What’s it like to work in B2B SaaS sales at Lemax? We asked our Sales team to share their experience. In this blog post, you will find their insights and impressions about the following questions:
- You are selling a complex product for travel agencies. In short, what is the value you’re bringing to your customers?
- What does the B2B SaaS sales process at Lemax look like?
- What does your typical day look like?
- What makes B2B SaaS sales at Lemax so unique? And how is it, in your view, different from B2C sales?
- What is the most exciting part of your job?
- What are the most common challenges you face in your job?
- Where do you see the greatest growth in your professional skills so far?
- What was your greatest learning so far?
- Would you recommend Lemax as a place to start and grow your sales career and why?
You are selling a complex product for travel agencies. In short, what is the value that you’re bringing to your customers?
Goran (Account executive): Lemax is a core business tool for travel agencies and tour operators. It helps save time by automating the entire workflow. Our customers get more efficient by spending less time on operations and more focused on delivering amazing travel experiences. Lemax helps them organize travel smoothly and communicate with partners/travelers easily. For example, we’ve just released a case study with one customer. They reported a 43% increase in tours and a 20% increase in profits since using our product. It makes me really proud to know that I contributed to their success.
What does the process of B2B SaaS sales at Lemax look like?
INBOUND
Goran (Account executive): At Lemax, we have both inbound and outbound sales processes in place. At the moment, most of our leads are inbound – they come to our website and fill out the contact form. When the lead comes through inbound, our CRM automatically disqualifies leads whose problems we cannot solve and sends a proposal to matching prospects to arrange an online meeting. This is the opportunity for our Sales development representatives to better qualify the lead, but also to raise their interest in our system even more. Then they arrange the first demo with the prospect.
The first demo is done by an Account executive (AE) and a Solution consultant (SC) together. AE is in charge of the entire sales process (agreement on terms, prices and dates, coordination, and communication with the prospect) and SC for presenting the value of our product.
After the first demo, we have a series of so-called “deep discovery” demo presentations (on average 5 of them). That’s where AE and SC try to determine the extent to which Lemax can help the customer and, together with them, create a business case.
We also have to make sure to include other departments in this process. A project manager needs to define the budget for the implementation of the system and show the customer what the process looks like. If need be, a product manager and lead developer need to estimate the number of hours it will take to integrate our product with other systems. AE is in charge of all this coordination and communication.
The next step is to review the contract and finalize the price. After signing the contract, we document the entire process and all the info about the customer, so that the project can be delivered successfully.
OUTBOUND
Marina (Demand generation lead): Although most of our leads come through inbound channels, we’re working intensively on increasing our outbound leads. This is because we want to reach more perfect fit customers; customers who have precisely those business problems that our software was designed to solve. The first step in our outbound process is to define the target market where the Sales development representative (SDR) does market research. In this phase, SDR is building a list of companies that could benefit from Lemax software.
We want to reach more perfect fit customers; customers who have precisely those business problems that our software was designed to solve. – Marina Grljušić, Demand generation lead
When we select the companies to contact, we need to find out all sorts of information that could help us create a personalized approach. It is the number of their employees, their business type, web page, contact info, their decision-makers, and all the additional information.
The next step is to contact prospective customers through cold outreach – crafting personalized emails, LinkedIn messages, calls, etc. When we find a prospective customer interested in our software, we organize the first presentation with an Account executive. The rest is the same as in the inbound process.
What does your typical day look like?
There is always some approach that you can try out and devise so no sales process is the same. – Nedeljko Lužija, Solution consultant
Goran (Account executive): What makes me the happiest is knowing that every day is different. Usually, when I wake up in the morning, I go to the gym. Then I take my daughter to kindergarten and come to work at 7.45 to start preparing for the day.
I plan everything so I know exactly what I need to do at every hour of the day. Before lunch, I will prepare for an important meeting with a customer at noon. In the afternoon, I will be taking minutes and answering emails. Sounds ideal.
Then, at 8.30, an email comes from another potential buyer about how they reduced their budget, asking us to prepare a new offer by the end of the day. So you decide to shorten the preparation for the meeting and start creating a new offer for the potential buyer. You feel a little nervous because things are not going according to plan. But then, at 9.30, a prospect whom you’ve already given up on, calls you to let you know they want to continue with the process and arrange a meeting. Working in sales is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get 😊
Marina (Demand generation lead): I can’t say I have a typical day as every day in Lemax is different, but these are some of the elements:
- I am coordinating the demand generation team (inbound and outbound),
- Looking for new ways to attract potential customers
- Searching for new tools which can help us during the prospecting
- Organizing Lemax attendance on different fairs and events
- Hiring my team members
- Having a lot of internal meetings, activities, and workshops
Nedeljko (Solution consultant): I usually start my day with emails. I check everything that happened the previous day and write it down in my sprint document. I use this time to center myself and plan how the day will look like. After the emails and sprint, I usually start preparing for the demo presentation I have that day. In this process, I’m free to be as creative as possible, and I try to put myself in my prospect’s shoes. I try to figure out what they must see to best get the feel of the value our product can provide. After the demo, I go on a recap with my colleagues and analyze the demo. Then I record everything in our CRM and start to plan out the sales cycle for another potential customer in the pipeline. There is always some approach that you can try out and devise so no sales process is the same.
Ivan (Inbound sales representative): My typical day starts with qualifications of inbound leads. After I decide which of the leads are a good match, I send them an email to schedule a brief call. Usually, I have one call per day with an inbound lead. During that call, I have to find more about their business requirements and also intrigue them about Lemax so that they are excited to see our software demo. Since I’m preparing for the transition into the Solution consultant role, I also participate in demo calls. Besides these sales activities, we always have some kind of internal meetings, activities, or soft skills training and education.
What makes B2B SaaS sales at Lemax so unique? And how is it, in your view, different from B2C sales?
You have to think about your customers’ satisfaction in the years to come and view them as your long term business partners. – Nedeljko Lužija, Solution consultant
Goran (Account executive): I have never worked in B2C sales, but to the best of my knowledge, B2B sales processes are much more complex. In B2C, you have just one decision-maker who is also the buyer, and you communicate directly with this decision-maker. In B2B sales, there are multiple stakeholders on the customer’s side whom you need to convince of the value of your product before you can speak with the final decision-maker. Also, in B2B sales, especially enterprise, you do not sell based on emotions but rather on rational reasons; using numbers that came from complex analysis. In addition, B2B sales process normally takes more time than B2C so you need to build long-lasting relationships with your customers.
Marina (Demand generation lead): The market in B2B SaaS sales is not as big as it is in B2C sales, so you need to have a personalized approach for every customer. There are multiple decision-makers involved, so you need to meet all of their needs and show them that the product has value for their department in order to close the deal. The sales process in B2B is usually longer than in B2C and the value of every opportunity is greater, so you need to develop a whole set of skills to be successful.
Sanjin (Account executive): B2B sales encompasses almost all aspects of sales. The building blocks you need to have in order to be successful in this type of sales are wide-ranging. From communication skills, information gathering, relationship building, in-depth product and industry knowledge, etc., and of course being able to drive the whole process from the beginning to a successful close.
Nedeljko (Solution consultant): Every sales process is like its own project where you are the manager. It has a much higher number of touchpoints and there are many more variables for the sale to be closed. And because there are multiple decision-makers that you need to convince, it’s very important to innovate, create, and devise new strategies and methods to successfully manage your pipelines.
Moreover, in SaaS, sales is not a one-time event. Your customers pay for the license (in our case on a yearly basis), so the end goal can never be just to close the deal. You have to think about your customers’ satisfaction in the years to come and view them as your long term business partners.
If you want to learn more about the specifics and the beauty of B2B SaaS sales at Lemax, read our interview at Netokracija with Goran and Sanjin.
What is the most exciting part of your job?
The most exciting part of my job is watching the progress of my relationship with the customer into a strong business partnership. – Ivan Martić, Inbound sales representative
Goran (Account executive): It would be unfair to highlight only one thing that excites me. I love traveling abroad, I love whole-day meetings with customers. I enjoy negotiating and preparing tactics for the next sales meeting. Nothing makes me feel better than when I sign a large deal that I have worked my butt off for – and at the same time, witness the immense value that this deal brought to the customer.
Marina (Demand generation lead): I am building my team and my department from scratch, so we are testing a lot of new tools, different approaches to customers, and different ways of communicating with them. Every time our efforts bring new leads, it’s pretty exciting for all of us.
Sanjin (Account executive): Knowing that I’ve sold our product to a customer whose problems I’m confident it can solve. Plus – the sweet touch of traveling.
Nedeljko (Solution consultant): When I’m testing a new approach or I get an idea for something that can nudge the prospective customer a step closer to a buying decision. And then I’m seeing this idea grow into an execution plan and realizing that it’s really working on the demo. I feel invincible at that moment! 🙂
Ivan (Inbound sales representative): The most exciting part of my job is watching the progress of my relationship with the customer. From our first call, where we get to know each other, over the course of subsequent meetings when we start developing a relationship – all the way to the end of the sales process when we’ve established a strong business partnership.
What are the most common challenges you face in your job?
Every customer is different, every sales process is different and there is no silver bullet that will work for every customer. – Goran Kovačević, Account executive
Goran (Account executive): Most common and most complex one is finding the best tactic and strategy to present the value of the product to prospective customers and reach a deal. Every customer is different, every sales process is different and there is no silver bullet that will work for every customer.
Marina (Demand generation lead): I always ask myself these questions: How to be a good team leader? How to increase the number of leads? How to find customers who are a perfect fit for our product? Which event to visit? How to improve the outbound sales process?
Sanjin (Account executive): How to be patient but not passive, persistent but not annoying and to be able to take things in stride.
Nedeljko (Solution consultant): Complexity. You are managing a large number of stakeholders, people, as well as modules and features that you are selling. Your job is to get all the needs of the customer and devise a solution that fits them and can solve their problems.
Ivan (Inbound sales representative): My biggest challenge is to make a decision, very early on, which customer is a good match for the abilities of Lemax product and which one is not. Sometimes I have doubts that maybe I’m rejecting a potential customer too early if it seems we won’t be able to solve their major problems. On the other hand, there is a good chance that at the same time, I’m focusing for too long on a customer for whom we’re not a good match, but I just don’t know that yet.
Where do you see the greatest growth in your professional skills so far?
In longer sales cycles, bursts of creativity or ideas can help you just until the next meeting. So planning and strategy are really important. – Nedeljko Lužija, Solution consultant
Goran (Account executive): I see the greatest growth in my organizational skills. My mother always used to tell me that I was like a hurricane and that nobody knew what I would do and when. I was always late, and I was forgetting everything. Now I am fully organized, I never forget anything. I am always on time and everybody knows what to expect from me. Now my mother is telling me that I became like a German. 😊
Marina (Demand generation lead): I collaborate with our Product Marketing team on a daily basis, so I would say that I increased my knowledge in that whole area. I feel that I have also improved my leadership skills since I’m leading a small team.
Nedeljko (Solution consultant): In preparing and strategic thinking. In longer sales cycles, bursts of creativity or ideas can help you just until the next meeting. So planning and strategy are really important.
Ivan (Inbound sales representative): I feel that I have improved a couple of professional skills, but I see the biggest growth in my communication with customers. There is still a lot to improve there, but I think that I am much better at finding out relevant info about the customer’s business while, at the same time, keeping them interested enough so that they’re willing to answer all my questions.
What was your greatest learning so far?
It is really important that a customer is the right one for our business and if we can’t bring them value, it’s much better to move on than to close the deal. – Marina Grljušić, Demand generation lead
Goran (Account executive): My greatest learning was that it is not over until you have signed the contract. There were so many times when I celebrated because a customer confirmed the deal, but it got cancelled the next day because due to unexpected reason. Sometimes, you really can’t anticipate those reasons. You can’t know and control everything. But oftentimes, you can if you pay close attention to the customer’s concerns throughout the sales process.
Marina (Demand generation lead): It is really important that a customer is the right one for our business and, if we can’t bring them value, it’s much better to move on than to close the deal. If we close the deal with the wrong customer, not only will we not be helpful, but other departments, like the Implementation or Engineering team, can also have problems in the delivery. Also, the cost can be higher than the revenue.
Sanjin (Account executive): Choosing who you want to work with. Your product is not the right match for every customer and, if you don’t realize this, it will end up costing you more than you will gain. You need to learn to cut your losses early and move on.
Nedeljko: If you need to negotiate or haggle at the end of the process, you did something wrong during the sales process.
Ivan (Inbound sales representative): I was a software buyer at my previous job, and now I’m at the other side of the table – as a software provider. This put me in a unique position to have an overview of both sides of the sales process, which gives me a deeper understanding of these two perspectives.
Would you recommend Lemax as a place to start and grow your sales career and why?
You will have a chance to basically talk to customers worldwide while doing what you love, helping them solve their core business problems. – Sanjin Šumar, Account executive
Goran (Account executive): I started my sales career in Lemax and grew with the company into signing 7+ figure contracts. So, would I recommend Lemax? I became a better person working in B2B SaaS Sales at Lemax!
Marina (Demand generation lead): Sure! Lemax is a good place for both the people who are starting a sales career as well as for individuals with experience who would like to grow furthermore. This is an IT industry, which is rapidly growing. We have different sales positions such as: Inbound Sales Representative, Sales Development Representative, Solution Consultant, Account Executive… so everyone who would like to work in sales can find a position according to their interests. A B2B SaaS Sales career at Lemax is a chance to work with very talented people who are always willing to help their team. You will also communicate with customers from all over the world and help them succeed in their business.
Sanjin (Account executive): Yes, of course. It’s an opportunity to work with very talented people and gain lots of new skills. You will have a chance to basically talk to customers worldwide while doing what you love and helping them solve their core business problems.
Nedeljko (Solution consultant): Absolutely! I don’t believe there is a B2B SaaS company in Croatia where you will encounter sales that are this complex. It can look intimidating at first, but if you make it here, you can make it anywhere!
Ivan (Inbound sales representative): I would recommend Lemax because it is a company that has great potential. There’s still so much that we want to achieve. I feel that if you join Lemax on this journey, you can learn a lot, both from our successes and mistakes. One of the benefits of working at Lemax is that you will be selling a complex SaaS solution, which is certainly a unique opportunity in Croatia!
