Tag: value

“We lost the XX renewal?  How the &*?# did THAT happen?!”

Everyone in the office can hear your raised voice from a mile away.  

This was NOT supposed to happen, especially with THIS client.

Sh*t happens. Daily. Especially in the world of SaaS software sales and renewals.  

Today you’re the darling and tomorrow you’re out. But WHY does it keep happening?

First, let’s review a typical SaaS deal flow.

✅ Your New Logo team captures a new client.  

✅ They hand it off to Implementation who gets them up and running.  

✅ Implementation hands them off to your Account Management team to secure the renewal (ARR) and upsell (NRR) over the ensuing months.  

✅ Professional Services plays a supportive role throughout the process.  

Sounds pretty straightforward, right?

And yet renewal rates for SaaS teams slip each year. Surprise losses occur for your team every quarter. It can feel like money goes out the back door faster than your New Logo team can bring it in the front door.  #ChurnSucks

Before your CEO calls you in for that tough talk, learn the secret killer of your SaaS deals, and stop the carnage.

DRIFT – The SaaS renewal killer. What you need to know.

Drift is a slow, incremental process of beliefs, goals, and expectations widening between two parties. It’s why marriages fall apart and why SaaS software companies don’t get their renewals.

Drift is insidious. It starts very small and grows slowly. No one even realizes until the gap becomes wide. Even a small angle of differing expectations left unchecked can result in a massive expectations gap. Next thing you know, your SaaS deals are headed for divorce court.

Drift won’t show up in your Loss Report or in internal QBRs. It shows up, like slow-growing cancer, at renewal time when your account manager loses a deal.  

Look for the tell-tale signs:

• Economic Buyers aren’t as interested in meeting.
• You hear that ‘priorities have shifted’ within the account.
• The client was using the application for non-strategic purposes, and no one noticed.
• Your product never became critical to their operation.

If any of these sound familiar, fear not, there are immediate steps to prevent DRIFT in your accounts. Do these NOW:

1. Build a plan WITH your Economic Buyer (EB) for ‘90 days to Success’. Have your team define and deliver a quick win. Something that aligns with a key element your EB identified when making the initial investment. SaaS teams who are in tune with the EB can better predict renewals and improve success within this 90-day window.

Superstar move: Have the EB repeat the value back to you. They are selling their own ideas.

2. Have your team run QBRs with your client: Every 90 days, highlight your success by delivering the original value and tweak as needed. This is one of the most impactful things you can do to minimize the damage of DRIFT. If your client won’t enter this process, get with the EB to initiate it. If it was important then, it’s important now. If not, then you know their priorities have changed.

Superstar move:  Go back to the original business impacting goal with your EB and have them describe progress and changes. Always align/re-align back to VALUE.

3. Drive your teams to execute smooth transitions:  From New Logo team all the way to the Account Managers, make sure:

⇒ The activities within each step are clearly defined.

⇒ The roles within each step are clearly defined.

⇒ The inputs and outputs for each step are clearly defined.

⇒ 100% adherence is the only option. No variations. Period.

Superstar move:  Periodically inspect all of the steps and documents for the client’s full life cycle. A periodic DEEP inspection will get everyone’s attention. Especially if you’re creating a culture where 100% compliance is the only way.

Bonus:

Always guide your teams to Focus On What Matters™(FOWM). Implementation teams have lots to do. Account managers get busy and distractions are everywhere. Be diligent and keep them FOWM: Delivering value that’s aligned back to the EB and adjusting when necessary.  Do this quarterly, and you’ll eliminate DRIFT and stay out of divorce court.  

Your commitment to putting you, your teams and your company in a winning position require rigor and execution. Our customers who map this out, execute at a high level and have QSRs with ARR and NRR above their industry peers. Those who don’t have difficult conversations that are loud and full of expletives. Don’t let that be you.

Now, go! Help your team get the renewal! It starts with great rigor and execution on day one!

Contact us and let’s work together to map out YOUR 90-day plan to more renewals.