4 Psychology backed hacks to boost your SaaS sales
Selling SaaS (software as a service) is not easy.
Even though closing the deal is what SaaS sales teams gun for day-in and day-out. With every step they take – from cold calling to negotiating and prospecting – the aim is to make a sell.
But like I said, it’s not easy. And stats prove it. According to a study, for 36% of the sales team interviewed, closing sales is the most challenging part. In fact, the same study says that 28% don’t even consider it as their priority!
This has had a negative impact of quota attainment of sales reps. Studies show that attainment of quota has declined from 63% to 53% in a span of 5 years!
As alarming as that might be, it shows room for improvement. The glaring gap points to a way, which can help improve close rates and boost sales of your SaaS products.
A way that’s been used successfully by the biggest names in SaaS such as SumoMe, Kissmetrics, ConvertKit, and Groove!
Well, it’s not “a” way as much as 6. And it’s not any hacks, by the way. It’s psychology backed hacks that these top guns employed to grow their SaaS business. Which means you can be sure they are guaranteed to work!
But before I reveal these 6 ways, let me give you a brief lowdown on why sales psychology works and recommend a SaaS product development company that I really trust – IT dev Group.
Why sales psychology works: Making them an offer they can’t refuse
How can sales psychology boost the sales of your SaaS products? The answer lies in the thought that goes into making a purchase.
The consumer decision process (or the buyer decision process) entails a total of 5 stages-
- Facing a problem or recognizing a need
- Searching for information
- Evaluating alternatives
- Making the purchase
- Post-purchase assessment
If your product fails to pass through the 5 stages, you haven’t really made an impact on your audience.
That’s not all. As per a Harvard professor, 95% of all purchase decisions are made on a subconscious level. Which means you have to appeal to the psyche of your customers if you want them to buy your services.
That’s where sales psychology can be of use to you. If you know how to tap into the minds of your consumers, there’s no way they’re going to say no.
How can you do that? Allow me to show you.
Psychology backed SaaS sales boosting hacks: Guaranteed to work
Psychology is the magic key to selling more. Once you know the triggers that work, you can use them to close a larger number of deals than before.
As for your SaaS business, you can base the following factors on the hacks I will be talking about-
- Pricing
- Email campaigns
- Free trials, and
- Onboarding strategies
All you’ve got to do is make a few tweaks here and there and you’re done.
1. Play on reciprocity
Reciprocity is an immensely powerful trigger that is based on the simple principle of giving back when you receive something.
Its power is so immense that it is inescapable – a fact that is brilliantly portrayed by persuasion expert, Robert Cialdini.
In his independent research, he showed how waiters can maximize the tips they receive. By giving one mint with the check, the server’s tips witnessed a 3.3% increase. The same tip jumped up to a whopping 23% when more mints were served! This simple act is based on the principle of reciprocity. You tend to return the favor when you are offered value.
So while offering your SaaS products to buyers, make sure you give them something that’s of value to them first. This will increase the chances of them purchasing them from you.
For instance, let’s say a new user has just signed up for the free trial available on your site. Surprise the user by either extending the trial period or offering a discount on the purchase. You could also offer a premium feature for free initially so that users are compelled to upgrade to a premium account.
2. Establish yourself as the authority
A psychological trigger in every sense, authority is the one that’s more difficult to implement.
Why?
Because of how powerful it truly is.
People don’t simply respond to a legit authoritarian figure, they respond to symbols representing it as well, like for example, appearance.
Watched ads of any dental products such as toothbrushes or pastes lately? You’ll see a doctor clad in white robes advocating the benefits of that particular product. That’s how authority is established!
Celebrity endorsements also help in portraying an air of authority but not everybody can afford a celeb right?
So if you want your SaaS products to sell well, you will have to direct your focus on establishing your authority in other ways.
Besides, this trigger is bound to work as companies such as Hubspot and Intercom have already adopted this strategy and achieved great results.
3. Create a sense of urgency or scarcity
Apparently, creating a sense of urgency can increase your SaaS sales by leaps and bounds. Some might even say by 332%, which is huge, to be honest!
But it’s not urgency alone that can help you achieve a skyrocketing SaaS sales figure. Its urgency combined with scarcity that can give you numbers you’ll be proud to feature on your website.
Here’s an interesting study that will elaborate my point and convince you of the power of scarcity and urgency.
In the year 1975, Stephen Worchel, along with his team, conducted a simple test to determine if scarcity had any impact on people’s perceptions. He took two jars, labeling them Jar A and Jar B and added cookies to each of them. Jar A had 10 cookies, while Jar B had only 2.
When asked to vote on which cookie was better, the majority gave a higher rating to cookies in Jar B. People thought Jar B had lesser cookies due to high demand. That’s the power of scarcity!
You must have seen marketers use this tactic a lot.
For example, if you open a product page on Amazon, you’ll get details such as “Only X left in stock”.
Or “Order within X hours XX minutes to get free delivery” by tomorrow.
The reason why scarcity and urgency are used so frequently is because they’ve been proven to be really effective.
How can you use scarcity and urgency for your SaaS products?
Take a cue from SumoMe. They use it extensively in their email marketing campaigns, offering discounts for a limited time only. This obviously compels their customers to hit the “buy now” instantly.
4. Bank on social proof
Just like wolves, we humans too have the tendency to act in packs, move in packs, make purchase decisions in packs…
Wait, what?
Yes, that’s right. People’s purchase decisions are influenced by other people. That’s how potent social proof is in the age we live in.
Social proof in itself is a broad umbrella that covers multiple things such as testimonials, reviews, ratings, endorsements, etc. from real people. Not you, the seller or a celebrity but actual people who have used a product and either loved or hated it.
Take this research conducted by Harvard Business School for example. As per their research, even a one-star increase in the rating of a restaurant increases its revenue by 5%-9%. In other words, before making a purchase decision, people are constantly evaluating others’ opinion of the same product.
Now your goal is to increase your SaaS conversions and sales. The psychological trigger to achieve that goal shouldn’t come from you but from your existing customers.
You could get started with posting real testimonials on your site. Linking to in-depth reviews can also help; so can including ratings, endorsements and case studies on your site.
In fact, compelling case studies can help you strike gold! Just like they helped Crazy Egg. Their “How Pronto Used Heatmaps to Increase Leads By 24%” lead to massive online conversions and sales for them.
To conclude: Sales psychology is your roadmap to increased SaaS sales
Every salesperson has bad days. Irrespective of how good they are at their job. However, using these 4 psychology backed hacks can help you accomplish outstanding results even on your bad days! Knowledge of these psychological triggers eliminates the need for guesswork.
Instead, it puts you on a sure footing with your target consumers as you learn what they’re looking for. Not to mention it also leads to crazy sales, conversions, and growth for your SaaS business.
