The Road Ahead
tidbits, trends, practices, and predictions to help you plan for the 2023 road ahead
Hey there friends -
It’s still January, and for many of us, that means we are still in planning and strategy mode. We’re looking at what we can do as leaders to help make a sizeable impact in 2023.
I’ve caught myself more and more invested in what 2023 is going to look like for SaaS, as well as where we can avoid those potholes.
Today’s newsletter is just that. A few great pieces from leaders I like, giving us a roadmap to follow.
In this week’s edition of Stretch Weekly -
Jacco van der Kooij issues his “clarion call to leaders” by saying, while the Golden Age of SaaS may have ended, it is just beginning to realize its full potential.
And don’t miss timely placed tidbits, trends, practices, and predictions to help you plan for the 2023 road ahead.
THANKS for reading!!
-Grant
And lastly - as always, if you find this newsletter valuable- subscribe or share it with someone who might as well 👊.
STRETCH SHARES
A Clarion Call to SaaS Revenue Leaders
Jacco van der Kooij (Winning by Design) explains what happened in SaaS the last couple of years, and lays out an impressive roadmap for revenue leaders in SaaS in 2023.
This one is packed full of insightful detail, data, and more to help ensure your focus is on where the most impact can be made. Save this one and bookmark it to read later - but here is my outline:
Jacco details his “clarion call” into 4 acts:
Act 1: The 2022 Crash
Act 2: Root cause analysis of the SaaS crash
Act 3: Principles of Recurring Revenue
Act 4: 2023 The Dawn of a New Era
Let’s dive in a bit more into each:
Act 1: The 2022 Crash
2021 will go down in SaaS history as the best year ever. In Mid-November 2021 the SaaS stock market peaked - then things changed.
The Impact of Unskilled Labor. Too simple of a value proposal (You’re paying X, Let’s save you money)
The Eye of the Storm. “The economic conditions that gave rise to the crash have not changed, and the corrective action of cost-cutting has not helped - indeed, it may have an adverse impact.”
Act 2: Root Cause Analysis
The Bowtie: A Data Model for Recurring Revenue Operations. Typically a standard Marketing and Sales funnel is used to model customer acquisition. “A recurring revenue business typically focuses its most valued resources around customer acquisition - a mistake that is often subconscious”. The Bowtie model maps the entire lifecycle journey.
The Growth Formula is dependent on how many leads we start with. I.e: Leads → Conversion rates → Commit/Close.
Normalized Growth Formula = Anchor our Growth Formula on a specific metric to hit our number. (inputs = outputs)
When revenue started to drop in 2022, many companies just increased the inputs (people, money, etc.)
Covid inflated actual growth.
Act 3: Principles for Sustainable Growth
Recurring revenue is eating the world
Recurring revenue is the result of recurring impact
Impact expansion results in revenue expansion
A customer commits based on the priority of the impact
Risks have shifted from the buyer to the seller
Rapid growth is caused by marginal gains
Repetition compounds marginal gains
Compounding causes a cumulative disproportionate impact
Sustainable results require an operating model
SaaS was born from, and thrives in, a crisis
Act 4: 2023 The Dawn of a New Era
Set a clear goal (profitable, grow faster, more efficient?)
Measure what is working
Stop doing what does not work
Do more of what works
Start now. Time is of the essence.
STRETCH SNIPPETS
⚡️ Teach your team how to recharge in 2023! Rob Jeppsen says our teams have 3 scarce resources. 1: Time (Scarcest Resource) 2: Focus (Person who chases 2 rabbits catches none.) 3: Energy. Help your teams recharge because it’s our only renewable resource.
7️⃣ Nate Nasralla gives us 7 uncommon sales practices. Use them and stand out in 2023:
Target & sell to trainwrecks
Quad-Tap to meet people where they’re at
Engage event leads with empathy
Lean into tense topics
Ditch the product deck
Slow deals down… to speed them up
Avoid “Popcorn pricing”
👉 Embrace Hybrid work, Build your Tech Stack for efficiency, and Invest in developing your team. Alexandria Snow with Sales Impact Academy gives us The A-Z of what top SaaS leaders need to know when kicking off 2023 and the next financial year.
🧠 Mindset
Thanks for reading!
My hope is if you find this valuable, consider sharing it with friends (or signing up if you haven’t already).
— Grant 👋
About stretch vp: confessions, learnings, and insights from sales leaders in SaaS
Compiled and aggregated from a network of sales leaders in SaaS, Stretch VP showcases learnings, insights, and experiences as well as best practices to overcome common hurdles, obstacles, and setbacks in your quest for excellence as a sales leader in SaaS.
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