Glenborn Corp

The Catch 22 of Getting into Saas Sales. We are often asked how you get into SaaS sales from a sales background outside of the space. This is a classic Catch 22 situation where SaaS firms explicitly require SaaS experience in their candidates. So how do you bridge that gap? 1. Show a commitment to the transition, limit the perceived risk. Here's how: a. Do a functional-specific course on SaaS sales. Try Coursera, Sales Impact Academy etc. so you understand terminology, basic SaaS architecture. b. Do an industry-specific course to understand the target technology area you are interested in. eg ML, AL, Generative AI, Digital Marketing. c. Then spend the time to learn the ecosystems, the players in the target areas (see below) etc - Read Gartner/ Forrester reports, listen to tech podcasts (a16z, Pivot, 20min VC). Do a Google image search on ________ ecosystem vendor landscape. 2. Keep as much constant as you can. Highlight what you know, not what you don't and use that as a bridge to relevancy. Remember there are a few key variables in every sales search from the perspective of a hiring manger.... The first three, Function, level, geography we will assume as constant. You are in sales, in a given place, and either have or don't have managerial experience. So the emphasis in sales is then on these 2 a. Your knowledge of the target company's industry space (what the company sells). b. Your Knowledge of the target company's vertical (eg retail, cpg) and the target persona (who they company sells to in an organization) You will have greater success making a transition to SaaS where you keep consistency in a. or b. with your current role. For example.. i. You currently sell Media to Agencies and the CMOs of Brands? Then focus on Ad tech or Marketing tech to the same vertical. ii. You sell industrial efficiency equipment to manufacturers? Target software workflow platforms geared towards the same vertical. iii. You currently sell sales training courses to SaaS leaders? Focus your search efforts the Sales tech ecosystem and sales enablement platforms. 3. Set yourself up to be reactively found and for your resume and Linkedin profile to highlight your commitment to the space and show how your experience aligns with your target industry and their target verticals. Make relevant keywords, vertical, client and persona orientation pop on your profile and resume. 4. Get Proactive - Research your target industries. Create a list. Find out which firms are hiring and network your way in and, speaking of that 5. Recognize that you still need to network your way in to jobs. You are still not fully baked in the eyes of hiring managers so recruiters will unlikely be able to help you (Why pay a premium where there is limited preexisting alignment?) . This means you will need to rely on friends and ex-colleagues and direct referrals from people who trust you to get the job done. In-Person networking is key to meet new people and win over their trust.

Excellent guide on expanding in the US for tech firms from Frontline Ventures including some advice on hiring in sales from Glenborn Corp.

Plastic waste reduction is in the news today and we are active in this space with 2 opportunities for a company leading the charge with platform and advisory offerings full-product-lifecycle solutions around plastic mitigation. Open roles: Combination AM/CS role focused on SaaS platform around Sustainability (CPG) Content Marketing Role more at https://lnkd.in/dN7EE8pH

How to transition to a hotter industry area in SaaS sales or SaaS sales leadership from a legacy space.......Examples in comments

Here's Glenborn's guide to GTM SaaS recruiting in the US for foreign startups and the Investors helping those firms expand to the US. It contains 40 pages of insights, tips, and salary guidelines and a reminder that your hiring readiness is locked at the hip with your sales readiness. Get your copy here... https://lnkd.in/dmj2crcZ