Startups
How faster sales cycles help
Tunguz argues that a short sales cycle is a competitive advantage. One reason he gives is that a faster cycle speeds up finding a repeatable sales process. He also says it lets a company evaluate new sales candidates sooner.
“First, faster sales cycles accelerate the discovery of a repeatable sales process.”— Tomasz Tunguz, How Faster Sales Cycles Become a Competitive Advantage, Apr 2015
Do this: Write down how many days your last five deals took from first contact to payment, then pick one step to cut.
Cash-flow business
Subscriptions beat one-off selling
Matt Linderman says that with one-off selling you start again from zero after each sale, while getting people to subscribe gives you a steady drip of revenue. He admits not every business can use the model, but suggests asking whether there is a creative way to get customers paying every month. His examples include a bacon club, a wine club and Netflix.
“With one-off selling, the customer pays you once and then you're back at square one.”— Matt Linderman, That time of the month, Dec 2009
Do this: Pick one thing you now sell once and write a monthly version of it, such as a club or standing delivery, then offer it to your next customer.
Startups
Create urgency in every sale
Tunguz says the most potent weapon in sales is understanding how a buyer sees time. For SaaS startups he says the sales team has to keep creating urgency in the sales process, and he ties scarcity to repeatable sales.
“To succeed, SaaS startups’ sales teams must consistently create urgency in the sales process.”— Tomasz Tunguz, The Number One Objection in the Sales Funnel, Aug 2015
Do this: Add a real limit, such as a start date or a number of open slots, to your next three offers and note who replies.
Cash-flow business
Schedule follow-ups with past clients
Brennan Dunn says happy clients hire you again, refer you to others and act as references. He describes a real-estate agent's follow-up app that reminded agents to contact buyers at set intervals after closing, and suggests consultants set up a similar follow-up schedule when they hand off a project. He also recommends checking in with past clients to ask if you can help.
“Come up with a followup schedule that fits the kind of projects you work on.”— Brennan Dunn, Why Most Freelancers Set Their Clients Up For Failure (And How To Fix This), Aug 2014
Do this: Add a calendar reminder to check in with each past client, and send the first short check-in message this week.
Startups
Start the playbook with the first sales
Tunguz says that when a sales team starts selling, its first goal is to create the sales playbook. He also lists five roles that take part in a typical SaaS sale.
“When sales teams start selling, their goal should be to create the sales playbook.”— Tomasz Tunguz, The 5 Key People in a SaaS Sales Process, Mar 2015
Do this: Write down who was involved in your last sale and what each person wanted, and keep it as page one of your playbook.
Cash-flow business
Retention is easier than finding new customers
Arvid Kahl argues that keeping a customer is easier than finding a new one, since you already have a way to reach them and they are already interested in hearing from you. He describes ways to reduce churn, including showing customers the value they get, using longer billing cycles, talking to them regularly and sending thank-you notes.
“Retaining a customer is easier than finding a new one.”— Arvid Kahl, Churn, Retention, and Revenue: What Makes Customers Stick Around and Why That’s Important, Dec 2019
Do this: Send each current customer a short thank-you note this week that names one concrete result they got from you.
Startups
Do customers earn more than they cost
Skok's guide to SaaS metrics describes the business as acquiring customers and keeping them. It asks whether you make more profit from a customer than it costs to acquire them, which it calls a study of the unit economics of each customer.
“Can I make more profit from my customers than it costs me to acquire them?”— David Skok, SaaS Metrics 2.0 – A Guide to Measuring and Improving what Matters, Jan 2013
Do this: Add up what you spent last month to win customers, divide by the new customers, and compare it with what one customer pays you.
Cash-flow business
Follow-up shows you care
Derek Sivers tells of a music publicist who sorted incoming music into inboxes and only gave real attention to people who followed up several times. She explained that she could not listen to everyone, and that following up showed tenacity and drive. Derek concludes that overwhelmed people have no time for random first contacts.
“Patience and persistence separate you from the rest, and show how much you care.”— Derek Sivers, Repeatedly follow-up to show you care, Jan 2018
Do this: Pick one prospect who has not replied and send a short, friendly second follow-up today, then put the next one in your calendar.