, the odds of connecting with the prospect decreases significantly. Think of it this way — depending on the source of the lead, a prospect is usually expecting a response from you.

12. Build and cultivate a strong network

According to the “Six Degrees of Separation” we’re all connected to everyone on the planet in just six steps. With that in mind, you should build your network and leverage it to increase your access to business contacts. Connect with people you know, and when it makes sense ask those in your network for introductions. There are a lot of opportunities for social selling across various social media platforms, but don’t start and stop at simply bulking up the number of connections or followers. For example, post your own content on LinkedIn, retweet your company’s content, share your thoughts and stories on Quora — make it a point to actually cultivate and engage in conversations.

13. Be competitive, especially against yourself

Most successful sales reps are competitive by nature. They enjoy being recognized for their successes and, of course, want to be the best. Competing against team members is the obvious part. But you also need to compete against yourself. Set goals that are measurable, track your progress, reward yourself for successes, and always strive to be your personal best. When you reach your personal goals, set new ones. Keep reaching higher so you continue to grow and improve.

14. Be curious

To become a top rep you should always be asking questions. Has a new feature been built? Glean the release notes your company publishes or ask the product team for clarification on feature details. Are you noticing that your fellow rep has a high connection rate? Listen to their conversations or ask if they’re experimenting with their pitch. It pays (figuratively and literally) to be curious, especially when it comes to being genuinely interested in a conversation with a prospect. Ask open-ended questions, then follow up with additional probing questions to learn more about their needs and concerns.

15. Know the competition

It isn’t enough to only know your company’s product in and out. Consumer behavior has changed — buyers are coming into the conversation armed with extensive knowledge of your competitors. If they’re in the market for a new solution, you can be sure they’ve done their own research or have already spoken with one of your competitors. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to have a full feature-by-feature comparison memorized, but you do need to know how your product stacks up against competitors. And to add credibility to your statements, leverage your company’s customer stories. The kind words of another (especially satisfied customers!) can forge the beginnings of a strong sales relationship.

16. Be coachable

You will never know everything, but being coachable means that you can learn almost anything.  What does it take to be a coachable rep? You must be open to feedback, be an excellent listener, possess a willingness to learn, and be committed to making time to improve your skills.  Don’t be defensive. Accept feedback, listen carefully to it, apply it, and take the time to continually work toward improvement. This will help you become a better rep and your manager will appreciate your efforts too.

Bonus!

And finally, here’s a bonus tip from one of our very own reps, Anna: “Don’t take rejection personally. It can be discouraging when you’re new to sales, but it happens to even top performers. You may talk with a prospect whose only goal is to get pricing information before you can even ask them about the problem they’re trying to solve. That’s perfectly fine! Give them the pricing information without a fight and find other ways to add value to the ongoing conversation afterwards. Follow up with relevant content via email, set the prospect up with a customer reference — the point is sales conversations are rarely one and done.”