Software companies, particularly SaaS companies, have historically faced numerous and unique challenges. Being aware of these challenges can help you learn how to overcome them. What sets some software companies apart from the others is their ability to overcome these challenges in a timely fashion. Here are eight unique challenges that software salespeople face, as told by Joseph Vessecchia.
Finding Qualified Leads
One of the biggest challenges for software salespeople is finding qualified leads to provide these products. Attracting a bunch of new leads doesn’t mean anything unless they’re strong leads. It’s all about quality over quantity in the software sales industry. Selling to a lead who has no use for your product doesn’t do anyone any favors and ends up wasting value time that salespersons could be using elsewhere.
A qualified lead is someone who’s interested in your products. Use inbound marketing to allow these leads to find you instead of the other way around. This will allow you to take them through the buyer’s journey and inform them at their own pace. When you combine your marketing and sales teams, they can determine what a sales qualified lead (SQL) looks like.
Prospect Strategies
In the software sales market, it’s important to direct resources to the right areas. It’s important for software salespeople to implement targeted prospect strategies. The old ways of reaching out to potential customers are no longer useful as sales automation tools have shaken up the industry. Salespeople have to find the right prospects and stakeholders at each of their target companies.
In order to achieve their sales goals, they need to identify the decisions, sales signals, and triggers that indicate a prospect is about to buy. It’s no longer about booking appointments; it’s about finding the right appointments.
High-Performance Expectations
Another challenge that software salespeople have is high-performance expectations. This means they set very specific targets that are higher than anticipated. Such a lofty goal can make your sales team feel lost. Not only do you need a goal, but you also need a roadmap to getting there.
This roadmap consists of three steps to take to reach this goal. It involves finding those prospects, sending them emails, and following up with them. Each step comes with its own metric such as how many prospects to find and how many emails are appropriate to send. The more information your roadmap provides, the easier it is to achieve your goals
Receiving a Response from Prospects
This leads salespeople to their next challenge. In order to find the right leads, they need to create compelling messages. To prompt your prospects to respond, you need to come up with an effective messaging strategy. One email or phone call isn’t enough to have them pay money for your software. You need to be consistent and persistent.
You also need to send a series of emails or phone calls that address the specific challenges that your leads are having with their current software program or lack thereof. Give your prospect relevant and valuable information about your software or the industry on a regular basis—before they become a paying customer. Don’t just say that it’s a great product. Explain why it’s a great product and how it can help them solve their problem. This is solution selling. Delivering this message at the right time can also increase response rates.
Listening to Customer Needs
No matter who your prospect is, you can learn about their decision-making process in order to close the sale. This is often linked to another challenge: data. Customers can often access information online instead of hearing it from sales staff, so it’s imperative to provide this information in a way that is customized to the client’s goals, challenges, and initiatives. Taking the time to understand your prospect’s unique situation can help you provide insights and value that relate their needs to your solutions.
It comes to down to letting your customers see their problem and showing them ways that your product can solve it.
Lack of Coaching
Now you have your ideal prospect and roadmap in mind, but there’s more work to do. Lack of coaching is another challenge that most software salespeople face. Though you know how to reach goals and you know what’s expected of you, remember that you’re only human and everyone needs to constantly hone their skills.
However, if you fail to close sales, you may get demotivated and distracted from your career. It’s good to have a coach or mentor who can help you along the way. They can monitor your sales performance, hold you accountable, and make note of any issues. They can also help improve sales performance as soon as it decreases—getting ahead of the problem.
Have one-on-one meetings with your coach to determine your strengths and weaknesses. Using your roadmap, you can analyze the sales process to detect any issues. Your coach can use this information to provide feedback and show you how to make improvements. A coach can help any organization turn their team into high performers.
Standing Out Among Competitors
How can you set yourself apart from your competition? You need to establish meaningful relationships with customers and prospects. Great customer service turns your customers into brand ambassadors. Use your passion to help your customers by offering your relentless expertise and knowledge.
If your software isn’t the right solution, then provide suggestions for alternative options. This is the perfect time to build trust with your customers. This contact may refer someone else to your software based on your honest feedback. If their situation changes in the future, then they might use your software. Building trust and establishing a meaningful relationship with your customers is one way to make yourself stand out among your competitors.
Handling Negotiations
Negotiations are definitely tough. The key to negotiating is to close at a fair price while maintaining control of the negotiation process. However, most software salespeople are finding it difficult to handle negotiations when customers can find alternative solutions. The ability for prospects to find low-cost yet lesser solutions can also hurt.
Joseph Vessecchia is a leading expert in software sales. His career took off after he graduated in 2014 with a BA in Economics at the University of Michigan. Now, Joseph Vessecchia teaches software salespeople how to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. When he’s not working, he hosts prayer groups and volunteers for various organizations.
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