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So the best sales reps are just so, so worth it.

They don’t just close 2x the average, sometimes they even close 5x-9x the average rep. And they often do it more efficiently.  The best ones really do make your life easier.

But the best ones often break a few rules, too.

• I‘ve recently asked a bunch of sales leaders about this and their teams, and at first they said everyone followed the rules.  But then I pushed a bit more, and they admitted many of their best broke some rules, Maverick-style, in pursuit of being #1.
• A few examples:
• Hacking the CPQ system.  A “funny” one, a VP of Sales told me how one of his top reps got around the CPQ system via a software hack to provide slightly higher discounts.
• Churn-and-Burn Deals.  This one is a tougher one, maybe the biggest ones.  Founders often don’t want to close deals they can’t deliver on, and support and success never do.  But if a sales exec can make a quick, big commission — they’ll often close it.
• Side Deals.  These are tough — promises in email outside of the formal contract.
• Exploding Offers That Don’t Really Explode.  This may sound minor, but reps can take it too far.  See the next point.
• Threats.  While this may sound like something the best reps don’t do, in fact threats are part of many reps’ toolkit.  Sign today or we just won’t sell you the product.

SaaStr Founder and CEO Jason Lemkin and Partner at QED Investors Amias Gerety chat on the Fintech Beat podstream about all things SaaS, money, and what makes a great founder. 

• Some topics covered include: 
• What makes SaaS so great
• How SaaS is fairing in the “macro” economy
• Perspectives on fintech and SaaS and how they overlap
• How an investor chooses what to invest in and when it’s time to walk away

Fintech Beat is all about the intersection of finance, tech, and policy, and now they’re touring outside the neighborhood of fintech and into the great big world of SaaS. 

This edition of the SaaStr Weekly is sponsored in part by Booking.com

Upgrade your business travel with Booking.com for Business. Enjoy exclusive business rates and earn loyalty points on flights, accommodation and car rental, along with 24/7 travel support - all for free!

Katy Hammond of 5-time SaaStr Annual sponsor couldn’t make SaaStr Annual this year so she put together a list of top tips for folks manning booths at Annual — and in general.  I loved the list, so I’m “borrowing” it below. 

These are the basics you have to get right if you are going to sponsor a big event — that many still don’t get right.

She hit 183% of plan with these tips.

And I have to tell you — I see so many AEs, SDRs, and more just not following these great tips.

— Get out of the box.

don’t stay in your booth waiting for people to come to you. Step out a bit into the aisle. People want to stop but it’s more intimidating/awkward to walk into the booth. Invite them in. And please, don’t sit down!

— Don’t have a boring pitch:

if you have to take a deep breath in before you answer the initial “what do you guys do?” then you’re doing it wrong. Keep it light and short for that initial answer. Practice with your team before. I often start with something like “we keep your CEO out of jail” (because we take on all sales tax compliance and risk) and that is more interesting than a long winded full explanation which you can certainly get into once they’re hooked.

— Pass off bad fits and communicate this plan ahead of time to your team

I like to tell marketing or non sales people on the team in the booth that if I can tell someone is not a fit after a minute or two, I’ll pull and introduce one of them so I can keep fishing for the good fits (don’t do this to your execs, they are all in sales)

“My App Stack” is a new series where we dig in with top CMOs, CROs, CTOs and CEOs on just what apps they’re really using to run their business.  I always learn a lot from these — they are in essence a best practices list from each leader.  Last week we had a great one with Sydney Sloan, CMO of Drata.

This week we have Luca Penati, CMO & CCO of BEE!

It varies based on the situation.

• If it was a small round done with SAFEs or promissory notes, the price usually adjusts to a 20% or so discount to the next round, if there is one. So the issue is solved there, in a sense.
• If it was a bigger round, but you can still close a “round extension” at the last round price, in the end, everyone will OK with it. They may complain a bit, but in the end, everyone is OK with round extensions at the same price, even years later.
• If the company is later sold at a lower price than the last round, you may have to adjust the last round price. They may not agree to the acquisition otherwise.
• In the end, what matters most is the “3x Rule” — that you sell for at least 3x the price of the last round.  If you do in the end, it works out.

This edition of the SaaStr Daily is sponsored in part by SAP

Win customers by creating compelling offers with flexible pricing, billing, and bundling options with end-to-end automation. Learn more at the SAP booth in the Sponsor Hall, Hanger West! 

So 2023 was a year where growth proved much harder than before, and many SaaS leaders turned up the screws on existing customers:

• Large price increases were everywhere
• We raised prices — without adding more value
• Customer Success teams turned into upsell teams
• Customers were threatened to sign long term contracts instead of monthly ones

And so on

With new net logo growth slowing for many, short term thinking thrived:  How Can We Get Even More Money Out of Our Base?

One of our most popular SaaStr speakers was Datadog’s CMO Alex Rosemblat.  We’re bringing him back to 2023 SaaStr Annual.com for a fresh, deep dive on the state of SaaS and B2D marketing and more!

“More Deals with Less Budget? How to Enable Your Sellers for Maximum Conversion Rates with Datadog’s CMO”

Ahead of that, we wanted to take a look back at his great last session:

———————–

Marketers face daunting expectations from all sides –– it’s easy to get spread too thin and never entirely dominate any single marketing channel. So what’s the remedy to this dilemma?

Datadog CMO Alex Rosemblat shares his hard-won secret after eight years of leading his company’s marketing: Slow and steady wins the marketing channel race.

Read on to learn Rosemblat’s pacing and methodology for achieving your most critical marketing goals, one channel at a time.

© SaaStr 2023

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