
The solo-bootstrapped SaaS sales challenge - luxpir
https://www.linguaquote.com/translation-news/the-solo-bootstrapped-saas-sales-challenge
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skmurphy
Less focus on quantity, more focus on quality might yield a substantially
higher conversion rate: 5 a week or even 2-3 well done articles a week may be
a much better goal, especially if he can hunt for more enterprise accounts
that create recurring revenue. A mix of media (e.g. podcast, short videos,
webinars, e-book, etc...) and formats (e.g adding case studies, interviews of
customers, panels of freelancers, business and process self-assessments,
etc...) may have a bigger impact than 500 short articles.

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luxpir
I posted this 3 hrs ago, didn't want to respond too early in case it killed
any potential conversation. But I think it's probably run its course by now.

Thanks very much for the thoughtful comment. I did originally have 5 a week in
as a target, but it didn't feel substantial enough. But I know you're right in
that my most popular 'hits' (no conversion at all, but widely read) were the
most in-depth pieces.

I'm not convinced that a multimedia shower will convert better than the
equivalent articles, I have no data on that at all. I presume you've seen some
indicators pointing to mixed media working effectively so I'll take your word
for it and definitely incorporate it where possible/relevant.

Hopefully I'll have some interesting data of my own to report at the end of
the challenge. Or sooner if it works better than expected. If you've any cases
in mind of others doing similar things, with their results, I'd be all ears.

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skmurphy
Voice (podcast / video) builds trust faster than print/text; text is better
for detailed technical information. Especially for Enterprise accounts this is
a complex sale not an impulse purchase and you need to establish trust and
credibility. Stanford credibility guidelines are also useful:
[https://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/](https://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/)
your site fails many of these tests.

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junko
Reading this reminds me of Tech in Asia. At least a couple of articles
everyday, _without fail_ , where most is recycled content, reads almost like
Buzzfeed actually. But sometimes there are gems that give real insight to a
market that otherwise would be harder to find elsewhere (Asian tech news
outlets are numbered fewly). And that's enough for me to check it every day.

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luxpir
I hear you. The difference here is that I _have_ been working on this business
for years and I _am_ fully motivated by circumstance and whatever else fuels
motivation to execute. Perhaps not the case on the site you mention.

There'll be more from me on this, so do check back from time to time :)

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JRutherford
As others have pointed out, spending more time on quality content would
probably serve you better. Unless you're a gifted, uncanny writer, you're
going to inevitably write thin content if you produce the amount that you're
talking about writing in the next year.

And thin content = very, very high bounce rates. You'll probably struggle to
hit your conversion topics.

In the vast tsunami of content, your potential users are looking for detailed,
relevant and actionable content - not a short, dashed off article.

That's my gut feeling anyway. Regardless, good luck with your efforts. Keep us
updated.

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palmdeezy
Instead of going for the quick take, spend your time writing one article a
week that's higher quality with the intent of virality

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tbrooks
> mainly sales calls and content writing system

Goes on to list strategy for only content writing system. No mentions of
strategy on sales calls.

"If you want action don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want." \-- David
Oglivy

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luxpir
That's pretty much because I'm going to be rolling out cold-calls 101. The
only 'advanced' stuff I might try is pre-warming prospects with emails or
similar. Otherwise it's just finding likely prospects, me, the phone and the
law of averages. And of course lots of attention to objections, what works,
what doesn't etc.

The post was just publicly setting myself the challenge. After a few hundred
calls I'll post up some information on how it's going and hopefully a strategy
of sorts will have developed. Don't expect much more than 'I called many
people, was attentive, and some bought' in the best case scenario.

Thanks for the Ogilvy quote. I think that's just as valid as it was in the
20th century (I presume that's when he said it). Perhaps moreso.

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hhw3h
If you haven't read predictable revenue take a look at that. It'll help you
develop a cadence of outreach touches to warm prospects through the process.
One of my favorite tips he recommends is the "referral down".

1\. Connect with leader of organization on Linkedin. 2\. Wait 3 days. 3\. Send
one line email to leader of organization politely requesting a referral down
to the decision maker and stakeholder you'd like to speak with. 4\. Have
initial qualifying conversation with stakeholder.

This leads to a much higher connect rate than just calling in cold.

