4 actionable SaaS growth tips: 8-step Content Marketing framework; 5-steps to sell with storytelling; survey non-converting leads; sell outcomes, not features.

Alexander Estner

Oct 18, 2022

Hey - it’s Alex!

Today, I will share with you:

4 actionable SaaS growth tips
Best tip, failure, & learning’ by Dirk Sahlmer (SaaS.group a founder-friendly SaaS acquirer)
1 software tool recommendation

… that will help you quickly grow your SaaS product 🚀.

👉 Before you begin:

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1. Build trust & drive inbound leads with Content Marketing (8-step framework)

Content Marketing is one of 16 powerful growth channels.

If you are an early-stage B2B SaaS startup, content marketing & outbound sales should be your main growth channels (followed by referral programs and paid search).

With content marketing you will:

✔️ Build trust (—> being seen as an industry expert)

✔️ Drive inbound leads sustainably (vs. paid traffic that goes to 0 if you stop spending money on ads)

✔️ Increase conversion rates along the customer journey

Invest in content marketing and do it as early as possible❗

You will see how your SaaS will grow 3x faster 🚀

Content marketing is easier than you think.

Here is a simple 8-step guide. 👇

1️⃣ Identify the main problems of your ideal customer profile

2️⃣ Learn what they are interested in and what’s valuable for them

3️⃣ Identify 1-2 channels (e.g. Linkedin and Youtube) where they hang out

4️⃣ Create 1-2 highly valuable assets (e.g. e-book, course, templates) and a nurturing campaign

5️⃣ Have weekly/bi-weekly content themes and create content around this topic

6️⃣ Distribute the ‘same’ content on different channels (e.g., a youtube video, 3 LinkedIn posts, 1 newsletter, etc.)

7️⃣ Repurpose your content every 3 month

8️⃣ Rewrite the same message in many different ways (no need to write something new every day)

Bonus tip: Create content for each stage in the funnel, not only for the Top of the funnel.

👉 To learn more about how to say 1 thing in 1000 ways and frequently repurpose your content, check out Justin Welsh’s Content playbook.

P.S. More and more founders build a personal brand, create a large following and establish themself as industry experts. They use their personal accounts and publish relevant content for their ideal customer profile. Especially for Linkedin and Twitter, content marketing works better with personal accounts than with company accounts.

2. Selling without actually 'selling'! 💡

You are a founder or sales leader and feel uncomfortable doing the classic sales calls?

You are not alone!

Prospects also don’t like seller-centric pitches.

It doesn’t have to be like that. Sales calls can get really smooth.

A great way to sell without actually 'selling' is called storytelling!

And it's so powerful 💪.

5-steps to sell with a story 👇

1️⃣ X had a problem (Introduce problem)

2️⃣ X couldn’t fix it (Highlight pain points)

3️⃣ X tried many things (Discard alternative solutions)

4️⃣ Then X tried your product (Present your solution)

5️⃣ Now X is happy (Sell them the outcome)

You are ‘selling’ without actually selling.

You are telling a transformation story.

You can use storytelling in all your customer-facing communication:

✔️ Blog posts and newsletter

✔️ Customer success stories / Case studies

✔️ Sales calls and demos

✔️ Welcome email sequences

✔️ Email Nurturing

✔️ Webinars, Podcasts...

3. Customers buy results, not features💡

Tomasz Tunguz says there are 3 reasons why companies buy your product.

1️⃣ Increased revenue

2️⃣ Reduced costs

3️⃣ Improved productivity

So people don’t buy services.

They buy results. They buy outcomes. They buy transformation.

You need to solve their pain! Then they buy!

Of course, for the single user and buyer persona this could mean:

4️⃣ You make them feel good

5️⃣ You make their life easier

Here are 3 examples of how to sell outcomes (and not features).

1️⃣ If your product is an email marketing software, you sell an engaging growing audience.

2️⃣ If your product is a booking software for restaurants, you sell more revenue and higher utilization.

3️⃣ If your product is a sales CRM, you sell a full pipeline and higher conversions (ultimately more revenue).

You basically shift the attention from inputs (e.g. your features) to outcomes and results.

4. Survey non-converting signups💡

Your getting lots of leads but seeing a low conversion to demo (for sales-led) or a low conversion to active leads (for product-led)?

It’s time for you to analyze and get answers!

Early-stage SaaS startups should ask every non-converting signup for feedback.

You will collect lots of valuable feedback.

That lets you optimize your product, your messaging, your pricing, etc.

Here is an easy 4-step approach: 👇

1️⃣ Get a list of all non-converting leads & trigger an email sequence (e.g. founder is reaching out to learn what’s missing for them to convert) - don’t do this once, rather set up an automation (e.g. X days after the signup date).

2️⃣ Create a super simple survey with non-converting reasons (multi-select or dropdown) + open text field for more information (+ synch the feedback in your CRM)

3️⃣ Even consider to outreach via phone (if you are sales-led) to qualified leads

4️⃣ Based on the reason you can proactively offer a solution for that, e.g.:

✔️ Product was too complex —> offer a free training session

✔️ Too expensive —> restate your value proposition and offer a discount

✔️ Trial was too short —> Extend the free trial for 14 days

Bonus tip: Do the same for churns.

Have a churn customer email automation (asking for churn reason) + reach out to them via phone.

💡 Best tip, failure, and learning by Dirk Sahlmer, M&A Manager at SaaS.group (a founder-friendly SaaS acquirer)

Tip: Even if you think you have a good gut feeling, you should start tracking your financials & KPIs properly from the beginning. At the latest when you talk to potential investors/buyers, you'll appreciate how much stronger your position is if you have the numbers at hand.

Failure: Before I joined saas.group, I always thought that you need a groundbreaking idea / top resume / relevant experience / VC funding to build a successful (SaaS) startup.

Learning: Conversations with hundreds of founders have shown me that, in the end, you don't need all that. If you have something you'd like to pursue, just do it and learn along the way (Google is your best friend). Also, you can define what "successful" means to you - not everyone needs to build a unicorn.

P.S. Definitely check out saas.group if you consider selling your (Micro) SaaS business. Dirk is happy to jump on a call with you.

💪 1 software tool recommendation

I can highly recommend Notion to draft your content (e.g. newsletter, Linkedin posts).

It’s super simple to get started, great to collaborate with team members, and also suitable to become your internal content library.

Happy growth 🚀.

Alex Estner

TL;DR

8-step content marketing framework to drive inbound leads & build trust.
Storytelling lets you sell without actually ’selling’.
Prospects buy results (more revenue, reduced costs, increased productivity), not features.
Survey your non-converting signups and take the learnings for optimizations.

🚀 Whenever you’re ready, 3 ways I can help you:

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Work with me 1:1 to grow your B2B SaaS business - send me a DM on Linkedin or book a free 15min virtual coffee with me to learn more about my offering.

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