Yes Customer Testimonials — Done Right — Are Super Important
Do customer testimonials really matter in the age of AI? They still do. Maybe even more so. They are incredibly important. We spend so much time marketing and selling to customers. And building stuff for them. But almost no one thinks enough about what a buyer...
What Happens When You Hire the Wrong VP
You know how everyone says you'll never look and wish you'd kept a bad VP as long as you did? That when you make a mis-hire, you'll always look back and say you should have made a change 3-4 month earlier? Well, everyone is right — Jason ✨👾SaaStr...
6 Key Signs a VP of Sales Can’t Scale Beyond $5m-$10m ARR
The best VPs can recruit in ways I barely understand You need someone for a key role? They somehow have 2-3 strong candidates in a week or two This is so, so hard But the very best VPs make it somehow look almost effortless It's also the only way to scale —...
At Least 20% of Your New Customers Should Come from Referrals and Word of Mouth. Ideally, 50%.
Dear SaaStr: What Percent of My Revenue Should Come from Referrals and Word of Mouth? "Word of mouth is ultimately the only way you can scale in SaaS." pic.twitter.com/UAsIkG4Ixx — Jason ✨👾SaaStr.Ai✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) December 18, 2024 Ultimately, most...
VPs That Can’t Hire … They Aren’t Real VPs. At Least, Not Yet.
The best VPs can recruit in ways I barely understand You need someone for a key role? They somehow have 2-3 strong candidates in a week or two This is so, so hard But the very best VPs make it somehow look almost effortless It's also the only way to scale —...
Sometimes All Your Bigger Customers Want is Just To Be Heard
Just remember, i know they stress you out and drive you a bit nuts But the customers that complain the most are often the ones that care the most. At least, it shows they aren't leaving. Yet. — Jason ✨👾SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) December 9,...
10 Ways to Build a Moat in SaaS. But AI is Also Making Them Weaker.
The real moat in SaaS is brand Almost every market leader has a really, really good competitor or 2 or even 3 That would honestly do the job just as well — Jason ✨👾SaaStr.Ai✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) February 5, 2025 A while back we did an extra “Day 0” AMA...
You’ll Lose Customers. It Hurts. But Don’t Let Them Become Angry Ex-Customers.
When a customer leaves happy, they often still recommend you When a customer leaves unhappy, they always recommend a competitor — Jason ✨👾SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) February 19, 2025 The other day, I had an experience I’ve never had in 14...
Eventually … Almost Everyone Has a Sales Team
The lure of freemium (like The Force) is strong. No headaches. Customers try and buy all on their own. Like magic. The appeal of No Salespeople can be strong. And freemium is certainly back in the Age of AI. ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Canva and more have all...
5 Ways AI Has Already Changed SaaS Sales Forever with Perplexity’s CBO Dmitry Shevelenko and SaaStr CRO Confidential Host Sam Blond
Perplexity’s CBO Dmitry Shevelenko and host of the SaaStr CRO Confidential series (and former CRO at Brex), Sam Blond at SaaStr Annual share how AI has already fundamentally rewired how SaaS sales works.
Events Work. Events Are Back. But Are They Worth the Big Expense?
Just got an email from a CEO yesterday that they closed a $450,000 TCV deal from a buyer they met at SaaStr Annual in September Don’t say events don’t work Be where your customers are. Even in the age of AI. — Jason ✨👾SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk)...
30+ Tough Learnings from Losing a Top Customer
On both SaaStr University and Twitter, we had 30+ founders, CEOs and execs share their top, tough learnings from losing one of their top customers. There are some great teachable moments here, and also some deja-vu if you’ve been through it! “I should...
That Super-Successful VP of Sales. Great? Or Just Lucky?
I get sent this resume to review all the time. Director+ of Sales at Slack / Zoom / Mongo / Datadog / Qualtrics Your Brand Name SaaS Company. Took Hot Start-Up from $0 to $50m as VPS from Day 0. Was there “early” through IPO and did amazing things. That all sounds...
