SaaS Sales Strategies
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Here are 3 areas where SaaS Inside Sales organizations differ:
- Rep ramp time to productivity
- % of calls in response to inbound leads generated by Marketing
- % of Reps in a group achieving quota
Let's take a look at some of these metrics:
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How long does it take for a new Rep to be fully productive?
| Average Ramp Time | 90 days |
The average ramp times for Inside Sales Reps in a SaaS environment are significantly lower (approximately 30%) than for a license Inside Sales role (90 v. 135 days).

It is interesting to note that for license Inside Sales roles, 19% of companies had a ramp time of 6+ months where none of the SaaS companies surveyed reported similar experiences.
What is it about a SaaS environment that allows Reps to come up to speed that much more quickly?
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What % of calls are placed in response to inbound leads generated by Marketing?
| Average Marketing-generated % | 59% |
SaaS Inside Sales groups report more than double the percentage of calls placed in response to Marketing-generated leads compared to license Inside Sales (59% v. 27%).
Note that:
- Nearly 68% of respondents had a majority of Inside Sales activity sourced by Marketing
- 42% reported that greater than 75% of calls are placed in response to inbound leads generated by Marketing

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What percentage of the group achieves quota?
| In a given group, percentage of Reps making quota | 70% |
Inside Sales Reps in SaaS environments are making quota at a much higher rate than their license Inside Sales counterparts (70% v. 50% at quota).
- 41% of respondents reported more than 80% of their Reps at quota
- Nearly 12% had greater than 95% at quota

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The SaaS delivery model is certainly impacting the results these groups achieve (lower barriers to entry, month-to-month contracts, etc.) - not to mention quicker ramp time and significant inbound lead generation.
SOURCE: http://www.customerthink.com/blog/saas_impact_on_the_inside_sales_model


