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Business Insights for Software Developers and Publishers www.softletter.com |
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Vol 4, No 1 In This Issue's Softletter
Softletter's Marketing and Selling (Softletter Subscribers Save an SaaS Seminar
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The Softletter CEO 2008 This survey covers Chief Executive Officer (CEO) compensation and asks only four questions . We're looking for some fairly standard information--in particular, a comparison of "base salary" vs. "variable pay" (bonuses, commissions, etc.) for your most recent full year and for the previous year. In addition, we compare salaries based on company development stages, an important factor that's rarely taken into account in other salary surveys. Everyone who supplies data for this survey will receive a complimentary copy of the summary report in the February 15th issue of Softletter! Of course, all responses will be strictly confidential. We won't disclose or identify data about any individuals or about participating companies. The Softletter 2007 Website Security and Up Time Survey is Now Open This survey covers website security and up time. As you are undoubtedly well aware, doing business online can be a dangerous exercise. Recent security breaches involving the states of Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut etc., the massive loss of data at TJ Max, and a recent phishing attack at Salesforce.com only highlight the current state of online security affairs. This survey examines the potential impact of DDoS, hacking, and phishing/social engineering attacks on your site and business. All respondents receive a free copy of the complete summary results! Of course, all responses will be strictly confidential. We won't disclose or identify data about any individuals or about participating companies. Watch Rick Chapman's Presentation on the SaaS Tsunami at the October 31st, 2007 Business of Software Conference in San Jose
(Click the image/link to play the WMV file. The video runs approximately an hour and five minutes. The presentation covers the factors driving SaaS acceptance, the ISOS disruption model, opportunities in SaaS for B2C, the impact of the Windows Vista launch and WGA on SaaS acceptance and more.)
The Premier Event for Companies Seating limited to125 attendees Keynote Speakers
Fast Saas Fact In the 2007 Softletter SaaS survey, when asked "Do you charge for major new capabilities when they are introduced?" 47.7% of survey respondents said "No." Selected Excerpts from the Softletter Telesales Efficiency Survey Introduction: Methods and Respondent Profiles Our Telesales Efficiency Survey, conducted in October and November 2007, was sent to approximately 23k companies over a period of three weeks. The survey was conducted entirely via the web and results were processed with the Perseus Web Surveyor system. The survey received 126 valid responses, with the single largest group of respondents reporting that their title was CEO, president, or some variant of the aforementioned: 48 in total. The second largest cohort identified themselves as having a sales title including VP of Sales, director of sales, and other variants: 21. The third largest cohort was participants with a director title: 20. Other titles provided included CFO, CTO, advisor, senior VP of operations, and business development (2). Twenty respondents failed to provide a title. Summary Results The survey broke companies down into four basic categories, companies selling Enterprise/Client Server products, SaaS, Desktop/Retail and OEM (which was defined in the survey as product embedded directly within another software product). Numbers of particular interest are bolded. The results were as follows:
One interesting callout generated by these responses is the relative weakness of SaaS in the telesales area. At Santa Clara's SaaS seminar, we asked Treb Ryan, CEO of OpSource and an advocate of telesales in SaaS, for his reaction to our SaaS survey's finding that almost 60% of SaaS firms rely primarily on direct sales. He responded that he felt our numbers reflected a certain inertia in the market from companies that keep on doing what they know how to do. While we feel the telesales option will pick up strength in next year's surveys, "feet on the street" is alive and well regardless of the market sector in which you can compete.
These numbers reveal several interesting things. For one, despite talk we've recently heard about telesales personnel racking up $200k+ salaries, our data demonstrates a much more prosaic reality. The lofty figures that top direct sales personnel command are still distinct from those paid even the most generously compensated telesales reps.
These numbers reflect the fact that companies doing business via telesales enjoy a strong advantage in time to close; it is notable that no companies reported that major sales take more than a year to close. Of course, as our Size of the Average Sale median demonstrates, many of these firms are selling software products that do not require the exhaustive vetting and corporate approval that higher ticket products require.
Astute company CEOs will note the relative speed with which telesales personnel receive their variable pay. Since our numbers reflect the fact that telesales firms are smaller and tend to play in smaller markets, cash flow concerns and the desire to economize often leads to upper management making the decision to fund their company on the backs of their telesales force, a temptation it almost always wise to avoid. We can tell you from personal experience and observation that pushing payments out more than 45 days leads to demoralization and high turnover among your telesales group (and playing Scrooge during the Christmas/New Year's nexus only compounds the effect). Over time, the amount of money saved by these tactics is more than eaten up by lost opportunities in your sales process and the costs involved in training new telesales personnel and filling up sales pipelines. Softletter's Marketing and Selling
SaaS Seminar, 2008 Atlanta, GA January 30th/31st
Softletter's Marketing and Selling SaaS Seminar, 2008 will help you reach these goals! The Seminar features some of the software industry's leading companies and experts on the SaaS business model. Attendees and presenters are from technology providers, and the focus of the entire program is on software companies, not technology consumers . The keynote speech by NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson will analyze business trends and platform commitments as the SaaS model sweeps through the industry. All seminar sessions will focus on providing hard data and practical strategies and tactics for ensuring you succeed in SaaS. When the seminar is over, you'll leave reinforced by a copy of the complete proceedings, The Softletter SaaS Report, a trial subscription to Softletter, which includes three-month access to the Softletter archives, and a complimentary copy of In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters (analyzes the ASP collapse and the reasons for the SaaS revival). If your company is interested in or likely to be impacted by the growth of SaaS (and there is no company that won't be impacted by SaaS), Softletter's Marketing and Selling SaaS Seminar, 2008 is a must attend event! A Comprehensive Agenda The SaaS 2008 seminar agenda covers:
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Softletter's Marketing and Selling SaaS Seminar, 2008 The Premier Event for Those Who Need to Succeed in SaaS Register Today and Save $100 With Early Bird Registration! Early Bird Savings End January 21st! Save More With Group Discounts Keynote Speakers Zach Nelson, CEO, NetSuite Seminar SponsorsGold Sponsors
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