I just created a B2B micro-saas, in the process of validating to merchants and logistics professionals and I have some interviews lined up but, I wanted to see if anyone here had any experience with B2B sales. Like, how does it go? This software involves logistics so do I attend their conventions and shit? Also is google ads worth it or nah? I have about $5k to spare each month to spend on this shizz.
bvmp
google aids and SEO is literally half the battle. Fucking jews I swear to god
I had no idea there was black people in that show.
>>59592497it's not that bad honestly. at least my company name is the first hit already when you look it up.
>>59592657How’d you do this? I don’t really understand you just wrote software to solve a problem (how’d you find the problem) and got clients (how’d you get the clients)?
>>59593192>how’d you find the problemI just thought of it really, saw if anyone did it before (there are only enterprise solutions for big corps but not for SMEs) and hopped on it.I haven't gotten clients yet but I have merchants interested in my product, im a new company on the block so they're obviously very cautious which I dont blame.>how broJust... do it brah. Literally nobody is stopping you except yourself. People don't realize in business most are interested in communication because there is potential mutual benefit, just keep the interviewing and emails concise to not waste their time.
last bvmp
>>59592657yeah but it's not really about the company name, at least not in my sector. The fight is over common search queries
>>59594963well, you probably know that.Other than that your foot in the door is your network. But you know that too.
>>59594963>>59594968thanks fren, yeah it's a bit surprising how "quick" the networking really starts. I already have a surface level mentor telling me the ropes of logistics without me asking, idk I think I just hit a jackpot with meeting a really nice person that is willing to exchange emails on company time (connected with a sales call). I think it's possibly because we could meet irl, we operate in the same area (Boston). I actually am prepping for a call right now at 9 am.And yeah with e-commerce I heard the advertising is brutal, but from what I see it really helps if companies link you directly on their website but that's easier said than done.honest to god even though I made $0 and will continue to make $0 for the foreseeable future, this was a very pleasant experience to my surprise.
>>59594982That's so cool, how were you able to find this 'mentor'? I'm doing my own SaaS, but I still didn't push to production level.
>>59592497Actually it's 80% of the battle lol
>>59595015like I said I connected through him from a sale call, I was redirected to him after a chatty talk with a sales rep and I got to talk to him. It was probably unusual, but I dont want to doxx him on here. I call him a surface level mentor because I think he's just a really nice guy but not exactly a coach. He's given me the ins and outs and I'm a bit nervous but this company will likely be my first client on the other end (I am serving a middleware micro SaaS).>I'm doing my own SaaS, but I still didn't push to production levelMake sure you validate your problem though, lot of startups fail because they never validated and created a solution nobody wanted. I'm taking the studio approach and making barebone MVPs in 1-2 months and just seeing if they work or not. I know it sucks because you're probably a developer like I am but you have to understand in business you have to see if people are willing to pay for your service.
>>59591799Look how awkward it is for the main guy to walk. Because he's on skittles stilts. He's so fuckin short they needed to stilt his ass so he could look normal height to the rest of the cat cast
>>59595044>Make sure you validate your problem though, lot of startups fail because they never validated and created a solution nobody wanted.Basically the only real thing you need to do. Build something for one client and make them pay you for it. Selling to other customers come later imo
>>59595053>Basically the only real thing you need to do.amen, that's kinda why I was hoping if there were more people here who had successful SaaSs if google ads is (albeit expensive) a good way to validate a solution to see if anyone wants to buy it, but that's easier B2C.B2B seems a bit different perhaps? I have no idea. Im not qualified to answer.
>>59595044>You're probably a developer like I amYou're spot on, I'm a mid level Software Engineer, I just hate people nowadays>>59595053So true, that's what I'm trying to do as well, one client can pay the cost of running the software. After that, it's easier to get more clients, I've been thinking of doing some referral strategy as well.
>>59595139>I just hate people nowadaysI hate working for people nowadays*Not all people are trash and annoying, it's just people that think they own you.
>>59595139>>59595142>I hate working for people nowadaysYeah but you have to realize your clients become your bosses lol, in a way. You do have leverage in just getting more customers and being able to say no without getting "fired" but there will be a dent to your bottom line. High risk but high reward.SaaS/micro-SaaS is like the opposite of real estate, very low initial capital cost but extremely unstable income. You can be making 60k a month then a competitor comes up and destroys your partnerships (you could be that competitor to others you know) and you end up with 3k a month.It's really brutal it seems, make sure you fund a war chest if your business ever takes off. I'm being very dreamy and optimistic that I will even get to that point but if I do I am fucking hoarding cash like a dragon with gold for a total business failure to keep the lights on.
>>59595227I agree, it's all about risk management. But for me, it's more risky to work for a company, in our field people rarely stays 2 years at the same company, there's been layoffs almost every month... The difference is, with a SaaS, the risk you take is rewarded with high returns. I agree that clients have a say in the business, but it's different, they can give you suggestions of features, but you're not obligated to comply if it doesn't make sense for the business, in Software Engineering, I had to listen to multiple retards that don't know what they are talking about, and had to create multiple things that were never used, because most of the times, the business doesn't understand anything about tech.Not to mention that by creating your own SaaS, you can do things you want, like implementing automated tests, and automate most of your business, I doubt you can do that in a big company without ruining your reputation. There's too much 'bullshit jobs' in there. I figure it's just easier to be your own boss. Even if it's risky, I'm confident I will figure it out a way out in any problem I met.
>>59595254agreed with all of that, the days of the ol' stable income are gone. you and I are just micro-entrepreneurs and we can really only call these things we created "hobbies" rather than actual companies right now but you never know. The potential is there.I decided to move forward with this since I could completely outsource all my frontend work with o1 pro, im a backend guy and shit has been a breeze. It's been very fun so far even though I've been putting 12+ hours into this daily. Since it's like a coding project, YOU created it so there's never really any burnout because you see this thing flourishing and it's really rewarding. anyway, meeting in 4 mins now. Will update this thread on how it goes.
>>59595280Good luck on you meeting!
>>59591799>>59592468You have to make your employees dress like the guys in your pic.
I've had a sales guy in my niche with over 20 years experience super interested in selling what I built.We negotiated terms, verified, told him I'm taking it to a lawyer to write it up into a contract. The contract says exactly what we said.He told me he has some "changes" and that he'd email them, it's been a week and he hasn't emailed them even though I've reminded him.Is he trying to steal my product or something and just buying time?
>>59595292Thanks, I got all fucking nervous of course and started fucking babbling the moment he started inquiring on specifics, didn't really go as planned. You win some, you lose some. Fuck. No loss or win here though, not like the guy hung up on me or anything, we gave our pleasantries and will perhaps continue to talk in email.>>59595315BASED, will do.>>59595334Im suspicious of sharing IP myself, you never want to share your secret sauce ever.
>>59595334>Is he trying to steal my product or something and just buying time?I would definitely be aware of him, he seems to be wanting to take advantage of you, and in my own experience, people that work with sales are 'soulless', they would sell their own grandma if it was legal.
>>59595044How would a dev get in contact with clients like that?I am a principal engineer and have experience in distributed high throughput low latency systems and probabilistic data structures (I worked for ears as a data architect and am now the head of R&D). I have production experience of the toughest problems in computer science, but I feel stuck working for a big corporation. I'd build something this weekend if I knew someone was interested in paying for it.
>>59595565nice digits>How would a dev get in contact with clients like that?Honestly man im fucking winging this shit, I can't tell if im going anywhere with these leads. If I told you, it's like the blind leading the blind. But a blind squirrel also busts nuts every now and then. So I COULD be doing something right, and not know it.I just follow the sales reps and just talk over with them, really succinct cold emails to phone numbers and emails I get from my network (attend conferences and shit or whatever the fuck, I was just a lucky son of a bitch that my uncle works in logistics). Just follow the forms and you get to talk to them. Some are really aggressive and really sound like they want to hang up the phone/want to finish up the email chain, with them just apologize and say pleasantries and just aim to make their lives easier (you need to retain your reputation as a nobody). You don't really get the luxury of a say when you're just starting out, your ego needs to be at the complete bottom and you just bite at what you get.Like for one successful call I get like 2 meetings that make me feel like the other person wants to murder me in my sleep. I just move on. Like they passively aggressively tell me im retarded "Oh im confused what the question is exactly so I can't even answer your other questions". To be honest I am retarded.
>>59595565Become my partner, I have lots of ideas on how to get clients, and products that people want to use :)
>>59595618imagine if we all banded together, with you, >>59595565, and me. We would be a powerhouse dev team, but really fucking poor at least in the short term.
>>59591799My job made me sign some cucked contract about IP I create while employed so if I ever made a real successful business they would probably sue me for it.
>>59595655non-compete? those dont expire?
>>59595645I agree, I actually think this would be hella fun, at the very least!
>>59595618Ideas are easy to come by. Paying clients are not. I have loads of ideas. In truth, I don't really need any ideas - I just need to acknowledge a problem and work towards a solution. I am not sure the solution would be worth it financially, though.>>59595617It sounds like the jeed web capital of LinkedIn may come in handy after all. I have loads of connections and that from conferences I attended. I may reach out to some sales guys and see what some of their pain points are... maybe find some commonalities between them. I wouldn't bother with product departments or anything else. Product is retarded. Sales is where the money is made and where they should be willing to invest... or so I think.
>>59595680If we formed an S corp there would at least be a fair distribution of dividends if we keep imagining it. The more money you put in, the more you get out; there would be merit to it in the equity you put in and ontop of it with a salary. Though we would fight amongst ourselves who would be the CEO lmao.>>59595687>Sales is where the money is made and where they should be willing to invest... or so I think.hmm... I do feel like this is true.
>>59595495he is like that, but I have him such a good deal.50% commission for the first year, 10% recurring for 4 more years.For every salesperson he brings on he wanted a cut of their sales. I'm like ok sure that makes sense.He gets 10% of the first year of each sale a salesperson he brings on makes, then 4% commission for up to 4 years.Keep in mind that these are 10k-30k annual contracts they are selling. He currently where he is averages 3 sales per month, so that would be upwards of 90k a month and he's hesitant to continue. He makes nowhere near that now. I'm literally offering him a gold mine and he wants more.
>>59595715>Though we would fight amongst ourselves who would be the CEO lmaoI would rather be the CTO lol.
>>59595655>non-compete?Not quite, arguably worse as it asserts all my IP even creative works.>those dont expire?Expires some months after I leave. It's written so vague that in theory it would block people from leaving and starting new jobs. In practice I'm sure it's mostly unenforceable. Maybe I should talk to a lawyer about it because it basically cucks my entire mentality to only think small
>>59595719>he is like that, but I have him such a good dealDo you think he cares? They have insatiable greed. I'm not saying you should not hire him and partnership with him. Especially if he has the ability to sell. What I'm saying is: Don't trust him, don't try to show you don't trust him, but don't trust him. He is a sales guy, he is selling himself to you, and he will do it at the highest price he can, because that's his job.
>>59595655>>59595741I guess if I want to quit and do nothing for half a year it's a good excuse>gardening leaveIn reality I can/should just do whatever and say sue me.
>>59595661>>59595741>>59595751Completely fucked up the quoting
>>59595741>Not quite, arguably worse as it asserts all my IP even creative works.jesus christ>Maybe I should talk to a lawyer about it because it basically cucks my entire mentality to only think smallgo for it honestly
>>59595743I am aware of that and hear him do it constantly. He said these changes would be "to my benefit" like yeah right. I just want him to sell shit to get the ball rolling. If he sells for a year I'll be able to hire a team of salespeople to replace him. He's just sitting on 1500 leads that he has sold to before. idk what his problem is. If he sold to just some of them and had a few of his old coworkers sign on as sales then he'd be able to finally retire. This is his ticket and he's ruining it.
>>59595751Who obeys no competes nowadays? You can easily bypass this by releasing a SaaS under a 'paper company'
>>59595783he's like 60 btw, 20 years of industry sales experience. I'm getting closer to figuring out the sales process myself though. Getting into purchasing cooperatives (industry is edtech) and figuring out the rfp process. If I can sell even one then I'm cutting him out.
>>59595796>edtechvery hard to breach as a startup I hear
>>59595796Not trying to discourage you btw, but that's what i've heard regarding edtech generally speaking. Not very vertical.>>59595826
>>59595796>industry is edtechThis is going to be very costly... Especially if you have to store videos, progress etc
>>59595826yeah, it's pretty difficult but I picked it for that reason. The moat is large so AI shitters aren't going to take it over anytime soon without working with industry experts, which is exactly what I'm trying to do.I can offer a ridiculous commission structure because no one else can. I charge the same but my margins are way better since I don't have 50+ employees. I'm working on an AI scripts to generate the 25-page RFPs. Keeping things lean.The sales guy is the thing that's going to take it to the moon if he put in any effort whatsoever.
>>59595843My expenses are minimal. I store some video and images, but their cost per student way more than covers even the most diabolical worst case scenario by around 10x.
>>59593192>how’d you find the problemSame here. I know ideas guys are a diamond dozen but I'm way too autistic for that shit.For example I moved all my OneNote stuff into text files managed by Syncthing. Yes I manually copied hundreds of text notes and some images. It was completely worth the effort. And my grand software ideas all involve decentralization and ipfs/blockchain.The only SAAS I use is tax software.Maybe someday I'll see an untapped niche.
>>59595925>The only SAAS I use is tax software.>Maybe someday I'll see an untapped niche.Why not try this? There's a lot of problems created by the Establishment that you can solve by Software. I know this because I worked in a very small niche and the platform earned 33M annually.
>>59595933>33M annually.This is profit, not revenue by the way (I worked at one of the big 4s)
>>59595933>Why not try this?I probably should. It's amazing how shitty the big player tax software is and how it's loaded with dark patterns. It's also amazing how something like bitcoin.tax became a big player and then lost dominance, but I still use it because all my stuff is pre-loaded there.>turbo tax dark patterns>spends a minute "searching" for writeoffs>totally fake progress bar like I clicked on some skeevy websiteI'm sure there's more. I think not everyone is a retarded goy cattle who gets hoodwinked by that. There probably is a niche in people that want legit software and don't want to hire an accountant and don't want to learn the freefiling thing.
>>59595933I guess as to >why not. I'm not a CPA and there's 50 states and about a bajillion tax rules. I'd have to spend a fortune in consulting fees to nail all the rules and I'm sure legal barriers to do the efiling and bank account part.But again bitcoin.tax and coinly or whatever just solved one small aspect, buy/sell - so simple, and probably made a fortune doing it. Idk that idea is already done though.
>>59591799bizness talk on /biz/ ? jannies wtf is this shitI want to make my saas too anon, I'm tired of wagecucking :-(
>>59596208>I want to make my saas too anon, I'm tired of wagecucking :-(You dont make money instantly, and there is a 90% you lose everything. It's a serious gamble, but man I will not lie just even making $0 (losing money on logos, domain names, server costs, etc) is still really fun for some reason because... I don't know, it's pretty novel to me at the moment and it's exciting to get things running and talking to people. I get a nice $5k budget from my job and the fact that I have $0 rent and shamelessly live with my parents (da culcha). It's only been month 1 for me and it's been a blast just experimenting and getting things to work. I have one product that is waiting on approval from another vendor to make it complete. But while that is stalled, I work a different project. When this stalls, I will work on another one. Studio approach.
>>59596719that's a fair assessment. i just don't have the energy to side hustle and work at the same time, but I think I'll have to eventually (job prospects not looking too good). godspeed anon
>>59596974dude you should know im cheating, I have an adderall prescription. I dont take it for work but I do take it for this. I just coast and do the bare minimum at work lolz.
>>59596719Making saas is a hobby, imo.Marketing is extremely fucking difficult. I've built 12 so far. If you don't go in with an iron proof marketing plan then you're fucked.It's why I'm working with a very experienced sales guy now.
>>59593211>Just... do it brah. Literally nobody is stopping you except yourself.I don't this cringe shit, and you don't even have clients yet so aren't exactly in a place to be giving out this trite advice.. I already own a business, but not a SaaS. I'm asking for direct, applicable advice here. I don't know how to find these problems, and you admitted having a bit of a weird and unique opportunity: >>59594982, >>59595044.I known a lot of small business owners and will probably try and make some sort of micro SaaS to help them manage various aspects. I just don't really have any problems in my life that I face that a SaaS would help with, personally. And all the big software like Quickbooks, Square, etc have huge network effects and seem useless to compete against so you really need a niche. If I can find a problem I can make the software and do it, but it's finding the problem I struggle with.
>>59597013that makes sense loleven nicotine as stimulant made me work like a madman
>>59597471Do you think people should hand out ideas that solve problem for you for free? Lmao
>>59597781no, that's why I asked HOW you found it, not what it was. IME people gain insights for quality SaaS from working in a certain industry or large corp and finding an inefficiency they can improve upon. that's why I asked HOW, and you didn't really answer (you're answer was: 'I just thought of it').
>>59597781and I'm not even looking for ideas or solutions, either, just problems. I can come up with solutions, but getting exposure to the problems of others is challenging.
>>59597793>you're answer was: 'I just thought of it'I wasn't the one that said "just thought of it", you probably confused us because we both got green Ids>>59597799>I'm not even looking for ideas or solutions, either, just problemsThat's the things my brother. Almost anyone with a technical background can find the solution for any problem. The solution is not the mine gold, the mine gold is the problem. Because anyone with technical background who stumbles with the problem, is able to solve it.>>59597793>HOW you found itI just thought of it ;)Just kidding, you can just find a person with a problem, try interviewing people on your social circle, if you don't got a problem, someone definitely got.
>>59597967>I wasn't the one that said "just thought of it", you probably confused us because we both got green IdsWell you're not OP, which is the person I was asking. >the mine gold is the problemThat's my point, and what I was expressing to OP. It's 'gold mine' btw, not 'mine gold'. >Just kidding, you can just find a person with a problem, try interviewing people on your social circle, if you don't got a problem, someone definitely got.Yeah this is the hard part though. You need either first hand exposure to a problem worth solving, or a network that can give you exposure.
>>59598009>Yeah this is the hard part though. You need either first hand exposure to a problem worth solving, or a network that can give you exposure.I don't have many friends, but I've found plenty of problems to solve. You don't need a huge network. Even talking to your parents can help you realize this.>>59598009>It's 'gold mine' btw, not 'mine gold'.It's "mine gold" for me, because I'm going to mine it :)
>>59598063how much does your SaaS bring in annually?
>>59598095Are you from IRS? lol
>>59598166no, but if it doesn't bring anything and it's just an idea than this advice>I've found plenty of problems to solve. You don't need a huge network. Even talking to your parents can help you realize this.is kind of bunk. you need exposure to problems worth solving and im not gonna get that by talking to my parents lol
>>59598063you've got an optimistic mindset, my friend. that will bring you far in life.
>>59598213I respect your realism, how did you go about validating your business?
>>59598571I didn't, but my business isn't in software.
>>59597781>Do you think people should hand out ideas that solve problem for you for free? LmaoThe mindset of someone that isn't going to make itIdeas are a dime a dozen. You should hand out ideas because you can get validation on whether they work or not. Hoarding ideas means you have no customers and are living in an imaginary world. Reality check; every idea you thought up of someone else already thought of. Execution and validation are the ONLY things needed for success
SAAS idea, idc if you beat me to the punch. Make an "AI model" that feeds a neural network existing business data, using Pandas or Scikit-Learn, pick your poison. Feed the relevant data to something that can spit out numbers (SciPy for this part). Offer this with a nice front-end(shiny React or CSS webapp), run the back-end(Golang and set that up to feed the user input to the Python script that is your AI model) on your machine, ideally some 12th gen Xeons, several 4080s, and a bunch of SSD space, and get the ball rolling from there. Just figure out the marketing on it, probably LinkedIn, those psychos will love it, and boom money.
>>59599922Not sure why you don't just use a LLM and train it on rag data
