Growing pains: The biggest challenge facing software companies today in sales development

What most growing software businesses struggle to understand is the difference between a product-led organization & a sales-led organization — especially when it comes to the right model to choose.

This article covers:

• Concept: Product vs. Sales Led Organizations
• Why Google’s model is fundamentally different than Hootsuite’s model
• Pricing challenges

Original Story: Link

A good software business would be a company that makes money out of selling software, providing services related to said software or other things like support and training. There are many types of software businesses, ranging from small companies only dealing with one type of service (supporting and fixing computers) to larger corporations dealing in multiple products.

Here’s what software engineers & programmers already know

• It requires a complete system of functional scripts to have successful software.
• Even with a full-stack team, dedicated focus to both the front-end and back-end matters.
• Although software is thoroughly designed, you wont make it without good user interface & user experience (UI/UX).

…And what software engineers & programmers should know

The difference between ‘Product-Led’ & ‘Sales-Led’ Software Companies

The real challenge of developing sales in a software business is best answered by understanding the concept of product-led and sales-led. Most founders of software businesses want their products to lead their sales (like Google).

Sometimes you can have a product that is so valuable that it sells itself, but most software companies aren’t solving the world’s biggest challenges. While the product does indeed solve a problem, the company needs to focus on outcompeting the competition through its sales.

For the most part, companies like Google and Uber do not have a sales force out there dialing to consumers. As a software company, your product can’t replicate that of Google & Uber, yet. Most CEOs understand that their product requires a sales development team. When you realize that the product does not sell itself and you develop a sales team, it can triple or quadruple the price of your software, especially in hiring traditional sales reps (as opposed to virtual assistants that can save you up to 70% in employment costs).

A typically engineer-led software business needs to work alongside a sales-led model in order to scale & succeed.

[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]

Why Sales Development & Marketing Matters

1. You’ll need enough margins to hire & train a sales team and build out a market.
2. Especially if you need to educate the masses on your new product.
3. Good PR is needed to integrate your product into enterprises & C-Suite clients.

Tips to balance out the growing pains…

• The twin challenges of a software team is to price your product low enough to stay competitive, but high enough so that you can afford a real sales team.
• When the costs seem too high, consider outsourcing the systems & processes of your business, including sales development & marketing.
• To keep your overhead costs low & remain competitive, develop business systems & processes for your business that virtual assistants can complete on your behalf.

Developing an Effective Sales Team in a Software Business

You’re getting a handful of clients. Now you’re hitting the point where you feed a dedicated operation to generate more traffic, in order to gain more interested prospects.

Let’s face it, the owner or CEO of a business needs dedicated time to focus on your role of growing and scaling business.

You’re not maximizing your potential without a sales development team & virtual assistants — each week, up 60% of your time can wasted be wasted on the administrative & operational busy-work, while you should dedicated only a fraction of your time to closing any large deals.

It’s time to get more efficient AND lower operational costs. Hire a virtual assistant as your Sales Development Representative (SDR) so that your sales team can dedicate themselves to the more important, dollar-productive tasks (a.k.a. making the sale!).

Focus on the bigger picture — close more deals & grow your business.

Rest assured. MyOutDesk Sales Development Representatives can help you:

• Coordinate strategies to solicit new prospects
• Build client relationships through cold call, warm call & respond to inquiries
• Nurture prospects, follow up, record data, screen & qualify leads
• Move leads through sales funnel, set appointments & manage communications
• Email outreach, research market trends, prepare business reports
• Track and measure conversion ratios & meet performance benchmarks
• Practice, memorize, and internalize scripts
• Manage listings for products & services
• Contact all leads through phone/text/email within 5 minutes of registration
• Manage contact database system & hand off hot leads to sales agents
• Submit daily reports on calls, conversations, and appointments set.

…and so much more.

ENVISIONING OF A NEW REALITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & business owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees — and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.

MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.

See what we are about, and schedule a free consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.

Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide

Did You Know? MyOutDesk’s origin story is set during the last global financial crisis of 2008. Yes, that’s right — our business started by scaling businesses with virtual assistants during a recession! Pioneers of virtual assistant services, our first client in 2008 went from five to seventeen VAs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.”