How much does it cost? B2B SaaS pricing pages can be a nightmare

Buying B2B SaaS products can be a nightmare

Here's how I try to shortcut that process:

1. Before the call I try to give as much context as possible

BDRs in particular have a heap of questions that they'll ask on your call. They're trying to qualify you to have a conversation with an AE and you may not even get to see the product on a call

Of course this is infuriating but be flexible and try to pre-empt the questions. While scheduling or before the call send a quick email outlining:

• What kind of business you're in
• Any important goals you have
• Why the conversation is timely and important
• How you think about pricing (upper/lower expectations)
• Which other solutions you're considering (drop names of competitors of theirs you're already in conversation with)
• Which areas of the product you're specifically interested in
• Where this will sit in your tech stack and if buying a platform product, which pieces of software you want or do not want to replace with the product

That information might feel like a lot up front but it might mean you disqualify yourself before the first call and it helps the BDR/SDR elevate your lead status if they see you're a perfect fit (rarely happens though)

At the very least you'll save yourself a heap of time on that call

2. On the call, control the agenda with an uncomfortable grip

BDRs have literal templates for calls on each stage of the process and those can certainly be helpful on some occasions

But remember that you're not auditioning to be a customer, they're auditioning to be a seller

So tell them what makes a good fit for you and as soon as you can end the niceties of the intro, grab hold of the agenda

Here's how I do it:

"I appreciate you have a process that you want to walk through but I have a very firm idea of what I want out of this call. Here's how I think we should spend our time: XYZ. But before I do that, here's what I expect by the end of this call: A ballpark of your pricing structure and a timeline for if we decide to move forward [and anything else you need to know]. Will you be able to cover those points by the end of this call? If not, let's just move to the next conversation in the process. Does that seem unreasonable?"

This sounds unpleasant but BDRs are so incentivised to just gather information they're never going to get you the stuff on the first call. I almost always try to skip the product demo by saying "I only have questions about XYZ feature and don't need a walkthrough of the whole product".

While I literally feel a bit sick whenever I have to say 'does that seem unreasonable', it makes it extremely hard for them to say no

Remember you get to decide how fast you want to go. They might think they do but they want your business

If it's not going how you want it to go, hit it with a wrecking ball and tell them how you want it to go

It feels transactional because it is