Founders, are your sales cycles too long? Customer Success could hold the key.
Clocks
B2B software sales have always faced scrutiny, but 2023 was an especially expensive year for startups to sell. Reports from VCs for 2023 tell us that the SaaS sales cycle increased across the board, 3-5 weeks longer on average. In a recent startup survey, Founders also shared their CAC payback period (the amount of time it takes to collect revenue to repay the capital outlay to gain a client) grew a staggering 150%!
Founders who embrace Customer Success earlier, with a stronger voice in sales strategy could unlock a secret weapon to turn the tide in 2024.
Capture the value proposition that matters to actual customers.
We’ve worked with dozens of startups and seldom does the ROI calculation that customers use to evaluate vendors fully hold true. The value propositions sales and marketing tout can mean a lot of wasted noise, talking about things that startups think buyers care about but don’t actually move the needle.
They think that they can guess what customers want in the early days, by throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. Then they make a few sales and assume that means they have the right messaging.
As we onboard and work with customers and get to the root cause reason they want to work with us.
We understand how they will measure ROI, and justify the expense of the purchase.
We have a front-row seat to understand how decisions are made at the companies we want to work with, and what messaging is likely to resonate with each persona.
Having dedicated CSMs who talk to customers and understand how and why they bought and how decisions are made at similar companies can provide valuable insights about how to get the right message to the right persona at the right time.
2. See product demands around corners
Customers are dialed into their industry and can provide insights on market dynamics that you would never understand at the same depth, as a vendor. Maybe that could be changing regulations, increased competition your customers face, or new markets that are opening up that will change demands for them.
The feature and product requests that customers make to the CSM are often based on forward-looking demands as customers anticipate changes in their business. A formalized process to collect, prioritize, and communicate this feedback is key. The right product roadmap could mean a competitive advantage for you that helps you stay ahead of your market, turning future buyers’ ‘maybe’ into a ‘hell yeah!’
3. Skip the business development cycle
Great CS teams track stakeholders they’ve built relationships with as they move between companies over their careers. These relationships, when nurtured can lead to important conversations and speedy sales cycles driven by ready-made advocates. Decision makers at your customers are also likely to have peers at other companies that are strong potential buyers of your products too.
Customer Success teams trained to identify Customer Success Qualified Leads (CSQLs) can make a significant contribution to the pipeline. Warm leads are 60% more likely to close and can bypass the sales development process.
