SaaStr

MARCH 10, 2024

jasonlk) February 23, 2024 I know a lot of folks in tech are still frustrated in 2024 — and feel they’re being asked to do more with less. (@jasonlk) February 23, 2024 I know a lot of folks in tech are still frustrated in 2024 — and feel they’re being asked to do more with less. You are being asked to do more than in years past.

Growth 98

Growth 98

Partners in Excellence

OCTOBER 4, 2023

I think, “Why do we revel in achieving our quotas and scaling goals, when we could be doing so much more?” ” If we achieve our growth/revenue goals, we think we are doing well. Too often, however, we could/should be doing much better. Let’s look at some “opportunity” math.

Quota 113

Quota Growth Sell Process 113

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

But the math got tougher as we moved to $400k-$600k quotas, and it got tougher again as OTE expectations went up. But eventually, the math has to pencil out. Ultimately, so much AE and SDR comp math from the 2019-2021 era just doesn’t end up making sense once there’s a bit less venture capital in the system. More or less.

Commission 126

Commission Quota Sales Growth 126

Partners in Excellence

AUGUST 18, 2022

I recently read a LinkedIn post, one of the statements was, “Sales are math.” We think of selling as a math equation–to hit a goal we have to simply do more. We think of selling as a math equation–to hit a goal we have to simply do more. M, EMEA had 15 @ $2.2M, and APAC had 8 @ $750K.”

Sell 83

Sell Sales Retail Up-sell 83

Partners in Excellence

JANUARY 31, 2024

So with this as a baseline, let’s nerd out on some more data and math: We know that of those companies that are committed to a buying effort, over 60% end in no decision made. And we know what keeps them from buying, it has little do do with selecting a product, but everything to do with decisions confidence.

Growth 115

Growth Pipeline Represent Closing 115

Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

And their bosses, CEOs, aren’t doing much better on this topic. You need to develop a culture of coaching and that begins with requiring it, and having an expert, like me, train and coach sales managers to do it effectively and get an instant revenue bump. Let’s do the math. Let’s do the math.

Sales 133

Sales Represent Pipeline Strategize 133

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

So I’ve been doing SaaS for a while, and the costs of doing business have just gone up. Net, net the math isn’t really penciling out anymore. Inflation is everywhere. Salaries have gone up. Marketing expenses have gone up. And expectations for OTE have gone way up. based SMB sales positions. for non-enterprise sales.

Sales 108

Sales Price Up-sell Start-ups 108

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 18, 2022

It sounds high at first, until you realize that's just how the math works. So as you begin to scale, say past $2m-$3m ARR, first do the math. How many reps do I really need to hit the plan for the next 12 months? How Many Sales Reps Do I Need To Hit The Plan For The Year? Sales doesn't. More on that here.

Sales 136

Sales Start-ups Service Growth 136

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

An important warning that is always worth repeating: DO THE MATH. Importantly, translate that math further into how much “traffic” you need when every 1,000 “visitors” lead to only 8 paid users. That math can be daunting. Relative to any other sector, the SaaS industry is uniquely transparent.

GTM 124

GTM Price Growth Product 124

Search Engine Land

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

This article will give you a better way to answer that question – and keep expectations in check at the same time. Learn: How to communicate your spend projections and next steps. How to align on KPIs for the projections. Variables to consider. References to employ. A CMO may report overall budget projections to a CFO or board of directors.

CTR 140

CTR Pitch Clients Campaign 140

SaaStr

JANUARY 3, 2021

And do it right, and you can go pretty low. But this is a minor case in my experience, though worth doing once you have the volume. What you’ll find is you are limited by two factors: (x) the number of demos and interactions a rep can do and have, and (y) the comp the rep needs to feed him or herself and the family.

Product 130

Product Inside sales Price Closing 130

Search Engine Land

APRIL 12, 2023

It’s simply a math formula that we can replicate in a spreadsheet using basic calculations. When I do see “<10%” in my analysis, I first attempt to subtract the IS Lost (Rank) and IS Lost (Budget) from 1. This article we’ll cover: What each metric represents.

Represent 94

Represent Campaign Technique Engineering 94

Partners in Excellence

JANUARY 26, 2021

Sales growth has become a “predictable” math equation. Sales growth has become a “predictable” math equation. Do we care enough about the buyer and their success? Do they know it? Do we recognize the importance of their confidence in their decision and are we helping them become more confident?

Process 124

Process Sales B2B Quota 124

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 4, 2021

I summarized in a classic post, “VCs Need Unicorns Just to Survive”, and set out the math. Basic math: A VC fund today to do well needs to at least 4x its capital before paying fees, etc. And if your ownership is lower, you have to do even better. Now raise a $250m fund, and the math goes up 5x.

Start-ups 94

Start-ups Sales 94

Partners in Excellence

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Then there is all the stuff we do to ourselves, the things that make it much more difficult to engage the customer and create value. Not doing our research to make sure we understand as much as possible about the challenges the organization faces, or what the individual we are contacting cares about. Today, it’s 72%.

Up-sell 68

Up-sell Prospecting Pitch Technique 68

SaaStr

AUGUST 24, 2023

How much optionality do you give up when you raise venture capital? If you raise a Series A at a $40m valuation, now you have to sell for at least $120m for the math to work out. If you raise a Series B at a $100m valuation, now you have to sell for at least $300m for the math to work out. Do you see that coming anytime soon?

Price 78

Price Up-sell Gaming Start-ups 78

Search Engine Land

JULY 10, 2023

“ChatGPT can pass the bar.” “GPT GPT gets an A+ on all exams.” “GPT GPT gets through MIT entrance exam with flying colors.” How many of you have recently read articles claiming something like the above? I know I have seen a ton of these. It’s a computer, right? A reasoning engine? To some extent, the form of tools like ChatGPT belie the function.

Engineering 98

Engineering Entertainment Follow-up Presentation 98

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

2024 is the year every founder think about an acquisition That doesn’t mean do one, but it does mean think about doing 1 that could move the needle. I’m not saying do any of this for sure. I am saying 2024 is the right year as founders to think about maybe, maybe doing one of these. The math probably won’t pencil out.

Growth 84

Growth Up-sell Closing Conversion 84

Martech

MAY 7, 2024

With that sheer growth rate, it is fair to ask yourself and your team: “Do we control our martech, or does our martech control us?” With that sheer growth rate, it is fair to ask yourself and your team: “Do we control our martech, or does our martech control us?” You do the math. Stop waiting for consolidation.

Legal 119

Legal Growth Pitch Technology 119

SaaStr

JANUARY 11, 2024

Right now in fact, I have two portfolio companies doing Series B and C rounds where there is “secondary” for the earliest investors. Now this math really only works at later stage rounds. Dear SaaStr: Is it Normal for Series A, B and C Investors to Buy Up Previous Seed Investor’s Equity? appeared first on SaaStr.

Price 88

Price Up-sell Start-ups Sell 88

Salesforce

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

So how does an LLM solve a common business math problem by evaluating information, generating a plan, and applying a known set of rules? The LLM applies a known set of math rules to systematically get the answer: Step 1 Identify the relevant values. What is a reasoning engine? Therefore, the dog must have torn the papers.”

Engineering 59

Engineering CRM Gaming Trust 59

SaaStr

OCTOBER 11, 2022

Yes, I am simplifying math). What do you do? But the bigger funds that have been around for decades have a strong incentive to quietly do the opposite. There are a lot of myths around venture capital. One of the top ones is that VCs will push you to sell early, or something similar. VCs are paid to wait. The payoff?

Up-sell 98

Up-sell Sell Sales 98

SaaStr

JANUARY 8, 2024

Look, it’s just math. Not on every deal, but they at least have to believe every deal can do it. I can’t tell you how many emails a week a month that go something like this: “It’s been a challenging year with 30%-50% growth, but with some funding, we can grow much faster next year!” VC is what it is.

Growth 127

Growth Trust Meeting Customers 127

SaaStr

JULY 17, 2023

So let’s do some rough math: Assume you ask a well-established CRO to be “Chief Sales Advisor” She makes $500k OTE today. Here’s one way to think about it: Give them shares worth 1.5x-2x 2x the amount of cash their time is worth … vesting over the time they deliver the help. seems fair in the early days. appeared first on SaaStr.

Start-ups 85

Start-ups Sales 85

Martech

DECEMBER 8, 2023

All I was doing was typing and verifying those cards (that’s how old I am), and I swore I would never have anything to do with computers ever. Tell us how much they’re paying you and we’ll see what we can do.” He sat back in his chair and said, “They don’t happen to have another job, do they?”

Inside sales 80

Inside sales Government Technology Technology 80

SaaStr

AUGUST 27, 2023

Big and tiny funds may do more, but in general, this is the sweet spot. Another way to see the math is that most funds put 1%-2% of “the fund” into each investment — initially. It varies of course, but roughly for bigger funds: Funds tend to invest in 20–40 startups over 2–4 years. Sometimes a bit more, but not too much more.

78

78

SaaStr

JULY 10, 2022

But it’s important to understand how the math works here — and how it figures into how much to raise. How do you make sense of it all? An incredible outcome: So my advice: worry less about valuations and venture mechanics, and just stick with this simple math when you decide to raise $X of capital: Raise a $1m seed?

Price 144

Price Up-sell Growth Start-ups 144

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

Not to save money, but to concentrate the leads you do have in those that can close them. You do need “quota capacity” as you scale. Because the best reps close 2x-9x more than “ordinary reps” They really do. That math here. It’s just, the reps now do more of the grunt work. Let them go.

Quota 90

Quota Sales Closing Gaming 90

Search Engine Land

JUNE 5, 2024

Do you ever feel like the world of paid search evolves faster than you can keep up? If you’re “not good at math,” you’ll never be good at data analysis (a crucial skill in PPC). But you aren’t alone. Thriving in PPC isn’t about what you know now; it’s about your willingness to learn.

Growth 101

Growth Niche Construction Campaign 101

SaaStr

APRIL 11, 2022

Here’s a really simple example of that math. It’s what they do. And if you hang in there in SaaS, and do this long enough, you’ll may well get an offer like this. I’ve literally talked to 2 founders doing tens of millions in ARR in the past 3 weeks that got similar offers. But substantial.

Growth 100

Growth Price B2B 100

InsightSquared

OCTOBER 2, 2020

And you wanted self-service, the ability to do more on your own—fast. Deeper Analytics: Introducing Advanced Sales Math. Now that you have all the data, it’s what you do with it that matters. Quite possibly one of the most interesting years of our careers. In-person demos were canceled indefinitely.

Cross-sell 100

Cross-sell Negotiate Meeting Closing 100

Search Engine Land

DECEMBER 4, 2023

Announcements like this reinforced the question that’s been on digital marketers’ minds for years: what will our roles look like as AI continues to do more of what we used to do manually? To do some of these tasks at scale in spreadsheets, I started using GPT extensions for Google Chrome. Early uses for GPT-3.5

Objectives and Key Results 124

Objectives and Key Results Campaign Launch Strategize 124

Search Engine Land

JULY 19, 2021

You can now see how your Math Solvers markup is doing using Google Search Console Performance reports. Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.

Engineering 98

Engineering 98

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 10, 2023

They’d begun the march upmarket, as so many of us do. And the math for “startups” didn’t make sense. I met with a multibillion dollar SaaS founder last year who told me one of their top mistakes was shutting down their startups program. And they found their formal startup program was a distraction. Sometimes you have to.

Start-ups 91

Start-ups Referrals Pipeline Strategize 91

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

How is SMB SaaS doing today? 15% Customer Growth Leads to 48% Revenue Growth Always helpful to me to see this math broken out. So we’ve been fans of Bill.com for many years at SaaStr, and covered them from the very early days, as a niche product most hadn’t heard of. Yes, 48% at $1.2 Billion in ARR. And Far Bigger.

Non-Profits 116

Non-Profits Niche Growth Networking 116

Partners in Excellence

JULY 22, 2022

Scaling is simply doing more of what we already do. The implicit thinking around scaling is the math, do twice as much, expect a result that is twice as much. But over time, doing twice as much produces less than we expect. By doing more, perhaps by doing it more rapidly, we can drive better results.

Growth 84

Growth Conversion Prospecting Customers 84

Search Engine Land

APRIL 27, 2023

Advantages of traditional search Where do search engines have the edge? Facts and figures (birthdays, ages and math problems) When you search on Google, it does not only suggest and anticipate the full query. Generative AI brings a meaningful shift with vast possibilities for the future of search.

Engineering 100

Engineering User Experience Technology Technology 100