SaaS – Zignalytics

Posted on December 3, 2020December 4, 2020 by Kannan_Kasi — Leave a comment

My favourite apps are getting acquired!

The latest in this list is Bigbasket. They got bought over by Tata.

Last month, Urban Ladder was bought over by Reliance.

Slack was bought by Salesforce for $ 27.7 Bn.

Slideshare was bought long time ago by LinkedIn.

And, LinkedIn was then bought over by Microsoft.

“Taxi For Sure” was acquired long ago by OLA.

Maybe, I have an eye / taste for good products & services.

I am in the wrong trade, I guess.

Maybe, I should become an Investor / #Mergers & #Acquisitions Consultant.

A senior friend was working with an Indian CRM product company.

He quit that company & joined Siebel.

Then, Oracle bought Siebel.

He quit Siebel & joined Agile Software.

Oracle then bought Agile Software. What? Yes, they did!

I think Oracle was following him wherever he went. 🙂

He should have become the Head of Acquisitions at Oracle.

Because, he had an eye for excellence. And he was riding the wave.

What #apps are you using?

Your favourite apps like Instagram, Whatsapp were acquired by Facebook long ago.

There is talk of #SuperApp doing the rounds.

Choose your apps wisely.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Unless, your name is Tata.

#b2c #story #brands #marketshare

Posted on November 23, 2020November 24, 2020 by Kannan_Kasi — Leave a comment

Who is your customer?

I remember my days selling Microsoft Office & Lotus Smart Suite, Lotus Notes [Domino] & MS Exchange, Oracle Work Group Edition & MS SQL Server, SCO UNIX Openserver & MS Windows NT. Depending on who I am selling to or who I am selling against, I used to propose one of these two competing products. And bet on it for the rest of the sales process in that account.

Tough call. I hear that.

When you work with a distributor carrying competing products, it’s always a tough call.

There was a cellphone operator called Skycell. I learnt from the market that they were on the look out for a groupware solution. I took my colleague from the consulting team [who was technically far superior to me] for the call. We decided to propose Lotus notes even before landing up there. Don’t ask me how we decided on that. During the call, the manager whom we met asked us what do we propose. We looked at each other and took a risk and said Lotus Notes. Rest is history. We not only sold but also implemented. We were with them & saw them reap benefits from it. That account became an anchor client for us.

I remember what Don Peppers, a Thought Leader in Customer Experience, Marketing & Sales said. He was looking at a sales person at a shoe store during Christmas sale. The sales person was recommending only American shoes to every customer. He was surprised. When the sales guy took a break, Don went up to him and asked him why was he referring only American Shoes whereas the store carried Nike, Reebok etc. He asked him if American shoes offered him more commission or his manager asked him to sell that brand. The sales guy said: “None of those are reasons. American shoes come pre-laced whereas the other shoes don’t. I will spend 4 mins lacing up each pair & that would affect sales. Customers will walk away.”

Who is the customer here? Think about it.

Lotus got acquired by IBM in 1995 and after 18 years, in 2013, they retired Lotus Smart Suite and contributed the code to Apache Open Office.

Takeaway:

Find who is your real customer and sell to him/her.

#HappySelling!!

#b2b #b2c #sales #whoisyourcustomer

Posted on November 5, 2020November 5, 2020 by Kannan_Kasi — Leave a comment

Ideas are nothing, it’s the execution that matters!

That was a time, a friend of mine & I were deeply engrossed in discussions on what to start. I was running a small Professional IT Services firm & he was employed with an IT major then.

We met during the weekends and spoke about everything under the sun. We kept our eyes and ears open & saw what was happening in the market.

Once, he had just returned back home after a short trip to the US. He asked me if we should develop a taxi hailing app. That was much before “Taxi For Sure” or Ola in India or Uber in the US. I am not sure what happened next and why we didn’t jump into that at that point in time.

I have learnt one thing in life. You have to take risks. There’s no easy route to success. And it’s never late. There’s always an opportunity. Or ways to differentiate what already exists.

If you are chasing a dream of starting up on your own, I advise you to start it as a side gig and work on it passionately outside of your 9-5 job. Rajiv Srivatsa, COO of Urban Ladder, an online furniture retailer said, in Aug 2018: “In the next 20 years, the strongest brands in any category will start purely online, reach out through the power of these marketplaces, and, as they build a sustainable brand, look at other channels to expand to.”

Put on your thinking hats!

Get creative!

Build something!

HappySelling!!

#b2b #b2c #sales #entrepreneurship #business

Posted on October 9, 2020October 9, 2020 by Kannan_Kasi — Leave a comment

What’s your Social Selling Index [SSI]?

Before I get to that, in today’s world, you exist only if you are in #Instagram, #LinkedIn, #Facebook etc. Right / Wrong?

Couple of things to do:

Post regularly on your subject matter.
Share other people’s insightful posts. [like this one :)]
Like & Share valuable comments on other’s posts. [I encourage you to start with my post :)]
Be resourceful.
Have a social media playbook.
Have social media goals.
Create a content calendar.
Be creative.
Be helpful.
Stay on course.

LinkedIn Social Selling Index is a measure of how effective you are in:

a) establishing your personal brand

b) finding the right people

c) engaging with insights

d) building relationships

B2B buyers like to deal with Sales professionals who have been referred by someone they know or trust. So, it is important to connect with people in your industry and build trust and confidence. They may be referring you to someone they know who might fit your buyer persona.

Here’s my SSI in this pdf. I dropped from a score of 78 to 72 now. This is computed daily.

You can find yours here: https://www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi

HappySocialSelling!!

HappySelling!!

Posted on September 29, 2020September 29, 2020 by Kannan_Kasi — Leave a comment

Get Customers!!

If you are a SaaS company and are looking at growing your customer base, this will be helpful to you. Go ahead and get a jumpstart!

Posted on September 25, 2020September 25, 2020 by Kannan_Kasi — Leave a comment

How to Master The Art of Video Prospecting!!

Some of you had expressed interest earlier in learning more about using #Videos in #Sales.

I just attended a Live Masterclass titled “How To Master The Art Of Video #Prospecting” by Morgan J Ingram.

He is the man to go to for Videos. I believe he has so far made over 10k videos. Follow him, ask him, take his classes, do whatever. He is too good. I highly recommend him.

Interviews with Reva Pellerin (she/her) & Ellie Twigger added value.

Videos are going to take a big chunk of your interactions with customers, going forward.

If you can’t be there in person, then videos are the next best thing.

What’s more? Videos can be saved & played over & over again.

If you are like me, looking at starting off with videos, now’s the time to do that.

1. Duration of 90 seconds or thereabouts should be fine.
2. Smile.
3. Be Happy. We can see that in your video & no one wants to see a sad face ever.
4. Ensure good lighting.
5. Look at the camera. [Not at yourself. Don’t care about your shirt etc. I didn’t mean you can wear a crumpled shirt. You get it!]
6. Just be human.
7. Just one idea per #video.

When the replay of the webinar becomes available, I will share it with you all here.

Stay tuned. [for the tips & tricks as I go along].

#HappyCreating!!
#HappySelling!!

#videoprospecting

Posted on September 18, 2020September 18, 2020 by Kannan_Kasi — Leave a comment

Forbes Cloud 100 2020, list of SaaS companies

#Insights from the #Forbes #cloud100 2020, list of #SaaS companies.

Along with the list of #skills that are #ondemand right now.

Some Insights from the Forbes Cloud 100 2020, list of SaaS companies:

The following Industry Verticals are leading the current technology landscape.

Enterprise AI
Data Analytics / Data Intelligence
Data Management / Data Platform
Cyber Security
Sales CRM / Sales Enablement / Sales Engagement / Customer Engagement
Customer Communications Software
Design Software
DevOps Software
Team Management / Collaboration
Robotic Process Automation
Collaboration Software
Payments Software

And the Companies in the above verticals are:

Enterprise AI – DataRobot, C3.ai, Dataiku, Dataminr
Data Analytics / Data Intelligence – Databricks, Sisense, ThoughtSpot, Collibra
Data Management / Data Platform – Snowflake, Confluent, Rubrik, Veeam, Cohesity
Cyber Security – Tanium, Netskope, Darktrace, BitSight
Sales CRM / Sales Enablement / Sales Engagement / Customer Engagement – Pipedrive, Seismic, Gong.io, Highspot, Outreach, Segment, Freshworks, Braze, Sprinklr, Gainsight
Customer Communications Software – Front, Intercom, Podium
Design Software – Canva, Figma, Invision
DevOps Software – GitLab, JFrog
Team Management / Team Collaboration – Asana, Monday.com, Notion
Robotic Process Automation – UIPath, Automation Anywhere
Collaboration Software – Symphony Communication Services, Miro
Payments Software – Stripe, Checkout.com

The Skills that are in demand:

Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Data Science, Data Analytics
Data Management
Cybersecurity
Sales
Mobile Development
Internet of Things
Robotics
Fintech

Insights-Forbes-Cloud-100-2020 Download

#jobs2020 #jobs #techtrends2020 #postcovid19 #trending #techjobs #skillsdevelopment