5 Ways to Build a Differentiated B2B SaaS Sales Strategy

If you're looking to build a successful B2B SaaS company, you need to have a differentiated sales strategy.

This means that your approach to selling your product must be unique and compelling, and it must stand out from the competition.

In this blog post, we will discuss 5 ways to build a differentiated B2B SaaS sales strategy. We will also be featuring tips from some of the pros in the industry!

The SaaS market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 11.7% by 2026, reaching USD 307.3 bn (£232 billion). Salesforce's $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack demonstrates that SaaS is now widespread.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the government imposed regulations that pushed businesses to migrate to remote employment. In the United Kingdom, remote workers' proportion rose from 7% before the crisis to 55% in May 2020.

This was a bonanza for SaaS businesses, as the adoption of cloud-based communication and networking applications surged.

This is fantastic, but it has opened the door for more participants, resulting in a congested market. As a consequence, market saturation has rendered businesses unable to differentiate themselves.

As with any other business, being unique is a must if you want to avoid the dangers of genericization. To differentiate your products, you must go beyond the typical value proposition procedure. Here's what you should do.

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Strategy #1: Determine your pricing

Companies spend time and money developing the "ideal" product, but the majority of them fail to price it correctly.

Keep in mind that price is important, and a SaaS solution may be overpriced or undervalued. It's vital to figure out where you fit in since sitting in the middle will harm you.

The Demand Paradox of Veblen

In microeconomics, a Veblen product is a sought-after, high-quality item whose demand rises as the price rises.

Veblen items, on the other hand, tend to have a longer duration of the sale and allow you to make consistent profits. Customers are likely to believe that high-quality goods are more expensive.

You might be able to charge less and still attract more consumers if you price your product highly. While low costs may appear to be a competitive edge, they might actually harm your reputation in the high-end market.

Even if they are in high demand, some people connect cheaply with low-quality products (Giffen products). The difficulty is that their demands are sometimes random, resulting in erratic earnings.

In this case, you should aim to create high-quality SaaS solutions that customers would be willing to buy no matter what your pricing plan is. Always start with value and exceptional client service.

Pricing Models and Strategies for SaaS

In the SaaS market, organizations use a variety of pricing models. These are some examples:

• Usage-based pricing – With this pricing approach, you can charge clients only when they utilize your product. Users are charged based on how much they use throughout the finishing month of the payment period (monthly).
• Per-user pricing refers to charging customers based on the number of users they bring into their membership. The more people join, the higher their membership costs.
• Tiered pricing — You may offer various plans or options, such as basic, professional, and premium. Each of these plans comes with its own set of features, with the premium plan featuring the most.
• Flat-rate pricing — This pricing structure offers consumers a single payment method for access to all product features each month or year.
• Pricing-based on features — The product is priced according to the features that consumers want. Functionalities that they add to their membership raise the price, and vice versa.

You must find a balance between value and revenue while determining pricing structures. This includes determining the best strategy to employ, such as:

Low-cost (less than £6,000 per year) — This method is appropriate for a product that provides a freemium, which users may sign up for using their normal email address. Essentially, the more consumers you have, the better since they will be preaching for you.

• The moderate middle (£6,000 to £100,000 per year) — This method is excellent for sophisticated or premium products that cannot be sold entirely through self-service sales models. However, because they are still low-cost, marketers may employ cost-effective sales practices.
• Enterprise selling (more than £100,000 per year) - This technique is best suited for expensive items. Because the goods are primarily aimed for enterprise-wide rollout, most sales take place face to face. Keep in mind that selling such a product can take several months.

Strategy #2: Sell an approach rather than a product

To differentiate your offers, instead of selling things, sell a technique (value + solution). Customers are generally process- and outcome-oriented.

Customers don't buy costly tooth whiteners because they enjoy the taste; they do it because they expect to get the benefits that the product promises.

The value of a product decreases as it becomes more generic, with new entrants to the market. When products become commonplace, their price drops. As a result, you should aim to sell very personalized experiences that are suited to your clients' needs.

For exa
mple, you might provide cloud service packages depending on the number of devices, data requirements, and degree

Differentiation opportunities exist in your processes and outcomes. You must grasp your clients' pain areas, expectations, and wants. To pique their attention, start conversations about their prospects, goals, and company.

For example, HubSpot, an inbound marketing platform, offers a method that has allowed the business to develop a one-of-a-kind platform for inbound marketers.

As a result, even with new market entrants, the corporation maintains constant prices year after year. This is due to the fact that methods are worth more over time than items.

Strategy #3: Make the most of your free trial period

As a marketer, you must recognize that your product is the most effective sales tool. One of the most successful strategies to attract consumers is to use it as a free edition service.

This allows them to try out different parts before purchasing, resulting in a pleasant experience as they subscribe.

Free trial vs. freemium

When it comes to providing free versions, there are two options: a free trial and a freemium model. You may give users a seven-day or 30-day free trial in trials.

After the trial period expires, customers can choose whether to subscribe. This is a fantastic choice for sophisticated or costly products.

In a freemium model, you offer a free plan (in addition to premium plans) with limited capabilities. Customers who want more features can upgrade to a premium membership.

Otherwise, they may continue to use the free plan indefinitely. Freemium is preferable when it comes to less expensive items.

How to Create a Good Freemium and Free Trial

Your customer acquisition approach must focus on the main elements that make offerings appealing and compelling. How can you convert customers who have tried your free versions into paying customers?

Freemiums – While freemiums have fewer features, you must still ensure that they provide adequate results.

To entice people to buy the premium version, the concept must be appealing. They should understand that by subscribing, they will be able to accomplish a lot more.

Grammarly, for example, excels at this by providing 90% of its capability in its free version. The tool highlights mistakes in written content for the editor to correct. It also displays advanced notifications, which the user can access once their subscription is upgraded.

Free Trials – Providing free trials has an impact on the quality of service. For example, you can eliminate customer care from the trial. Just be careful that it won't have a detrimental effect on the product's quality.

In this situation, you can provide customer support through a single channel, such as email or support tickets, while excluding calls and live chats.

Strategy #4: Concentrate on upselling

You spend time and money courting clients; they shouldn't merely subscribe for a few months and then depart. This will reduce the lifetime value of your customers. Instead, use upselling to encourage them to upgrade or purchase add-ons.

Upselling is about five times less expensive than new customer acquisition, and it has a higher conversion rate.

Existing customers are 60-70 percent more likely to be upsold to than new ones, according to one survey. This is due to your existing clients' trust in your products and services.

Upselling also improves customer lifetime value (CLV), which is important to 98% of marketers. To improve your upsell possibilities, make effective use of lead nurturing throughout the client journey. This allows you to go into more depth regarding additional items and services.

How to Properly Upsell

Effective upselling necessitates a comprehensive understanding of your products, their application scenarios, and their benefits. After you've figured out how your consumers are using your product, it's a good idea to recommend additional add-ons. This can happen within the first six months of utilizing the product.

Use integrations to provide ease to your consumers. Customers typically prefer to have access to all of their tools in one location. You can include integration alternatives in the premium or paid plans to entice users to upgrade in order to gain access to the tools.

The significance of minimizing churn

If done within the first three months, upselling can increase client retention by over 30%. To have the most impact, it must be needs-based.

Strategy #5: Coordinate sales and marketing

When sales and marketing are aligned, sales cycles decrease and conversion rates improve, resulting in more revenue.

Regular meetings between both two teams are required for effective sales and marketing alignment. This aids in the identification of impediments, the optimization of workflows, and the tracking of shared goals.

Keep in mind that the effectiveness of your inbound marketing approach is also determined by the interaction between your sales and marketing teams.

Marketing teams produce leads, which are then converted into paying customers by the sales team. To make this work, you must have a clear understanding of your personas and target market while maintaining open lines of communication amongst teams.

To increase lead nurturing, the teams should also collaborate on content marketing efforts. When marketing teams promote new deals, sales teams must be aware of these promotions in order to know what their leads are getting.

Meet your clients' needs

Differentiation assists you in tailoring your services to fit the specific needs of your clients. More significantly, it adds value to your offerings, which is critical in a commoditized market.

As a result, your B2B SaaS sales strategy should establish what you sell and how you sell while engaging buyers in dialogues centered on their experiences.

Take the time to learn about your clients' requirements, pain areas, expectations, anxieties, and aspirations.

In this manner, you may develop your product to meet their specific demands while also exploiting upselling chances to convince customers to upgrade or purchase add-ons.

If you need assistance with sales enablement, contact us today for a free growth assessment!