53. What are some best practices for SaaS lead generation? How should a startup approach lead generation for a SaaS product that sells in the $99-$499/ month range? A few learnings: First, $99 is very, very different from $499/mo. At $99/mo, or with churn say a $1k ACV -- there’s very little you are going to be able to do that is ROI positive from a direct perspective. At $499/mo or $5k+ ACV, it just starts to get interesting. Beyond that, let me tell you, a lot of stuff just isn’t going to work, i.e., won’t be ROI positive unless you have maybe a $15-$20k ACV or higher: • Paid webinars will likely be too expensive. Doing a paid webinar for say $10k or $20k may get you 1 or 2 customers at best. This isn’t going to work unless your ACV is $20k. Free webinars from your own leads, or free ones with partners though, of course work and are great. • Trade shows probably won’t work until later. You’ll get a few great leads and a couple of customers from most trade shows. Later, that’s fine because it builds an existing brand and is a great way to meet your existing customers. But in the early days, you’ll spend say $10k or $20k doing a trade show all- in, and to get a handful of customers over the next few months, with the rest in lead nurturing and retention. OK if your ACV is over $20K but a fail at $99/month. • Purchased lists will work at high end, but maybe low end not as much. Purchased lists only go so far anyway, but we found them ROI positive in a way that would work at $499/mo. But not $99/mo. Not enough yield. • Adwords probably will be way too expensive. All the key terms are very expensive in SaaS. If you are competing with say Marketo with a $50k ACV for the same keyword (just making this up as an example) -- you’ll lose every time, every bid. All the good SaaS keywords are $1-$5 each. Assume a 2% conversion ratio or whatever number, and this just won’t work at $99/month and will be pretty tight at $499/month. Again, works SAASTR.COM 48