Software as a service (SaaS) is a popular and growing trend today. SaaS provides software products in which the client receives a ready-made cloud solution served by a provider company, which gives the client access to the main functionality through a web application. Companies cannot hire salespeople or huge sales reps, but at the same time, they need to sell more in less time. In this article, we’ll explore the qualities of the ideal sales representative for the SaaS industry. Let’s find out how to hire and coach the perfect SaaS sales representative.
SaaS sales reps responsibilities
The sales department is more demanding and requires more sophisticated skills. Sales work is not just about selling. Your sales force represents your initial brand. They establish and manage relationships with customers. A sales representative acquires clients and builds a mutually beneficial relationship with them, and supports them for a certain period. The sales rep should be a good marketer, consultant, analyst, and technician, depending on the situation. A good sales representative must have the full range of qualities to be successful in a highly competitive market, so employers don’t have to spend extra money on marketing recruitment, for example.
Where to find sales reps
There are many different ways to find the right sales representative, and you should use several of them to make sure you have a good talent pool. I would recommend contacting an employer of record / PEO service provider to make it easier to find candidates. Other options are to search for a specialist in a circle of personal acquaintances, among the partners of your company; Linkedin. When you’re looking for resources, the SaaS industry isn’t that big, and many real experts will be happy to help you find the right specialist if you turn to them.
SaaS sales reps adaptation
Everyone experiences stress when changing jobs. People tend to worry about whether they will cope, whether they will be able to establish relationships with colleagues, and how interaction with management will develop. Strive to create the conditions for the process of adaptation of the sales representative to work in the new organization as comfortably as possible. The success of the onboarding process depends on:
● Availability of a well thought out and organized personnel adaptation system;
●The quality level of professional adaptation of a new employee: training, internship, mentoring;
●The objectivity of the assessment of new employees (both in the selection and in the process of adaptation of employees);
● The prestige and attractiveness of work in a given position, department, company;
●The flexibility of the personnel training system operating within the organization;
● Features of the socio-psychological climate prevailing in the company;
● Personal characteristics of the adaptable employee, etc.
So, the system of adaptation of sales representatives is necessary, both for a new employee and for the company itself. It allows both parties to get to know and understand each other better. The success of both parties at the adaptation stage determines whether the employee will remain in the company, whether he will eventually become its adherent.
SaaS sales reps coaching
The ideal SaaS representative after the onboarding process should be well versed in technology. In addition to knowing his product, he needs to take a course on how these products can integrate seamlessly with the current technical ecosystem of potential customers and understandably explain things. Today’s customers are technically savvy and would like to ask a number of technical questions before making a final decision. Thus, the ideal sales rep should be able to answer all such questions correctly. He must deeply understand the latest technological trends and their relevance to the business in terms of creating new opportunities, leveraging existing products, or finding new markets.
Specific training recommendations for sales representatives
Many sales representatives come to work for a company with no experience. Newbies need to be taught almost everything from scratch before releasing them to customers. In this case, let the employees start with a two-day face-to-face training in their region. And the program must have two compulsory courses:
- Adaptive. You tell about the company: its history, mission, place in the market, etc.
- Sales skills. Here, the trainer teaches how to present a product/service, work with objections, analyze every action of a sales representative.
Translate your introductory course into an online format, such as a three-hour webinar. Gathering employees from the regions at one point for training is an expensive pleasure, so webinars help save money.
After the introductory training, start your fieldwork. All week, the department head must walk with a newcomer to retail outlets or be nearby remotely, evaluate his work, and sort out mistakes. On this introductory training can be completed – the sales representative goes on a “freewheeling.” But he should always have access to the company’s knowledge base, some online portal that stores information about all products, work standards, company rules. Such a portal can be deployed on any platform for organizing distance learning and virtual training. That is a virtual classroom where you can simultaneously develop employees from different branches. At the same time, there is no need to expand the staff of trainers, budget for travel allowances, or look for a room for a master class. It is enough to go to the training portal of the system, add training materials, invite users and start training. Sales representatives can study anywhere: at home, at lunchtime, or before meeting a customer. All you need is a mobile phone or tablet with Internet access.
As a rule, the average age of specialists is people under 30 years old. Therefore, it is recommended to use video tutorials in training often. Watching educational videos from a tablet is more convenient than reading lengthy instructions in Word. Assign one video tutorial each month to sales reps: talk about sales standards or work in a corporate program. Judge the benefits of training based on the certification results: if the trade representative scored 90 points out of 100 for the test, he was well prepared. Face-to-face training at the start and a mentoring program will help you turn a newbie into a competent professional in 2 months. In addition, the brand’s reputation is growing.
Final Words
Selling a SaaS product is a complex process. It is not uncommon for a trade to be canceled halfway through. Make sure your sales rep is able to identify the prospect’s profile and determine if their capabilities, intent, budget, or work/operation culture allow/require them to purchase your product. Try for a sales rep to have excellent customer profile assessments and filter out those who are least likely to buy your product, be able to determine the customer’s purchasing power, and sell them the product at maximum price.
