The selling process for SaaS companies can be long; fraught with back and forths and pauses. Today, the average SaaS sales cycle is 84 days, regardless of ACV. But for many companies, that’s just too long to wait.
So, how can SaaS businesses accelerate the sales process and ensure that a deal gets closed?
Here, creating a sense of urgency can tap into a psychological aspect of buyer behavior that incites action. Today, we’ll discuss 5 ways you can utilize this methodology.
#1 — Start with Scarcity
Urgency is a psychological trigger that’s related to human loss aversion. Put simply, you don’t want to miss out—in this case, on a great deal or a fantastic product.
In many cases, urgency is linked to scarcity. In other words, if there’s a limited number of something, you have to get your hands on it before there are none left. The lack of supply compels a quick action.
For SaaS companies to leverage scarcity, there needs to be a limited number of items available. In this case, examples could be:
- Alpha release – For new products, there may be a finite number of alpha versions that only the first companies to act will get access to.
- Deals – Put a cap on the total number of deals available to companies. Common phrases for this type of marketing may sound like, “First-come, first serve,” or “Only a few more spots available,” or “The deal ends in so many days.”
- Exclusivity – Some SaaS companies may create an exclusive system that only the right people can get access to, at least in the early stages. This sense of exclusivity makes others want to join. An example of this was how Gmail was invite-only from 2004 to 2007.
#2 — Lean On the Numbers
If your product is already finding success and making a marked impact on its existing users, it’s smart to lean into that with urgency tactics.
How?
You could cite how many users have signed up in the last week and the expected benefits they’re already receiving. In doing so, you can foster a sense of urgency where a business that isn’t yet signed up feels as if it’s missing out on an opportunity to create a competitive advantage.
The sentiment goes: Other businesses are doing it. Why aren’t you?
#3 — Use an Impending Price Increase
Do you have a price hike on the horizon? If so, let would-be customers know that now’s the best, cheapest time to get in.
Price increases are a natural outgrowth of product evolution. More features and functionalities tend to lead to higher prices over time.
By highlighting this impending cost increase, you can send sign-ups that give would-be buyers an opportunity to get in before it becomes more expensive. This is especially useful for customers who were already on the fence and just needed a little extra nudge to get across the finish line.
#4 — Implement Countdown Timers
No visual can give as significant an impending sense of urgency as a ticking timer. Both human psychology and media in general have conditioned us to associate fleeting moments with a call to action.
According to Brad Smith, founder of Codeless: “The countdown timer is becoming ubiquitous online now thanks to simple tools like this. Earlier we saw it on Expedia. Then in a site overlay. Now on the QVC. And soon we’ll see it in a few other contexts as well.”
Common uses include:
- Countdown popups
- Flash sales
- Daily deals
- Limited availability
Semgeeks—Driving SaaS Sales
Modern marketing tactics creating a sense of urgency have the potential to accelerate deal closures and incite greater market participation. Such sales strategies tap into psychological behaviors that are deeply embedded in the human brain.
Do you need help creating a sense of urgency over your product?
The team at Semgeeks can help. As one of the premier content creation companies in New Jersey, we’ve worked with dozens of SaaS vendors to drive sales and shorten the sales cycle.
What does a Semgeeks partnership look like? Let’s chat.
Sources:
The Verge. Gmail is 10 years old today. https://www.theverge.com/2014/4/1/5570694/gmail-10-years-old-today
Wordstream. 13 Urgency-Inducing Tricks to Drive Sales. https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/04/05/how-to-increase-urgency
