The Enterprise Model

This model is the most complex, and with good reason—enterprises are dealing with large budgets, large purchases, and large amounts of data. Rather than buying a single seat in a SaaS product, enterprises will likely need to equip a full team with access to a SaaS product. In turn, you’ll need to equip a force of strong, highly professional salespeople and customer success experts to meet the needs of the many stakeholders and users involved in a SaaS enterprise agreement.

Enterprise SaaS sales also involve restrictions around budgeting, expenses, and approvals. The enterprise sales process is, therefore extremely hands-on, and involves sales reps working on lead generation and direct prospecting of key individuals within target organizations. New customers will need assistance with onboarding and setup, making customer support absolutely critical for long-term retention. 

If you’re offering a more expensive, complex B2B product, the enterprise model will likely work well for your SaaS business. You need to be aware that you’ll need to make a significant investment in your sales and customer management teams. Equip them with everything they need to attract those high-dollar customers and incentivize your top-performing team members to stay with your company with attractive commission and benefits packages. 

Choosing the Right SaaS Sales Model

When it comes to choosing the best Saas model for your business, you need to consider a few key factors:

• How fast is your typical SaaS sales cycle?
• How long does it take for an individual to convert from lead to customer?
• Do you have access to expert SaaS sales reps?
• Is your SaaS product pricing best suited to customer independence, or do you need to offer a helping hand to persuade leads to convert?

It’s also important to make sure your SaaS financial model matches your sales model. Careful forecasting lets you align your operating model, your brand position, and your budgets to your sales and marketing strategy.