SaaStr 704: CRO Confidential: The Hangover's Over: 5 Ways to Get Your SaaS Revenue Back On Track with Gong's SVP Sales, Jameson Yung, and Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund
Nov 30, 2023
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SVP of Sales at Gong, Jameson Yung, and Partner at Founders Fund, Sam Blond, share 5 tactical ways to get SaaS revenue back on track. Topics include strategies to achieve revenue targets, setting and resetting expectations, the power of in-person meetings, and optimizing the system to drive revenue and productivity.
Startups need to increase work ethic and put in more effort to achieve revenue targets.
Diagnose and address bottlenecks in the customer acquisition funnel to drive SaaS revenue growth.
Stand out and be creative in demand generation strategies to capture customers' attention.
Deep dives
Returning to Normal: Getting Back on Track with SaaS Revenue
The podcast episode discusses the current state of the SaaS industry, transitioning from the party phase to returning to normal. It emphasizes the need for startups to increase their work ethic and put in more effort to achieve revenue targets. The importance of diagnosing and addressing the specific bottlenecks in the customer acquisition funnel is highlighted. The podcast suggests getting creative and standing out in demand generation strategies to capture customers' attention. Additionally, it emphasizes the significance of building and nurturing relationships with both prospects and customers. Lastly, the episode underlines the impact of implementing effective incentives, both for internal teams and customers, to drive desired behavior and achieve revenue growth.
Increasing Work Ethic for SaaS Success
The podcast emphasizes the need for startups to ramp up their work ethic to succeed in the SaaS industry. It highlights the shift from the carefree party phase to a more serious focus on revenue targets. Startups are encouraged to prioritize working hard, much like the earlier days of building a business, to achieve significant growth. The importance of instilling a culture of effort and setting clear expectations for employees is discussed, with examples of companies successfully motivating their teams to put in more effort. It is emphasized that consistent effort and hard work are essential for long-term success in the SaaS industry.
Diagnosing and Addressing Bottlenecks in SaaS Revenue
The podcast delves into the concept of diagnosing and addressing bottlenecks in the customer acquisition funnel to drive SaaS revenue growth. It stresses the need to identify the specific constraints that hinder faster growth and fix them accordingly. While common perceptions focus on the middle or bottom of the funnel, the podcast suggests that oftentimes the real bottleneck lies at the top of the funnel. It recommends aligning resources, such as marketing and sales teams, to focus on areas that require improvement. The importance of continuously evaluating and adjusting the allocation of resources to overcome bottlenecks is emphasized.
Getting Creative and Standing Out in Demand Generation
This segment of the podcast highlights the significance of creativity and differentiation in demand generation strategies for SaaS companies. It emphasizes the need to stand out from the noise and traditional approaches to capture the attention of potential customers. Various examples are given, such as personalized direct mail campaigns and leveraging unique company data to provide valuable insights. The podcast encourages companies to continually explore and experiment with unconventional approaches to generate demand. It suggests finding strategies that suit their specific business and target audience, encouraging creative thinking and uniqueness in marketing and sales efforts.
The Power of Incentives for SaaS Revenue Growth
The podcast reinforces the importance of incentives in driving revenue growth for SaaS companies. It highlights the need for correctly aligning incentives both internally for employees and externally for customers. Effective incentive programs can motivate sales teams to focus on revenue generation rather than just meeting quotas. The podcast emphasizes the significance of incentivizing desired behaviors across the organization, including customer success teams, and leveraging incentives to encourage referrals and case studies. It suggests regularly reviewing and adjusting incentives to ensure they align with the company's changing objectives and maintain high performance.
We had a party in 2020 and 2021 where valuations and growth were crazy. Then, we had a hangover in 2022 and the first half of this year. Now, investing is coming back, public markets have returned, and we’re almost back to normal. Jameson Yung, SVP of Sales at Gong, and Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund and previous CRO at Brex, share five tactical ways to get back to growing and hitting revenue targets. The days of working a little for big returns are behind us in the Boom of ‘21, so what can you do to start hitting revenue targets?
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