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SaaS Backwards - Reverse Engineering SaaS Success

Latest episodes

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Mar 22, 2024 • 36min

Ep. 115 - Data, Combating SaaS Churn, and Increasing Productivity - with Jason Radisson, CEO & Founder of Movo

In this episode, we delved into the transformative power of algorithms in business with Jason Radisson, CEO & founder of Movo, a platform that provides real-time scheduling flexibility and improved workforce management for large companies with frontline workers. Jason recounted his time at Harrah's Entertainment, where they used data to optimize customer interactions and significantly increase profitability over others on the strip. He explains how his background in algorithmic management has influenced his approach to business models. Jason also shares his thoughts on combatting SaaS churn by identifying the root causes and understanding customer behavior to accurately predict and deal with it proactively. This episode covers algorithmic management, churn reduction strategies, the gig economy, and innovative solutions for optimizing workforce management. SaaS CEOs and CMOs interested in understanding the intersection of technology, workforce management, and operational efficiency would find valuable insights in this episode. Key Takeaways from this episode:The importance of modeling and forecasting to drive profitability, especially in the context of reducing churnBuilding models to predict customer behavior to leverage marketing spendThe challenges and opportunities of the gig economyOther resources to check out:Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch. 🔗 Get a Free Messaging & Conversion Review We’ll analyze your website and content through the eyes of your buyers to uncover what’s stopping them from booking a demo. Then, we’ll give you a personalized report with practical recommendations to help you turn more visitors into sales conversations. And the best part? 💡 It’s completely free. No commitments, no pressure—just actionable advice to help you book more demos. Your next demo is just a click away—claim your free review now.
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Mar 15, 2024 • 38min

Ep. 114 - Navigating SaaS Growth: Warmly's Strategic Pivot to Category Creation - with Alan Zhao, Head of Marketing

As a startup with shaky product market fit, prospective customers often want to associate you with a mature category so they can determine where it might fit in their tech stack—or not.But for Warmly, the existing categories represented only a small subset of their capabilities—albeit cheaper than the mature tools.And they couldn’t just settle for being known as "Drift but cheaper.”In this episode, Alan Zhao details his transition from CTO to marketing chief, a move that was pivotal in steering Warmly’s narrative away from established market constructs and taking control over the narrative that would differentiate itself from the myriad of sales tools on the market.This episode is ideal for SaaS CEOs and CMOs looking to accelerate growth and enhance profitability through autonomous revenue orchestration and AI chat solutions.Other key takeaways from this episode:The pros and cons of “category creation” to set yourself apart from competitorsThe importance of tailoring your message to address specific pain points for each segmentHow to better understand the buyer journey of the 95% of those who visit your website but don’t fill out a formOther resources to check out:Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch. 🔗 Get a Free Messaging & Conversion Review We’ll analyze your website and content through the eyes of your buyers to uncover what’s stopping them from booking a demo. Then, we’ll give you a personalized report with practical recommendations to help you turn more visitors into sales conversations. And the best part? 💡 It’s completely free. No commitments, no pressure—just actionable advice to help you book more demos. Your next demo is just a click away—claim your free review now.
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Mar 8, 2024 • 30min

Ep. 113 – The Art of Enterprise Sales in SaaS – with Brian Burns, host of the Brutal Truth about Sales Podcast

As a seasoned sales expert and popular sales podcaster, Brian Burns has more than a few opinions about how companies are selling to the enterprise today.Most notably, because reps haven’t been taught the difference, they try to make up for the lack of pipeline by increasing outreach activity.That may have worked in 2011 when the Predictable Revenue Model gained prominence (and our inboxes weren’t flooded with sales pitches). But today, the compartmentalization of prospecting and closing won’t result in more complex deals, where decisions are ruled by committees and often end in “no decision.”In this episode, Burns talks about how today’s reps should be learning about selling in the enterprise, such as working with champions and how to continuously move the deal forward.This episode is ideal for SaaS CEOs and CMOs looking to enhance growth and profitability in enterprise SaaS sales.Key takeaways from this episode:Why much of the complex deal is counterintuitive and relies on guiding the sale instead of reacting.Why measuring outcomes that lead to revenue generation is more important than tracking activities that may not directly contribute to sales.Why you shouldn’t hire salespeople based on their Rolodex (or industry connections for the youngsters).Other resources to check out:Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch. 🔗 Get a Free Messaging & Conversion Review We’ll analyze your website and content through the eyes of your buyers to uncover what’s stopping them from booking a demo. Then, we’ll give you a personalized report with practical recommendations to help you turn more visitors into sales conversations. And the best part? 💡 It’s completely free. No commitments, no pressure—just actionable advice to help you book more demos. Your next demo is just a click away—claim your free review now.
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Mar 1, 2024 • 36min

Ep. 112 - Stumbling onto SaaS Product-Market Fit by Accident – with Morten Poulsen, CEO of Plytix

Originally, the founders of Plytix set out to create an analytics platform for e-commerce that measured the performance of a product (instead of a website) so brands could see how end users interact with them, even when sold on a third-party website. But even after positive early traction and investment, they were stalled—many of the brands didn’t have their product information at the ready.So, they built a simple source of truth—a Product Information Management (PIM) so they could get access to the product information that they needed. As it turns out, that was the larger need from SMBs—a PIM they could afford. After realizing the broader market opportunity, Plytix leaders made some hard choices and pivoted. This episode of SaaS Backwards is ideal for SaaS CEOs and CMOs looking to accelerate growth and enhance profitability, especially those interested in PIM systems for small and medium-sized businesses.Key takeaways from this episode:The nuances of being a European-based SaaS targeting the US marketThe importance of understanding the customer creation engine before implementing an attribution modelThe challenges of scaling beyond the ceiling of just in-market leadsOther resources to check out:Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch. 🔗 Get a Free Messaging & Conversion Review We’ll analyze your website and content through the eyes of your buyers to uncover what’s stopping them from booking a demo. Then, we’ll give you a personalized report with practical recommendations to help you turn more visitors into sales conversations. And the best part? 💡 It’s completely free. No commitments, no pressure—just actionable advice to help you book more demos. Your next demo is just a click away—claim your free review now.
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Feb 23, 2024 • 34min

Ep. 111 - Boosting SaaS Collaboration & Retention in a Hybrid World - with Jonathan Fields, CEO & Co-founder of Assembly

Having moved from a miserable culture in investment banking to an incredibly positive one at tech startup ZipRecruiter, Jonathan Fields learned early in his career the profound impact culture has on an organization.So inspired, in fact, that he and his co-founders worked nights and weekends to create a platform that could make those elements scalable and easy for companies to adopt.The result is Assembly, a platform that focuses on creating opportunities for coworkers to connect beyond work-related tasks has enhanced the overall employee experience and fostered a sense of community within organizations.Initially, when they surveyed people about what they want from work culture, there weren’t a lot of surprises: they want to feel recognized, appreciated, and acknowledged for their hard work. They also want mentorship and career development opportunities.But as companies moved to more hybrid work during the pandemic (and remain so today), one new concept dwarfed the others in comparison: the “work best friend.”So, to emulate those types of interactions in their platform (beyond Zoom happy hours), they created channels for culture ideas, such as pets, volunteering, and favorite company moments channels, to facilitate interactions between coworkers beyond work-related tasks.Profitable since day one, Assembly has successfully positioned itself as a thought leader by focusing on content development early and today has attracted $14.5M in funding.This episode is ideal for SaaS CEOs and CMOs looking to accelerate growth and enhance profitability through employee recognition, engagement, and rewards platforms.Key takeaways from this episode:How investing in thought leadership and content creation early helped establish credibility and drove sales inbound.How to position your SaaS as a “must have” versus a “nice-to-have”The importance of researching the landscape, competitors, and buyers before diving into a venture.Other resources to check out:Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch. 🔗 Get a Free Messaging & Conversion Review We’ll analyze your website and content through the eyes of your buyers to uncover what’s stopping them from booking a demo. Then, we’ll give you a personalized report with practical recommendations to help you turn more visitors into sales conversations. And the best part? 💡 It’s completely free. No commitments, no pressure—just actionable advice to help you book more demos. Your next demo is just a click away—claim your free review now.
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Feb 2, 2024 • 30min

Ep. 110 – The Dangerous 8 Mistakes SaaS Companies Make in their Messaging

Are you making one or more of these mistakes in your messaging? Given the number of websites that we review regularly, chances are that you are—and that means leaving revenue on the table.In this episode, Ken and Jason from Austin Lawrence Group discuss the eight common mistakes that SaaS companies make with real-life examples.So if you’re a SaaS CEO or CMO revisiting messaging and content strategy this year, or you’re frustrated with the quality of leads coming through your website, this episode is for you.A few key takeaways:How to avoid making vague statements that cause cognitive dissonance with some prospective buyers.Why you shouldn’t lead with AI Why it’s crucial to gain problem agreement by clearly identifying and addressing the problem they’re trying to solve.Other resources to check out:Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch. 🔗 Get a Free Messaging & Conversion Review We’ll analyze your website and content through the eyes of your buyers to uncover what’s stopping them from booking a demo. Then, we’ll give you a personalized report with practical recommendations to help you turn more visitors into sales conversations. And the best part? 💡 It’s completely free. No commitments, no pressure—just actionable advice to help you book more demos. Your next demo is just a click away—claim your free review now.
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Jan 26, 2024 • 32min

Ep. 109 – Should SaaS Companies Outsource the SDR Function? With Gabriel Lullo, CEO of Alleyoop

Business development poses big challenges for today’s SaaS.It becomes twice as ineffective every year as people learn how to ignore you.And it’s such a grind that it’s hard to find good people who want to stick with the sales development rep (SDR) position over the long term.To get engagement on the phone today takes the right experience, technology, and triggers.That’s why we sat down with Gabriel Lullo, CEO of Alleyoop, an outsourced SDR service that specializes in lead generation and relationship management to talk about the future of outbound prospecting and whether or not it’s a good idea to outsource this function.They realize that clients may want to move this function in-house, and so they train their SDRs to eventually take a full-time position in that role.This episode is ideal for entrepreneurs, CEOs, and sales professionals looking to enhance their outbound calling strategies and understand the importance of outsourcing SDR functions.Key takeaways from this episode: While cold calling is not dead, the skill sets required to make it work are paramount—they must be prepared, sound human, and sell the appointment rather than the product.Whether through marketing or an SDR function, nurturing leads is critical to long-term success and will probably not be done adequately by an account executive on quota.Gabe also shares his vision for the future of SDR, where nurturing and following up with leads will continue to be crucial, and where AI will serve as an enhancement rather than a replacement for human interaction.Other resources to check out:Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch. 🔗 Get a Free Messaging & Conversion Review We’ll analyze your website and content through the eyes of your buyers to uncover what’s stopping them from booking a demo. Then, we’ll give you a personalized report with practical recommendations to help you turn more visitors into sales conversations. And the best part? 💡 It’s completely free. No commitments, no pressure—just actionable advice to help you book more demos. Your next demo is just a click away—claim your free review now.
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Jan 19, 2024 • 34min

Ep. 108 - Building Strong Visitor Relationships in SaaS - With Dan Rua, CEO of Admiral

We’ve all been frustrated by those pesky ads that pop up when trying to read an article.We understand that publishers are trying to capture more of that lost ad revenue, but the solution is not to create such a poor experience that it drives consumers away. And the rise of ad blockers is not the only problem for publishers. The decline of traditional tracking methods due to privacy regulations and browser changes, such as the death of the cookie, threatens the business model even more. Dan Rua, CEO of Admiral, believes that both publishers and visitors need to care more about each other. Through their Visitor Relationship Management platform (VRM), publishers can offer visitors different value exchanges based on their preferences, such as ad-free experiences, email relationships, or subscriptions. The results for publishers are a no-brainer, receiving an almost immediate return on investment for many. Other key takeaways from this episode:Focus on solving specific problems first – Admiral started with ad block recovery as their beachhead and became the best in the world.How they went from founder-led sales to a scalable machine once they’d achieved product-market fit.The benefits of having a strong product team as founders and how they understood everything that’s needed to contribute to revenue early on. Other resources to check out:Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch. 🔗 Get a Free Messaging & Conversion Review We’ll analyze your website and content through the eyes of your buyers to uncover what’s stopping them from booking a demo. Then, we’ll give you a personalized report with practical recommendations to help you turn more visitors into sales conversations. And the best part? 💡 It’s completely free. No commitments, no pressure—just actionable advice to help you book more demos. Your next demo is just a click away—claim your free review now.
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Jan 12, 2024 • 28min

Ep. 107 - SaaS Marketing Predictions for 2024

In this episode, SaaS Backwards host Ken Lempit switches places to the guest seat to discuss upcoming trends in SaaS marketing for the new year and what companies will have to do to be successful.Ken is the Chief Strategist of the Austin Lawrence Group, a growth marketing agency specializing in B2B SaaS, and has a 30-year track record in software marketing.The key areas discussed include:As outbound prospecting gets harder, how will companies be successful?How will sales and marketing KPIs shift toward more meaningful measurements?Will traditional techniques like postal mail and custom publishing make a comeback?And will generative AI take its place as a tool instead of a replacement for people?Other resources to check out:Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch. 🔗 Get a Free Messaging & Conversion Review We’ll analyze your website and content through the eyes of your buyers to uncover what’s stopping them from booking a demo. Then, we’ll give you a personalized report with practical recommendations to help you turn more visitors into sales conversations. And the best part? 💡 It’s completely free. No commitments, no pressure—just actionable advice to help you book more demos. Your next demo is just a click away—claim your free review now.
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Jan 5, 2024 • 34min

Ep. 106 - Unlocking Growth Through Effective Pricing in SaaS - with Patrick Meegan, Senior Partner at Maple Street Advisors

Pricing is often the most overlooked “P” in the SaaS marketing mix. We see it in our marketing practice often.Companies may be averse to raising prices for fear of losing customers, focusing on other priorities like product development, or simply don’t understand the impact on the business.In this episode, we caught up with Pat Meegan, Senior Partner at Maple Street Advisors, who talks about assessing the opportunity for pricing growth regularly by looking at four key indicators: Leadership doesn't have a clear pricing strategy that everyone can point to and have confidence in.Inactivity in pricing for a significant period (six months to a year).Market data that indicates the potential for better pricing or an optimized pricing structure.Value-added to the product without corresponding pricing adjustmentsAnd given the risks such as customer churn or dissatisfaction, Meegan provides insights into how companies can approach pricing to drive growth and satisfy both their customers and investors.Key Takeaways from this episode:How to evaluate a DIY approach to pricing or bringing in an external advisorHow to determine if pricing is a lever you can pull for growth and profitabilityHow to pressure test new pricing strategies to mitigate churn riskOther resources to check out:Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.---Not Getting Enough Demos? Your messaging could be turning buyers away before you even get a chance to pitch. 🔗 Get a Free Messaging & Conversion Review We’ll analyze your website and content through the eyes of your buyers to uncover what’s stopping them from booking a demo. Then, we’ll give you a personalized report with practical recommendations to help you turn more visitors into sales conversations. And the best part? 💡 It’s completely free. No commitments, no pressure—just actionable advice to help you book more demos. Your next demo is just a click away—claim your free review now.

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