Survey: B2B SaaS Execs Bullish on Sales Methodologies, See Value Engineering as Game Changing

MetaCX, the pioneer in a new outcomes-based approach for managing the customer lifecycle, today revealed the results of its "The State of Sales Methodologies in B2B SaaS," a primary research survey which indexed the attitudes of 400 individual contributors, managers and executives working in revenue and customer roles for North American B2B SaaS companies. Developed in partnership with Revenue Collective, the findings convey the relative performance of different methodologies, adoption and usage by different sales functions and teams, how these methodologies are implemented and operationalized, and the various roles and stakeholders associated with these initiatives.

"A structured sales methodology can have a profound impact on B2B revenue performance, but implementation is often a major change management exercise," said Jake Sorofman, president of MetaCX. "With this new survey, we wanted to understand where companies struggle and where they succeed as a way to shine a bright light on the path forward for B2B SaaS companies that are going through these transformations."

Sam Jacobs, founder and CEO of Revenue Collective added: "We're proud to work with MetaCX to support their research initiatives and bring this dataset to the largest sales community."

Key findings from the survey include:

• Value engineering, which is the systematic method of building and proving strong business cases for the purchase and renewal of software and digital products, has come of age, with formalized functions found in more than half of companies surveyed. Respondents say these teams make a substantial difference in the perception of sales methodology impact with a 13 point difference in reported effectiveness when a formalized value engineering team exists.
• Executives are more bullish about the performance and impact of their company's sales methodologies than less senior counterparts, with 52% of executives saying their methodologies are "highly effective," compared to 39% of individual contributors.
• Of all customer-facing functions outside of sales, customer success teams are the least likely to adopt these sales methodologies, with 39% reporting "little or no engagement," compared with 9% of marketing and 25% of professional services teams saying the same thing.
• How you apply a methodology is more important than which one you adopt, with little perceived difference in effectiveness across different types of methodologies--but plenty of challenges implementing, operationalizing and scaling these systems.

All of the key findings and recommendations are available for download, free of charge, here.

As context, the survey offered the following definition for a sales methodology:

A framework that outlines how sellers approach each phase of the sales process, including the steps that are taken; the criteria for advancing a deal; and the process for identifying and validating customer pains, defining and proposing solutions, and measuring value realization.

Examples of sales methodologies cited in the research include Solution Selling, Challenger, FORCE, MEDDIC, SPIN, NEAT, Miller Heiman, Sandler, and others. This survey was administered by a professional market research firm, using industry accepted practices for survey design, data collection, and statistical analysis.

This news comes on the heels of MetaCX's announcement last week of the Revenue Revolutionaries podcast. Published every Wednesday, this brand new podcast series features candid conversations with chief revenue officers (CROs), chief customer officers (CCOs), and chief operating officers (COOs) responsible for leading teams focused on revenue growth and customer success.

About MetaCX

MetaCX is pioneering a new outcomes-based approach for managing the entire customer lifecycle by transforming how suppliers and buyers collaborate and win together. By creating shared spaces that allow suppliers and buyers to define and measure outcomes, MetaCX helps align sales, success and delivery teams around real business impact that customers can see. Headquartered in Indianapolis, MetaCX has raised $14 million from Upfront Ventures and High Alpha and is led by former executives from Salesforce, ExactTarget, Facebook and Pendo. For more information, visit www.MetaCX.com or follow on Twitter @metacx.

About Revenue Collective

Revenue Collective is the largest, most prestigious organization for revenue leaders in the world. With close to 3,500 members worldwide and chapters in every major city, Revenue Collective has built a powerful community focused on the advancement and professional development of its members. Members join Revenue Collective to receive access to the world's best executives for peer-to-peer learning, workbooks, playbooks, templates, coaching, mentorship, and much more. Revenue Collective members accelerate their careers and skills to help their companies grow faster, more efficiently, and more successfully. For more information, visit www.revenuecollective.com.