Good SaaS sales management is essential for business growth and success across a variety of industries. You can’t really put a price on a good sales team, but strong management may be even more important. A good SaaS sales manager will bring out the best in a sales team while giving reps the tools necessary to succeed. It’s unsurprising, then, that the projected job growth for SaaS sales managers in the United States is expected to increase approximately 5% between now and 2031.
Fortunately, there are a lot of tried-and-true methods and strategies SaaS sales managers can use to boost team productivity and effectiveness. Here are some of the most important techniques every SaaS sales manager should know and implement.
SaaS Sales Management Overview
Whether you’ve been a SaaS sales manager for years or you’ve only recently taken on the role, it’s important to understand the primary purpose of your position. You are the main point of contact for all your sales reps and must be available to help them with any concerns that arise. With the right leadership techniques, you can help your team be highly successful. You have the potential to unlock significant returns that boost the growth and revenue of your business.
In this guide, you’ll learn more about your major responsibilities as a SaaS sales manager. You’ll also gain insight into the best strategies you can use to manage your reps.
SaaS Sales Manager Responsibilities
As a SaaS sales manager, you have important responsibilities:
- Recruiting
- Coaching
- Managing time
- Meeting and communicating
- Reporting
When you consider what all of these SaaS sales management responsibilities entail, you’ll see how essential they are to the success of the company you work for. With your recruiting, leadership and coaching duties, you’ll help mold your sales team into a motivated and successful unit.
SaaS Sales Management Strategies
Your sales team is responsible for attracting more business and making your company’s goods and services look as appealing as possible. If you aren’t already sure how to do this, consider working with a professional marketing consultant who can help you develop a concrete marketing campaign.
Whether you seek outside help or not, it’s essential that you button down your SaaS sales management strategies for the best results. Here are a few specific things you can do to manage your sales reps successfully.
Set Clear Goals
If you don’t have clear goals in life, you probably won’t accomplish as much as you would if you had a clear path forward. The same is true in sales. It’s natural to want to slack off a little, but if you know you have a well-established goal to meet, you’ll be more inclined to work hard and reach it.
To make sure everyone pulls their fair share of weight, establish goals for individual reps as well as entire teams. You might even arrange a little competition between teams to motivate them. Healthy competition can go a long way toward maximizing results.
Establish Expectations for Compensation
One of the most important SaaS sales management techniques is to establish clear compensation plans so your reps know exactly what to expect. Make sure you include commission and base salary details and clearly communicate them to each member of your team. This will help improve morale and help your team members avoid feeling like they were somehow cheated out of pay they think they deserve.
Motivate Your Sales Reps
Motivation is the key to boosting your sales numbers. There are many different ways you can motivate your reps:
- Monetary incentives
- Bonuses for going above and beyond specified sales goals
- Verbal incentives
- Public recognition for accomplishments
- Outings and events to reward teams and individuals for meeting goals
Many companies choose to use a combination of these motivation options as part of their overall SaaS sales management technique. Do what works best for your sales reps and your company. You may choose to send out a poll so you can get feedback from your reps about the types of rewards they think are most motivating.
Train New Reps
When onboarding and training new sales reps, make it a point to ensure an even playing field. All sales reps should receive the same type of training and information so they can begin their duties on equal footing. Don’t play favorites.
You may have other employees help with the training process. If you do, make sure they’re following a clearly outlined training program to ensure consistency.
Analyze Reports
One of the most important SaaS sales management techniques to follow is to analyze sales and revenue reports. You’ll probably also be creating these reports, so going one step further and studying them shouldn’t be too difficult. You’ll need to analyze data to determine how productive your reps are, which services or products are most successful, and how much revenue your reps are bringing in.
Facilitate Communication Between Leadership and Reps
It’s easy for employees to feel unappreciated if communication is not strong. You need to facilitate communication between the reps and company leadership whenever possible. Your reps may have important feedback for leadership but may not feel like they can go directly to company directors.
When you keep the lines of communication open, you can keep your sales reps happy. Sometimes, all it takes is a listening ear to boost morale and avoid unnecessary frustration in sales departments.
Evaluate and Make Changes to the Sales Process
Part of SaaS sales management is determining what’s working well and what isn’t. You should regularly evaluate the sales process and make changes as needed to improve how things work in your company.
As your company grows, you may need to update your sales processes to make sure your reps are successfully closing deals. You may also add new products to your line that appeal to a completely different type of buyer persona than previous products. If so, figure out what sales process changes will help you appeal to the new buyers and continue making sales.
Get Expert Advice for Your SaaS Sales Management Needs
If you need advice for setting up your SaaS sales management processes, reach out to Ben Naderi. You’ll receive invaluable consulting services designed to make your business as successful as possible.