A Gem from around the (PM) world - Vol 36
Selling your B2B SAAS to CIOs at early stages
Hey PMs
Happy Friday. Here is an interesting post on the topic of selling to large Enterprises.
Many of you founders are building SAAS products targeting Enterprise B2B. Which means you need to sometimes sell to the CIO.
Can your fledgling startup with 5 employees sell to a CIO? Should you not start with SMB first and build revenue and credibility?
Those are good questions but I would not recommend you to look at your initial segmentation based on your stage or capability. Truly focus on what your value prop is and who does it benefit the most. That should be your ultimate criteria.
If it benefits Enterprise because say you have managed to handle scale, then go to Enterprises. If you figured something is cost effective, then go for SMB.
Having said that, selling to the CIO (or other execs) in Enterprise requires a different mindset. In my first start up, my first sale was to a CIO of a public company. What I learnt was that you have to keep considerations like value, risk, innovation, availability upfront.
I found this article Jason Lemkin where he talks about the social contract founders need to have with CIO buyer. It’s a useful guide for founders building for the Enterprises.
Here is the post.
In short, the social contract is
You will always be there for them…not some junior person from the team
You will be innovative and bring something new…not something that is slightly better
You will listen to inputs from the CIO on the roadmap
You will provide a high level of transparency and honesty. Build long term trust and they become your champions.
Yes, there are innovative CIOs who will take a bet on you. Hard to find, but they exists.
I am available for coaching and advisory for B2B product teams and startups.
Let’s start with a free 30 min intro call.