Selling product-led SaaS and looking for growth? This one is for you

The move upmarket brings larger contract values and lower churn. But introducing a sales-assisted strategy brings unforeseen complexity. 113/bNfN04/MWZ2y_K917PN6M5BXjklQ8BW4-ljtc4N1KvkN5yXtkQ3q3nJV1-WJV7CgGZtW7HDnvf3GLL5bW8LqMS9758bPSW5CcgKY357VT8W6ZP8hj36qzRTV-BWPz7f60XtW5JMjLm4zP2wgV5ks794v6RPvW7v9qjF8n70cyW4c-zSW7zbbkyW1BhggW45S4-GW5Q3YZN3HYwxpVgDSvn8ryTrtN2XGxJz1jBh_N7B5RB64BFrQW8GSCT26YWdSkW8NSxJx5Z3BLrW2GBYGs1CHwtHW2RTBdR31hZ8SVVV-Pf6n_X6QN1CH_STzsJCPW5Tn8PJ8LtwftW7j0fCZ3LNL7GW351ZCX48lNfDW1jVGK12G1WP13m2k1 [pw-paddle-logo-white@4x] PRESENTS Starting a SaaS sales team? Prepare for these growing pains. Once a serial startup founder himself, Lucas Lovell — Director of Product at Paddle — now helps scale-up SaaS companies build out their first B2B sales teams. Lucas often sees that introducing a new sales-led strategy brings unforeseen complexity, blocking growth. Here are some of the biggest issues that SaaS operators aren't talking about enough. [Read more](113/bNfN04/MWZ2y_K917PN6M5BXjklQ8BW4-ljtc4N1KvkN5yXtlp3q3phV1-WJV7CgBRKVgwdVP4vXlZCW1YY7421cRl92W7vP4CK5RgWgwW3n_6tG2VCrXCVb0k3H3ZPZkzW6G7Vlk97PMBHW6HVFJg2nCWXdW9fgw8W4R5XHlW3qycJZ2-lDhxW61Q8wL5jZhVTN1tRqvmq4337N7g9Sqn6kdJ6W3YwmZn8nLRsGW5FBc8m41dK07W1hsj433rTPjHW52WKGl1zBKHyW1RxkMH3kkFw_W8Rb-j76D2X5pW2zzcb92M5YSdVz2W0F6_g48rW1JsKCz8QkM72F5M6ypqt-QGVsnZDh41pcgjN7NwfxBQWbSyW6HKPZF5hnkTnW2Hpnsx3mgSzmW1NwMhT97rsjlW4bTJmH5N5jpH38yH1) At Paddle we help nearly 3,000 product-led SaaS businesses grow faster, without the distraction of having to build a payments infrastructure. Over the years, we’ve seen that high-ambition product-led companies almost always end up hiring sales reps. Many are pulled upmarket, even without an expressed strategy to do so. This happens when your customers grow and their requirements evolve as a result — as was the case for [Intercom](113/bNfN04/MWZ2y_K917PN6M5BXjklQ8BW4-ljtc4N1KvkN5yXtlJ3q3pBV1-WJV7CgWV6W39x7xl2KR19XW5zFxP-6C5MxGW1W6QgG4B7-xzN5NT50KQpQmTW1ty5l27Pk51RW1xmj0r2sm81QW80dw1V7n8gxxW6YQn1d4br5gJW265FcR1ZHVDjW6tpsGg50-gfVW1xr2rw4mVrPGW5bb2FM6GS7zGW5p2DzD54NPfBW37pYh02x7n9sN2W2DTlgR2JJW1mtZZw89KqKGN2-M_09hj2NKVgj5vm3WmDwPW5-Z78L7y01j4W4v7vtV3P7zlwW1h65Jg324RGwW1JxXdQ1wFFJvVqrcX8585xn8W9b3yqy3JN9G-W9hskxL8hk70qW5dBjg-4PBMBjW4Jq1rr34Z6f3W4Sk1Js1BsBr4N8z5drhhrYSMW2K8W9x66Q9Mb3jXx1). It also happens when you acquire enough discrete customers from different corners of an organization to create momentum for bottom-up expansion. [Slack is a prime example](113/bNfN04/MWZ2y_K917PN6M5BXjklQ8BW4-ljtc4N1KvkN5yXtlp3q3phV1-WJV7CgMnrW12C-GD7J2Fj0VBFm9n132DGFW6jf_4K84fb-GW1LXFCg4x7gHZN2S0jrN69ZXbW92nzpr8M6L6NVCPNBs5vydgFW4M5lrS3mGsykW63gjdc1bmnWqW5rc5KM8TNLvJW2nKgTG6YcTDBW7GKVp77VZYHjW5fT5NT1TcbFqVMSq6f64bgdqW8_T0dz81XZV5W84Fcg76C_rllN9f1CdfLthxxW4h4jY-6w99XHV4dp_W7lrJTZW5YCpCT8dS-87VFV7Sj7cX3P5W2-K3KD6srDV0VmWRT590pPwrW7BYHJw14Gx8FW9bM0lx8N3jHbN9kd-bXpyk77W874BbM2PDds3W4ZHMHK7slbSC3nn-1)of the latter. [Untitled presentation] The move upmarket brings dazzlingly large contract values and lower churn. But we’ve found that introducing a sales-assisted strategy brings complexity, and my job is work out how Paddle can help. Rapid sales team growth and enablement Product-led growth doesn’t mean product-only growth. Most PLG businesses do have some salespeople from early on: data from [peersignal.org](113/bNfN04/MWZ2y_K917PN6M5BXjklQ8BW4-ljtc4N1KvkN5yXtkQ3q3nJV1-WJV7CgPm5W1qJXT-2xWRscW8TVCmF39WkBSW6Sjw4J5Mmv1NVkHh7h5g20N5W4SRfnZ4c-L-xW6RWvyW8t1w-1W97CdxG8qR-tPW25d-lL1bsnDRW4P09Dg5Nmg6MW2hCH-647cWnTW7k-17W6c7XTqW4Z2y0F8NG252N18MVy5-XMKDW4WD5_j6w_5zyW9g-B1H7dZXSXW95wVqz2GnlzgVrTcPv60dhtqN8MMVTLsVpmmW4kZHBj8G7lSvW2cN5Vm64vjVNW9dZnz61sHnqSN2t_-xnd7-fvW4jQGQx6c1mtxW2y3CnM1NWnJl3gwd1) shows that PLG startups with fewer than a hundred employees have 8% of their team in sales roles (compared to the B2B average of 14%). But the move upmarket calls for a different level of investment. Startups who scale beyond 30 people are making clear moves to play catch-up, recruiting 2.5 sales roles for every other hire. This catch-up in commercial resourcing creates operational demands. You’ll need to define the optimal compensation structure, hire competent sales leaders, and train and equip reps effectively. You’ll have new sales ops and tooling requirements, including a CRM. The good news is, if you are successful, all this will happen even faster than in a business that didn’t start with product-led growth. Back office breaking points Closing a deal and getting paid looks very different when selling through a sales team compared to a self-serve purchase. You’ll increasingly have to negotiate with procurement departments, and tackle legal scrutiny before the dotted line is fully signed. You’ll need to orchestrate the provisioning, management, and reconciliation of payments done through invoicing. That process can swallow huge amounts of time and money, especially when it’s reliant on manual interventions (which it often is). - Configure, price, quote Unlike purchases made online, where the price is set and the payment process automated, selling to large businesses typically requires configuring a bespoke software package — including customizations, integrations and optional features, plus services like team training. Other factors like discounts and payment terms need to be reflected in the price and quote. When selling internationally, the currency of the quote and payment differs based on location. These variables are all determined in conversation, and will need the sales rep to actively document them in your CRM. If deals are being made but data is not being updated or entered properly, there will be a world of trouble downstream — with invoices not being issued correctly and revenue not being recognized accurately. - Invoice delivery, payment, and reconciliation Issuing a few invoices manually is manageable, but as the number increases, the time and resources required gets out of hand. Not only do they need creating and delivering, late payments need chasing to make sure all the money you’re owed actually reaches your bank. Buyers in different countries will want to pay their invoice in different ways, which might require you to set up and manage regional bank accounts. You’ll also be creating invoices and chasing payments in different languages and currencies. Using invoice automation can take care of a lot of the legwork here, saving you time and helping you get paid earlier. Every payment, once received, needs to be reconciled with its invoice to confirm accuracy. You’ll want to look into accounting tools, like Quickbooks, to help streamline this process. But also plan for an increase in Finance Ops headcount. - Reporting and compliance By selling online and through a sales team, you’ll have payments coming in from different channels and from different methods, which can easily leave you with siloed financial data. You want to consolidate these revenue streams so you have a clear and reliable view. Sounds simple, but this becomes complex really quickly. This happens especially often when selling software internationally, as you’ll need to keep on top of your sales tax liabilities in different jurisdictions (unless you sell through a [merchant of record](113/bNfN04/MWZ2y_K917PN6M5BXjklQ8BW4-ljtc4N1KvkN5yXtlp3q3phV1-WJV7CgTbwW3548tt7J6HW5N2mZcSv_kzGvW5bs4Tm4LGFTFW3kv_NK16ZF9SN565FLMqt6zfW87T3_j2G_yYYV_Yp6V4mbytrW4D5V4p2ZZQLbW8nbLFx6l80h8N67mLSzJ6p9kW799PD85K0JwdVZvxgn76D0_YW2fgf8f5SQcHvW3LWZy_58HR_sN8VyHl7HYXGMW61BwXN77LGyJW8qL6Qg7kl0rBVmQxHv4q_DVxW39RZCP2tGHRKW7GMcNZ2smwn-W49XlBR4TmTPvW8RpHm51Qz8nBVdT7k48K16WbW1CT0DX4vvmhbW24Tyk18zH8mRW930vHT2YhQFbW7lNqdx7R4MJ7W6vQFkP2HCN3C3cPK1)). SaaS metrics tools can help give you the visibility you need here. Key takeaway: Simplify hybrid sales in SaaS Since discovering the complexity of scaling both PLG and sales-led go-to-market strategies, we’ve been working with SaaS businesses to automatically remove as many of those pains as we can. Paddle already provides a complete payments infrastructure for thousands of PLG SaaS companies — covering checkout and payment routing, subscriptions, and tax compliance. Now we also automate their invoicing processes, helping companies go upmarket fast without losing momentum or data quality. [See full post](113/bNfN04/MWZ2y_K917PN6M5BXjklQ8BW4-ljtc4N1KvkN5yXtlp3q3phV1-WJV7CgKtRW76dt-76SWL_MW6czkkq6Gl_wJN8TFD21Q-nvSVZ0bwC2vYvbTW3ZLN0Q2dsJg2VysSzx1B8N1FW2-X9j58m4KSDN4t3502j7wgGVTLPvb3VjfXlW3g21pB2rygkRW3rLSjP2LZF4zW45DrYS4yb3trVF9XZg3xZ2VsN2tRdN2GkWdFW4dHqrq8dm7cJW2pwJB14WZWGMW7N8xyg3GYs_6W2XTwcY8_bwRlW7l_L4R3HB0dJVV7XfV6V0J6KN61jCkDV_jy2W4YNW331PtWS6W5p78Tg1x2t_2W8zSvBc5FNC-FW5w3rzp7t-GtYVG3Mgy15g5vZVqTGzr1BgxcPW6q1Q3J8-J13l35-r1) If you’d like to know more about Paddle and how a "Merchant of Record" changes the game for SaaS growth, speak to a billing specialist today. 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