How to Reduce Sales Costs for B2B SaaS Teams

Summary

In the competitive world of B2B Technology, SaaS and Services, sales costs of personnel and the acquisition of new business can be a significant burden for many businesses. As companies strive to grow their revenue and expand their customer base, it's crucial to find ways to reduce sales costs without sacrificing the quality of their services or profitability. In this article, we'll explore several strategies to combat high B2B sales costs while maintaining a high level of performance.

Below are various strategies to combat high B2B sales costs, such as embracing digital selling, leveraging automation, providing ongoing training, restructuring sales teams, and adopting performance-based compensation models. By implementing these tactics, businesses can maintain their sales team's effectiveness while lowering costs.

Table of Contents

1. Sales Costs and Digital Selling
2. Leveraging Automation & Technology to Reduce Sales Costs
3. Providing Ongoing Training and Development
4. Restructuring Sales Teams for Efficiency
5. Adopting Performance-Based Compensation Models
6. Outsourcing Non-Core Sales Functions
7. Monitoring and Measuring Sales Costs
8. Key Takeaways
9. FAQs
10. Conclusion

1. Sales Costs and Digital Selling

Adopting digital selling strategies can help reduce sales costs associated with traditional B2B efforts. Digital selling enables businesses to reach and engage with their target audience more efficiently and cost-effectively, using tools like live streaming, social media marketing, and targeted advertising. By shifting from traditional face-to-face selling to digital selling, businesses reach significantly more prospects, reduce travel expenses and streamline their sales process, ultimately lowering sales costs all round.

2. Leveraging Automation & Tech to Reduce Sales Costs

Incorporating automation and technology into your sales process can significantly reduce the workload on your sales personnel, allowing them to focus on high-value tasks. We both know tools like CRM systems, automated social media posting, and email marketing software can help automate repetitive tasks and improve overall sales efficiency.

If you intend to make an impact, you're going to want to change your operating structure to really make an impact on sales costs.  This means adopting technology sales teams have typically not been involved with such as video cameras, microphones, lighting, streaming technology and an array of technology associated with live stream, video production and podcasting.

Implementing these technologies will lead to reduced sales costs by minimising and indeed reducing the need for additional sales and marketing staff and increasing productivity and of course profitability.

3. Providing Ongoing Training and Development

Investing in the continuous training and development of your sales personnel can improve their skills, making them more effective in their roles. A well-trained sales team can close deals faster and generate higher revenue, which can offset the costs of training. Providing ongoing training and development also helps to retain top talent, reducing recruitment and onboarding costs associated with high staff turnover.

Many companies are good at the above, yet over the past twenty years very little has changed when it comes to quantifying productivity against training programs.  Sales people can either close or they can't.  This is why a different form of training is required; in media studies and production!

By training your sales teams to present, host and deliver content either via live streaming, on video or on. podcast means you are using a very small number of personnel to reach a disproportionate number of people and on some case be available 24/7.   

4. Restructuring Sales Teams for Efficiency

The great and the good believe you should analyse the structure of your sales team to help you identify areas for improvement and cost reduction. Some say you should consider reorganising your team based on specific territories, verticals, or product lines to optimise their performance and that restructuring can lead to more efficient sales processes, better resource allocation, and ultimately, reduced personnel costs.

But...This is still being dependent on a one-to-one infrastructure and sales process.  To truly reduce sales costs you need to think along the lines of changing your approach to generating new business from a one-to-one aproach to a one-to-many strategy incorporating digital selling - everywhere, in every touchpoint with your suspects, prospects and customers. 

5. Adopting Performance-Based Compensation Models

Switching from traditional salary-based compensation to performance-based models can help control sales personnel costs. By tying compensation directly to performance, businesses can ensure they're only paying for the results they want. Performance-based models can also incentivise sales staff to work harder and close more deals, driving revenue growth.

Another to reduce costs area is to stop paying marketing personnel KPI based bonuses.  Unless you're one of the very few B2B organisations who see constant success, very few marketers have every impacted the income of  a business.  Many advocate the implementation of a vast array of integrated SaaS technologies, however, it's the ROI that counts.

By adopting digital selling, sales costs and other expenses can be signifiacntly reduced by exposing the real performance of their efforts.  It is a longer conversation, but there re big issues surrounding pay-per-click on LinkedIn nd Google, plus the effectiveness of landing pages and marketing automation forms.  FYI: 80% of browsers who land on a page that demands an email and a form to be filled out click away. 

Performance-based compensation scan and should be awarded to the people who contribute to bringing in the money.  Digital selling democratises this area an can enable your business to offer a more equitable bonus scheme for all involved.

6. Outsourcing Non-Core Sales Functions

Outsourcing non-core sales functions, such as lead generation, appointment setting, and customer support, can help reduce the burden on your internal sales team and lower personnel costs. By partnering with specialised service providers, businesses can access expert services at a lower cost than hiring and training in-house staff. This approach allows your sales team to focus on delivering highly engaging online shows and podcasts, closing deals and generating revenue, while outsourcing partners handle other tasks that are completely qualtifiable ensuring you can measure their performance.  If they don't achieve their targets and KPI, there's no issue letting them go!

7. Monitoring and Measuring Sales Costs

Regularly monitoring and measuring your sales team's performance is crucial for identifying areas of improvement and ensuring cost efficiency. Utilising tools like Google Analytics and CRM systems can help track key performance indicators (KPIs) and provide valuable insights into your sales process. By analysing this data, businesses can identify weaknesses and implement changes to improve sales performance and reduce costs.

It is important to keep everything in perspective.  When adopting digital selling, it's not just to reduce sales cost, it's to make the business smore profitable all round.  Analytics are an essential element of running an efficient business, however, in the world of B2B, the numberds are much lower than B2C, therefore approaching your total addreassable market in the first place can mean reaching out to tens of thousands (by email), because only a small percentage of them will be looking to start their buying journey.

The digital selling approach means those starting to look will be make aware of the variety of engagement platforms you offer, resulting in a high chance of them getting to know you. 

8. Key Takeaways

1. Embrace digital selling to reach prospects more efficiently and keep sales cost at a minimum.
2. Leverage automation and technology to streamline the sales process and minimise the need for additional staff.
3. Invest in ongoing training and development to improve sales skills and retain top talent.
4. Restructure sales teams for better efficiency and resource allocation.
5. Adopt performance-based compensation models to control personnel costs and incentivise performance.

9. FAQs

Q: How can digital selling help reduce sales costs?

A: Digital selling allows businesses to reach and engage with their total target audience more efficiently and cost-effectively than traditional face-to-face selling. By adopting digital selling strategies, companies can increase reach, reduce all acquitsion expenses and streamline the sales process, leading to lower personnel costs.

Q: How can automation and technology improve sales efficiency?

A: Automation and technology can help reduce the workload on sales personnel by automating repetitive tasks and also improving overall sales efficiency by using media tech. This can lead to reduced costs by minimising the need for additional sales staff and increasing productivity.

Q: Why is ongoing training and development important to reduce sales costs?

A: Continuous training and development can enhance the skills of your sales team, making them more effective in their roles. Well-trained sales personnel can close deals faster and generate higher revenue, offsetting the costs of training, especislly when the sales are executed digitally at a distance using streaming or video technology. Ongoing training and development also help retain top talent, reducing recruitment and onboarding costs associated with high staff turnover.

Q: What are the benefits of outsourcing non-core sales functions?

A: Outsourcing non-core sales functions can help reduce the burden on your internal sales team and lower personnel costs. Outsourcing allows businesses to access expert services at a lower cost than hiring and training in-house staff, enabling your sales team to focus on closing deals and generating revenue.  And if they fail, they're fired!

10. Conclusion

Combatting high B2B sales costs is crucial for businesses seeking growth and profitability. By embracing digital selling, leveraging automation and technology, providing ongoing training and development, restructuring sales teams, adopting performance-based compensation models, and outsourcing non-core sales functions, companies can significantly reduce their sales personnel costs without sacrificing performance. Implementing these strategies will ensure a more efficient, cost-effective sales process that drives revenue growth and business success.

Get in touch to have a chat about the possibilities of adpopting digital selling.