The signer
If you only know the user, you have a product story, not a SaaS pitch. Find who signs.
How to Pitch a SaaS
Pitch a SaaS to the person who signs, not the person who clicks. Lead with the tool or the team they already pay, and how soon a first job is done in yours.
Qui est dans la salle
An economic buyer: a head of ops, a founder, a finance lead. They already pay for software or for people doing the work by hand. They are deciding whether to add a line, or replace one.
About a minute for the film. In a live demo, ten minutes including one real job, not a tour of every screen. Procurement questions come after they want the job done.
[Who] still pays for [the incumbent or the manual work]. [Name] does [the first job] in [time], and they stop paying for [what it replaces].
Quoi dire, dans l’ordre
Who signs
The role that feels the cost. A user who loves the product cannot buy it. Name the signer.
What they pay today
The incumbent SaaS, the agency, or the hours. A number they recognise is better than a number from a market report.
First job, first value
The first complete job in your product, and how long it takes a new workspace to get there. Not the platform. The job.
What they stop paying
The seat, the vendor, or the weekly hours that go away. If nothing goes away, you are asking them to add cost.
Land, then expand
One team, one job, a date to review. Expansion is a later sentence. Opening with the full platform is how these pitches stall in a committee.
Remplissez les crochets
Si un crochet n’a pas de fait, coupez la phrase. N’inventez pas un chiffre.
- Signer
[Role] still [the costly workaround], and they are the ones who can change it.
- Today
They pay [the incumbent or the hours] to get [the job] done.
- First value
In [Name], that job is [the steps], and a new workspace gets there in [time].
- Stop paying
That replaces [the seat, the vendor, or the hours].
- Land
Start with [one team] on [one job]. We review on [date]. That is the buy.
Quoi avoir prêt
The incumbent
Name the tool or the process. Buyers trust a pitch that knows what it is replacing.
Time to first value
A number you have watched, not a number from the marketing site. Implementation that takes a quarter needs to be said.
The land
One team and one job, written so procurement can price it. The rest of the platform stays in the appendix.
The first job, not the platform
SaaS pitches die on the platform slide: modules, integrations, a map of everything the product might one day do. The signer wanted one job to stop hurting this month.
Security, SSO, and data processing are real. They belong after the job is wanted. Leading with them tells a buyer this will be a long purchase, before they have a reason to go through it.
Là où ça échoue
Pitching the user, billing the buyer
A champion who cannot sign will nod and fail to get budget. Put the signer’s cost in the first sentence.
A feature tour instead of a job
Every screen you show is a reason to delay. One job, completed, is a reason to continue.
ROI with no incumbent
A return that is not taken from a current cost reads as a wish. Name what goes away.
The full rollout on slide two
Company-wide is a later conversation. A first team with a date is a purchase.
En faire un film
Record the signer, the incumbent, and the first job as a one-minute film, and send it before the demo.
A project video runs about a minute, in three chapters: the painful situation, the solution, and the advantages. You submit the name, the audience, the situation, the solution, how it works, the evidence and the next step, and you can upload a plan, a deck, a PDF or photos. You see the production plan before anything is made. Do not include a result you cannot source. A film is delivered only after it passes checks, and charged only once delivered.
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FAQ
How is a SaaS pitch different from a product pitch?
A product pitch is about the object and the job. A SaaS pitch is about who signs, what they already pay, and how soon a first job is done in a new workspace. Recurring revenue is the business; it is not the opening line to a buyer.
Should I demo or pitch first?
Pitch the job and the incumbent in a minute, then do that one job in the product. A tour of settings is not a demo.
How do I pitch a SaaS with no logos yet?
Use the time to first value you have actually watched, and the process you replace. A borrowed logo is worse than a small, true workspace.
Where do security and procurement go?
After they want the job done. Have the answers ready. Do not open with them unless they opened with them.