Sep 9, 2019
Why you have to check out today’s podcast:
- Learn the two mistakes Bill encountered in his journey in pricing and avoid making them
- Know how the sales enablement tool works during the late-stage deals
- Discover how SaaS salespeople were compensated
Bill Wilson is the co-founder and CEO of SalesRight. Over his two decades of working in the Canadian software industry, he has closed millions of dollars in deals — all driven by his dedication to enhancing Canada’s software industry. Bill’s thoughtful and team-centric approach to leadership builds environments that promote innovative thinking and passionate problem-solving. Previous to SalesRight, Bill was the CEO of app-agency MindSea, which has developed some of the top rating apps in North America, often featured by Apple.
How does an expert in developing apps found his way to be an industry thought leader in pricing? And how he effectively channeled his knowledge in complex SaaS pricing to offering intelligent and interactive pricing solutions? Bill Wilson will answer all these questions in today’s episode. Tune in and learn more about the SaaS pricing structure and metrics, how sales enablement tool works, and his concept on sales compensation plans.
“You’ve got to be confident that what you’re doing is worth the money.”
– Bill Wilson
Topics Covered:
01:32 – Bill narrates how he shifted from creating apps to become an expert in pricing
03:33 – Two things that he considers his biggest mistakes in pricing
05:37 – What he found out with value-based pricing
06:19 – Bill explains what the late-stage deals in SaaS are all about
08:50 – Bill tells about the sales enablement tool they used for late-stage deals
12:26 – How to structure pricing
15:39 – How to present complex pricing models
16:29 – Talking about the metrics they use to understand how customers buy
19:38 – Insights on the sales compensation plans for SaaS
21:50 – Bill details what an average contract value (ACV) means
24:37 – A price of pricing advice that would impact the business of the listeners
Key Takeaways:
“We started selling things more in a packaged way. And that was sort of my real introduction into the pricing space because I realize now that it’s basically the core of pretty much everything. One of the surefire ways you want to increase your revenue is to raise your prices, like all of the pricing and context around that. So that’s how I got into it. It was sort of a requirement as I grew the business.” – Bill Wilson
“During discovery and during qualification, we get as much information as we can, and we should know what’s important to our prospects. But there’s nothing like them telling you by actually interacting with the pricing, and they’re looking at some scenarios that you didn’t think of. And that’s the kind of metrics I’m talking about, understanding how they buy.” – Bill Wilson
“If someone sells a deal, don’t dribble in their commission every month. As you get paid, pay them the commission upfront. They’ve got to eat, and they’ve got to see the upside. And if there’s a deal that is sliding sideways and they churn out in six months, will you just clot back off a future deal? Like you don’t. It requires a bit of accounting magic, but you can make it work. And I think it gives the upside and the right place for the salesperson incentivizes them correctly, and also incentivizes them not to bring in people who are going to churn out good clients that see the value.” – Bill Wilson
“I think the biggest thing for me is choice and being able to give people a few options that make sense for them and allow them to participate in that pricing conversation and surface it as early as you can.” – Bill Wilson
Connect with Bill Wilson:
- mailto:bill.wilson@salesright.co
Connect with Mark Stiving