Beyond the SaaS Playbook: How Non-SaaS Teams Drive Pipeline with Sandra Rand

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Jul 17, 2025

Sandra Rand, a fractional head of marketing focused on early-stage, non-SaaS B2B companies, shares her insights on how these teams can thrive without traditional SaaS strategies. She discusses the power of events, referrals, and word-of-mouth in driving growth on a limited budget. Sandra emphasizes creative approaches like gifting and relationship-building, along with the importance of brand trust. She also highlights the need for a supportive community for non-SaaS marketers to share innovative strategies and elevate their impact in the B2B space.

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INSIGHT

Non-SaaS Marketing Diversity Insight

Non-SaaS marketing lacks a unified playbook and represents a long tail of diverse approaches.
Marketers in non-SaaS sectors rely more on brand and trust than high lead volume funnels common in SaaS.

ADVICE

Align Marketing Closely With Sales

Embed yourself deeply in sales conversations to align messaging and strategy.
Leverage events and build credibility creatively since non-SaaS lacks freemium or demo funnels for lead nurturing.

ADVICE

Intimate Events Build Trust

Prioritize intimate and meaningful event formats over large expos for deeper relationship building.
Know your attendees' personal preferences to create authentic ongoing connections beyond events.

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#265 Non-SaaS Marketing | In this episode, Matt sits down with Sandra Rand, a fractional head of marketing who works with early-stage, non-SaaS B2B companies. She’s led marketing for PE-backed, self-funded, and services-based businesses, where big budgets and SaaS-style playbooks aren’t the norm. She’s also building the Non-SaaS Marketers subgroup inside Exit Five to support others facing the same challenges.

Matt and Sandra cover:

How non-SaaS teams drive growth without demos, PLG, or huge lead volume
Why events, word of mouth, and referrals often outperform funnels in these orgs
Tactical ideas for gifting, partnerships, and pipeline-building on a lean budget

Whether you work in SaaS or not, you’ll walk away with creative, scrappy strategies to build trust and drive results in B2B.

Timestamps

(00:00) - – Intro
(02:38) - – Why Exit Five launched the Non-SaaS group
(07:58) - – What makes non-SaaS marketing different
(11:18) - – Budgets, sales cycles, and team structure
(16:08) - – Why brand and trust matter more
(18:18) - – Events > funnels in non-SaaS
(27:10) - – How to build brand on a budget
(32:40) - – Word-of-mouth and referral tactics
(37:20) - – Gifting and relationship-driven growth
(43:20) - – Scrappy, creative plays that actually work
(48:50) - – What’s next for the Non-SaaS community

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