Yet, there is conversation in the market that enterprise SaaS growth is beginning to slow. Finding new ways to grow can be especially hard for large companies that already have many subscribers, or which are chasing growth through new subscription services in addition to their usual offerings. 

The big question remains: How do you overcome the complex financial and technical hurdles of doing business globally? 

Spoiler alert: Global enterprise growth has an “easy button” with a merchant of record. Let’s take a look at how this powerful payment platform model solves enterprise-grade headaches.

FastSpring is how Enterprise game companies sell online in more places around the world. We handle every payment need — from subscription management to tax collection, remittance, and more — so your business can go farther, faster. We’re also the leading merchant of record for global software companies, powering over a billion dollars in worldwide transactions every year. We’ll manage your checkout, VAT and sales taxes, compliance, and more, freeing you to focus on what you do best: building great software. Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

Enterprise Global Expansion = High Stakes, Higher Friction

Enterprise leaders currently face three primary challenges that prevent them from capturing international market share:

1. High Investment and High Risk in Emerging Markets: You know the opportunity is massive, but the investment required to build local entities, hire tax experts, and establish banking relationships is astronomically high. While North America remains the largest market, Asia-Pacific is now the fastest-growing region globally, with a 24.6% CAGR in virtual fitness as an example. Effectively capturing new users in this space requires native options for buyers or local entities, but the risk of getting it wrong in a regulated market often stalls expansion plans before they begin.
2. The Architecture Gap: You need an enterprise-grade payment architecture that is resilient, localized, and compliant. However, correctly building all of that takes significant time, money, and specialized experience. Most organizations try to solve this with a domestic-only infrastructure, resulting in the “entity gap”: a state in which your regional web traffic is ready to buy, but sales can’t proceed because you don’t support local payment methods or don’t have local entities, leading to high cross-border decline rates.
3. The Need for Flexibility: You want the ability to adjust your rollout based on real-time data without incurring unexpected costs or risk. Traditionally, capturing 100% of market potential in regions such as India, Brazil, or Indonesia has required permanent local subsidiaries, which take years to establish. But you need the flexibility to test markets without being locked into analog-era banking setups that make it difficult to pivot.

These challenges can make it exceedingly complex or slow to expand into new global markets, even for well-established enterprise SaaS companies.

So What Is a Merchant of Record (MoR)?

Simply put, a merchant of record is a service provider that acts as your software’s reseller. While you maintain the brand experience and customer relationship, the MoR assumes the majority of the liability for the transaction.

The MoR model allows a company to “go live tomorrow.” Because the MoR already holds local entities and tax registrations across 200+ regions, you can leverage its infrastructure as your own. This is the strategic solution to the entity gap. For global enterprises, the barrier to international revenue is rarely a lack of demand — it’s the infrastructure.

Why Do Traditional Payment Providers Fail at Scale?

Most enterprises start with a standard payment service provider (PSP) such as Stripe, PayPal, or Square. However, as you expand into multiple regions (some with complex tax rules and regulations), the limitations of a PSP create a revenue ceiling:

• Missed Opportunities: It’s common for global leaders to see significant web traffic from regions like India or Mexico, only to find they can’t process a single transaction because they lack a local legal entity. One FastSpring customer was losing 20% of web traffic in India before implementing an MoR that accepted local payment methods, which are otherwise inaccessible without a local entity.
• Unnecessary Discounts: When internal infrastructure can’t support global growth, teams look for scrappy, alternative growth tactics that provide a quick revenue boost but which don’t maintain profit margins over the long term. A merchant of record provides a sustainable alternative to this by making it easy to unlock untapped revenue in new territories rather than slashing prices in existing markets.
• Administrative Burden: When your expansion plans reach your tax and legal departments, they’re often vetoed due to the complexity of managing local taxes and varying economic nexus laws (nexus is the defined threshold for tax liability on sales). 
• Tax Law Fragmentation: Beyond tax calculation, enterprises struggle with data fragmentation. A fragmented payment setup creates a reconciliation nightmare, where transaction data lives in silos. A robust MoR provides a single source of truth, ensuring that every transaction — regardless of currency or country — carries a consistent data schema that meets global KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) standards.

How to Scale With Speed and Flexibility

Every large company fears the need to “rip and replace” an existing infrastructure, even if that means sticking with a solution that’s not meeting their needs. Modern MoR solutions such as FastSpring address this through something called “headless deployment.” Let’s look at an example.

Avid, a leader in creative software, needed a global online payments solution that would leverage its recent investment in a new composable commerce stack. By implementing FastSpring as its MoR, they didn’t have to abandon their existing proprietary subscription engines or dunning logic. Instead:

• Avid managed the customer experience, subscriptions, and dunning.
• They layered FastSpring on top to manage the back-end: global payments, tax collection, and compliance.
• They went live in just three weeks and saw 4% of transactions come in through newly added payment options such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, which supports long-term retention through buyer-friendly payment methods. 

This headless approach is critical for organizations using middleware platforms for orchestration and entitlements. Instead of a brittle, hard-coded integration, an enterprise-grade MoR uses webhooks and robust APIs to push real-time transaction data into your data lake or BI tools (like Snowflake or Tableau). This enables real-time revenue recognition, a necessity for both public companies and those preparing for an exit.

That’s how you scale without friction.

Even Your Back-Office Team Will Rejoice

Internal tax and finance teams are often the strongest skeptics regarding global expansion. An MoR turns these skeptics into advocates by providing:

• Liability Offloading: The MoR is responsible for calculating, collecting, and remitting all global taxes. If you get audited in Indonesia, the MoR handles it — not your internal team.
• One Report to Rule Them All: Instead of reconciling thousands of transactions across dozens of currencies and banks, your finance team receives a single, consolidated payment and a clean data set.
• ERP Integration: Leading MoR solutions such as FastSpring provide data that flows seamlessly into SAP Commerce, S/4HANA, and other enterprise backends, ensuring the cycles of planning, execution, and analysis are always data-driven and efficient.

This isn’t just about a CSV export — it’s about automated GL mapping. Leading MoR solutions allow you to map transaction types directly to your internal chart of accounts (COA). This turns a week-long, manual month-end close into an automated process, reducing human error and ensuring that your ERP sub-ledgers are always in sync with your actual cash flow.

Lessons From the Field: Navigating LATAM and APAC

Enterprise expansion often fails in these regions due to the infrastructure barrier. According to a Baymard study, businesses that enable regionally preferred payment methods see 21% higher growth rates than those that don’t.

Treating a Brazilian or Indian transaction as “cross-border” by routing it through a U.S. or EU bank is a recipe for involuntary churn. For a local bank, a foreign-processed transaction poses a security risk, leading to higher decline rates.

With an MoR as your local legal entity, the transaction stays “in-country.” This shift doesn’t just lower fees; it fundamentally stabilizes your leaky funnel by ensuring valid customers aren’t blocked by banking security flags.

Similarly, forcing a mobile-first economy into a credit-card-only checkout creates another barrier. While credit cards dominate the West, they are the exception in high-growth regions. 

In India for example, credit card penetration is under 5%, while UPI (Unified Payments Interface) accounts for over 75% of digital retail transactions. Similarly, in Brazil, Pix has surpassed 150 million users. It’s not necessarily about having more payment methods; it’s about having the right ones.

Bridging the Entity Gap for Global Growth

The transition from a domestic success story to a global enterprise powerhouse is no longer a matter of simply “turning on” new regions. For the modern SaaS leader, the merchant of record model is more than a compliance shortcut — it’s a strategic lever for revenue operations. It represents the end of the entity gap, allowing your organization to:

• Reclaim Lost Revenue: Stop losing 20% or more of your international traffic to avoidable cross-border declines.
• Decouple Growth from Headcount: Scale into 200+ countries without hiring a team of tax experts or managing dozens of local entities.
• Empower the Back Office: Transform your finance and tax departments by offloading the liability and complexity of global nexus and tax laws.

Global expansion in 2026 isn’t about being present in every market — it’s about being native to every market. By partnering with an MoR like FastSpring, you ensure that your infrastructure is as agile as your code.

The demand is there. The customers are ready. It’s time to close the gap.

You built the software. Let FastSpring build your global payments strategy.

FastSpring is how Enterprise companies sell online in more places around the world. We handle every payment need — from subscription management to tax collection, remittance, and more — so your business can go farther, faster. We’re also the leading merchant of record for global software companies, powering over a billion dollars in worldwide transactions every year. We’ll manage your checkout, VAT and sales taxes, compliance, and more, freeing you to focus on what you do best: building great software.

Ready to try FastSpring? Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

The post Headache-Free Global Growth: The Enterprise Guide to Merchant of Record appeared first on FastSpring.

The FastSpring HubSpot integration simplifies the operational management of products, pricing, and user accounts via automatic data transfer from FastSpring systems to and from HubSpot. 

This allows businesses to combine FastSpring’s powerful payments and subscription management with HubSpot’s robust CRM capabilities, enabling sales teams to generate quotes directly from HubSpot deals and having them paid and fulfilled via FastSpring payments and subscriptions.

Learn more about the integration on the Hubspot App Marketplace or at FastSpring.

About FastSpring: FastSpring is how SaaS, software, digital products, and video game companies sell online in more places around the world. We handle every payment need — from subscription management to tax collection, remittance, and more — so your business can go farther, faster. We’re also the leading merchant of record for global software companies, powering over a billion dollars in worldwide transactions every year. We’ll manage your checkout, VAT and sales taxes, compliance, and more, freeing you to focus on what you do best: building great software.

The post Fastspring Joins The HubSpot App Marketplace appeared first on FastSpring.

Before diving into ChinaJoy, we’ll also be making a stop at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 30, where our Head of Gaming Chip Thurston will join the panel How Different Are UA & Monetisation Strategies In Eastern And Western Markets? This session promises to deliver valuable insights on what monetization and user acquisition methods work in Western and Eastern markets. Do IAPs and ads work in both regions? Does rewarded UA work in the East as well as it does in the West? What UA methods can either region learn from each other? Join us before ChinaJoy to hear directly from this panel of experts! 

ChinaJoy 2025 promises to be an extraordinary showcase of innovation in online gaming and digital entertainment, featuring new game releases, cutting-edge product demonstrations, and dynamic networking opportunities. The event attracts industry titans, business elites, and technical experts from around the globe, making it the perfect venue for FastSpring to demonstrate how our payment solutions can help game developers unlock their full potential in international markets. 

Visit FastSpring at Booth W4-A792 on Aug. 1-3 in the B2B Hall, where our team will showcase how we empower game studios to seamlessly expand into global markets. Whether you’re looking to monetize through direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels, navigate complex international tax compliance, or implement localized payment methods across different regions, FastSpring provides the comprehensive merchant of record services that let you focus on creating amazing games while we handle the complexities of worldwide commerce.

The timing couldn’t be better for game developers looking to capitalize on global growth opportunities. As the gaming industry continues to evolve with live service models and D2C strategies becoming increasingly important, having the right payment infrastructure is crucial for success. FastSpring’s presence at ChinaJoy underscores our commitment to helping studios of all sizes — from emerging indie developers to established publishers — navigate the intricate landscape of global game monetization.

ChinaJoy 2025 will also feature parallel events including the China International Digital Entertainment Industry Conference (CDEC) and the China Game Developers Conference (CGDC), creating multiple touchpoints for meaningful industry discussions. Additionally, the inaugural Shanghai International Animation Month will provide even more opportunities for creative collaboration and business development across the broader entertainment ecosystem.

Where to Get Tickets

Still need tickets? Head over to the registration page to grab your ticket and get access to incredible speakers, unparalleled networking opportunities, and a networking app that will maximize your experience even more.

How to Connect With FastSpring

We invite all summit attendees to join us for Chip Thurston’s panel and connect with our team throughout the week in Shanghai. Whether you’re looking to optimize your current monetization strategy or exploring new ways to engage with your player community, FastSpring offers the expertise and solutions to help you succeed in today’s competitive gaming market. Schedule a demo now or at any time in Shanghai in person.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with FastSpring at one of Asia’s most influential gaming events. Visit us at Booth W4-A792 in the B2B Hall from Aug. 1-3 to discover how we can help your game studio achieve global success. Whether you’re already operating internationally or just beginning to explore overseas markets, our team is ready to provide the insights and solutions you need to thrive in today’s competitive gaming landscape.

FastSpring is how gaming publishers sell in more places around the world. For two decades, FastSpring has been a trusted payment provider you can use to sell games or in-game items on your website, web shop, or embedded directly into your game with fully customizable and branded checkouts just for you. FastSpring allows you to offload the complexity of global payments, sales tax and VAT compliance, player payments support, and many other aspects of payments management. Spend less time managing your payments and compliance and more time making great games! To learn more about how FastSpring supports game developers, visit fastspring.gg/.

The post FastSpring Heads to ChinaJoy 2025: Your Gateway to Global Gaming Success in Shanghai appeared first on FastSpring.

If you’re interested in using the HubSpot integration with FastSpring reach out to our sales team or submit a ticket to our customer team here.

Our new integration simplifies the operational management of your products, pricing, and user accounts via automatic data transfer from our systems to and from HubSpot. This allows for a combination of FastSpring’s powerful payments and subscription management while allowing HubSpot to remain in place as your CRM.

The integration comprises of three parts: 

• Product Sync from FastSpring to HubSpot
• User Account Creation and Updates Sync to HubSpot
• Quote Generation in FastSpring From Deals in HubSpot and Deal Update after the Quote is paid in FastSpring

Product Sync From FastSpring to HubSpot

Syncing products from FastSpring to HubSpot is easy once you’ve toggled on your integration. Once connected, we create an authenticated, secure token to pull over all key product data from FastSpring like product name, price, SKU and more. Your team then has the ability to create products in FastSpring and those products will automatically be pushed over to HubSpot. And, any product updates are also automatically pushed.

Why should you care?

This integration streamlines back office processes by ensuring that your sales team is always operating with the most accurate product data for the deals they’re working. This accuracy creates better revenue forecasting for deals and more clarity for your teams as they’re calculating what to offer their prospects.

User Account Creation and Updates Sync to HubSpot

In addition to syncing your products, user account information syncs automatically to HubSpot from activity in FastSpring. That means that when a user creates an account on your site through the purchase of a product or a sales deal, FastSpring automatically sends that information over to HubSpot and either creates a new user account, or updates the information in HubSpot as needed.

Why should you care?

This allows your team to quickly see what products are being used by users from within HubSpot and opens up cross-sell and upsell opportunities for your sales team.

Quote Generation in FastSpring From HubSpot Deals

Sales teams are always going to perform better when they can use the systems they’re already familiar with. Now, instead of having to use a secondary quoting system in addition to HubSpot, our new integration allows your team to automatically generate quotes in FastSpring when they create a deal in HubSpot. This works via an automatic push of data from the information created in the deal. This includes which account, product SKUs and quantity, pricing, and more. 

Why should you care?

Once a quote is generated, it is emailed to the prospect for further conversation. This not only leverages the FastSpring’s built-in product catalog and payment options, but also eliminates the need for manual quote generation and emailing resulting in faster deal processing and ultimately, contributing to a higher close rate. 

Customers can accept and pay the quote which will in turn update the HubSpot deal to reflect that it has been closed.

Close Deals Faster With FastSpring x HubSpot Today

With FastSpring’s HubSpot integration, close your sales-led opportunities faster. Plus, instantly expand your B2B SaaS business worldwide, all in one place without the headache of global sales tax and compliance. Accept the top 98% of payment methods in 185 countries, including low-cost options like ACH and SEPA and use our powerful invoicing, quoting, and payments tools in addition to your HubSpot integration.

Want to learn more about how to use FastSpring’s HubSpot integration? Let’s chat today.

The post Close Sales-Assisted Deals Faster With FastSpring’s HubSpot Integration appeared first on FastSpring.

And with businesses tightening their belts, one misunderstanding or misstep during the upgrade or renewal process can mean the difference between a multiple-year contract and unexpected customer churn.

What if every customer renewal—from estimate to invoice—was predictable and seamless for everyone involved?

That’s the vision behind FastSpring’s Proforma Invoice API. Our proforma invoice solution fosters subscription management efficiency and transparency by automating the creation of professional, approval-ready invoices based on existing estimates from the FastSpring platform. Your customers will appreciate the clear pricing breakdowns, and your go-to-market team will love the flexibility to accommodate diverse subscription models—removing the need for manual calculations.

The result? Streamlined approval processes. Stronger customer relationships. Predictable forecasting. And increased revenue.

Solution Overview

Whether it’s a straightforward renewal, complex upgrade scenario, or mid-term adjustment, the Proforma Invoice API delivers a polished pre-invoice essential for smooth decision-making and execution.

By using FastSprings Proforma Invoice API, developers and technical sales leaders can avoid:

• Manual calculations and errors
• Confusion and customer frustration
• Tedious workflows and lost productivity
• Missed renewal opportunities and lost revenue
• Challenges with budget planning
• Inflexible subscription management

Instead, FastSpring’s new Proforma Invoice API empowers revenue teams to:

Forecast Accurately. Create accurate proforma invoices for subscription renewals, upgrades, downgrades, and add-ons to streamline budgeting and pre-approve costs.

Increase Renewal Rates. Provide transparent cost breakdowns to reduce customer confusion, friction, and potential delays and disputes.

Improve Efficiency. Automate proforma invoice generation, eliminate manual calculation errors, and free up staff for higher-value tasks.

Streamline Approvals. Facilitate transparent approval workflows for discounted pricing or custom terms, accelerating the subscription management process.

Simplify Complex Scenarios. Support adaptable processes and API-driven integration for diverse subscription models and billing systems.

With clarity and efficiency at its core, the Proforma Invoice API gives developers the simple tools to effectively partner with go-to-market teams and subscription managers to project costs, secure internal approvals, and communicate billing details to existing customers. 

Now, let’s see our solution in action.

Solution in Action

FastSpring built its Proforma Invoice API for developers, but the benefits are for everyone. When developers deploy the simple code, accurate forecasting and expedited renewals get exponentially easier.

When companies experience rapid growth, managing flexible subscription terms, including duration and discounts, can be challenging. Without a proper system in place, this flexibility typically means manual processes and, in turn, errors from manual data entry. Further, when companies don’t have a way to sync subscriptions and add-ons into their calculations, revenue tracking can become a nightmare—and renewals often fall through the cracks.

Let’s examine how a sales team might use the Proforma Invoice API to ensure customer flexibility and maximum revenue for the business.

Sales Representative

Meet Steph. Steph is a top-performing sales representative for Wizzle, a fictional company that has experienced rapid subscription growth over the past few years. The sales team hooked potential customers in the early days by offering flexible subscription terms, including manual renewals, deep discounts, and varied term lengths. While this helped Wizzle grow its customer base quickly, it’s made renewals nearly impossible for Steph to keep up with. 

Steph wants her customers to have flexible options, so she needs a solution to generate proforma renewal invoices with different term lengths and pricing structures, unique customer discounts or negotiated rates, and offer promotions or prorated calculations.

To start, Steph needs flexibility in renewal requirements. Customers want to know if changes will occur immediately or during the next billing cycle. Proforma Invoice API allows either.

Here, you’ll see the code for a subscription change that goes into effect during the next billing cycle. Note the simplicity in identifying the requested number of units, the price, the requested units for the add-on (and associated cost), and whether or not the new pricing is prorated for this billing cycle.

Next Billing Cycle – Request

{

    "subscription": "7oSTq-tZS9S0LoOpiPQL5w",

    "product":"Standard"

    "quantity": 5,

    "pricing": {

        "price":  {

            "USD": 10

        }

    },

    "addons": [

        {

            "product": "Support Module",

            "quantity": 5,

            "pricing": {

                "price":  {

                    "USD": 7

                }

            }

        }

    ],,

    "prorate": false

}

The code snippet is nearly identical if the new pricing is prorated. Notice that “Prorate” is false in the first snippet and true in the following code snippet.

Immediate Application – Request

{

    "subscription": "7oSTq-tZS9S0LoOpiPQL5w",

    "product":"Standard"

    "quantity": 5,

    "pricing": {

        "price":  {

            "USD": 10

        }

    },

    "addons": [

        {

            "product": "Support Module",

            "quantity": 5,

            "pricing": {

                "price":  {

                    "USD": 7

                }

            }

        }

    ],

    "prorate": true

}

When you embed this code into your existing systems, your sales team has a clean and simple experience on the front end. The sales representative simply puts the name of the subscription into FastSpring, the requested quantity, any add-ons, and whether or not the changes are prorated—and the API will automatically generate an invoice with accurate calculations.

Next Billing Cycle – Output

{

  "proFormaInvoiceHeader": {

    "proFormaInvoiceCreationDate": "2024-03-16",

    "currency": "USD",

    "timezone": "UTC",

    "message": "This invoice and the renewal amount on the next charge date are valid as long as there are no additional changes to the subscription plan from today's date until the next charge date."

  },

  "contact": [

    {

      "type": "BILL-TO",

      "email": "john.doe@cloudtech.com",

      "firstname": "John",

      "lastname": "Doe",

      "phone": "555-987-6543",

      "organization": {

        "companyId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440002",

        "companyName": "CloudTech Solutions",

        "department": {

          "departmentId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440003",

          "departmentName": "Finance",

          "departmentDescription": "Handles billing, invoicing, and payment processing."

        }

      },

      "address": {

        "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440006",

        "addressLine1": "456 Shipping Lane",

        "city": "Miami",

        "region": "FL",

        "postalCode": "33101",

        "country": "USA"

      }

    },

    {

      "type": "SHIP-TO",

      "email": "jane.smith@datametrics.com",

      "firstname": "Jane",

      "lastname": "Smith",

      "phone": "555-123-4567",

      "organization": {

        "companyId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440004",

        "companyName": "DataMetrics Analytics",

        "department": {

          "departmentId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440005",

          "departmentName": "Operations",

          "departmentDescription": "Manages the delivery and deployment of software services to customers."

        }

      },

      "address": {

        "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440007",

        "addressLine1": "456 Shipping Lane",

        "city": "Miami",

        "region": "FL",

        "postalCode": "33101",

        "country": "USA"

      },

      "taxId": "123-tax-id"

    }

  ],

  "currentPlanSummary": {

    "product": "Basic",

    "billingFrequency": "1 month",

    "price": 8.50,

    "quantity": 1,

    "nextChargeDate": "4/6/24",

    "nextChargeAmount": 7.65

  },

  "proposedPlanSummary": {

    "product": "Standard",

    "billingFrequency": "1 month",

    "price": 50.00, // $10.00 per month for 5 quantities.

    "quantity": 5,

    "nextChargeDate": "4/6/24",

    "nextChargeAmount": 85.00 // $50 for Standard + $35 for Support Module.

  },

  "items": [

    {

      "product": "Standard Subscription",

      "quantity": 5,

      "price": 10.00,

      "discount": 0.00,

      "total": 50.00,

      "proratedItemAmounts": null

    },

    {

      "product": "Support Module",

      "quantity": 5,

      "price": 7.00,

      "discount": 0.00,

      "total": 35.00,

      "proratedItemAmounts": null

    }

  ],

  "invoiceAmounts": {

    "subtotal": 85.00,

    "discount": 0.00,

    "tax": 0.00,

    "total": 85.00

  }

}

In this scenario, the sales representative wants to create an invoice showing an altered subscription quantity at the next billing cycle. Based on the sales rep’s input, the system automatically and instantly creates a proforma invoice showing the new charges.

Immediate Application – Output

{

  "proFormaInvoiceHeader": {

    "proFormaInvoiceCreationDate": "2024-03-17",

    "currency": "USD",

    "timezone": "America/New_York",

    "message": "This invoice reflects immediate changes to the subscription plan, with prorated charges applicable from the change date to the next billing cycle."

  },

  "contact": [

    {

      "type": "BILL-TO",

      "email": "john.doe@cloudtech.com",

      "firstname": "John",

      "lastname": "Doe",

      "phone": "555-987-6543",

      "organization": {

        "companyId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440002",

        "companyName": "CloudTech Solutions",

        "department": {

          "departmentId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440003",

          "departmentName": "Finance",

          "departmentDescription": "Handles billing, invoicing, and payment processing."

        }

      },

      "address": {

        "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440006",

        "addressLine1": "456 Shipping Lane",

        "city": "Miami",

        "region": "FL",

        "postalCode": "33101",

        "country": "USA"

      }

    },

    {

      "type": "SHIP-TO",

      "email": "jane.smith@datametrics.com",

      "firstname": "Jane",

      "lastname": "Smith",

      "phone": "555-123-4567",

      "organization": {

        "companyId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440004",

        "companyName": "DataMetrics Analytics",

        "department": {

          "departmentId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440005",

          "departmentName": "Operations",

          "departmentDescription": "Manages the delivery and deployment of software services to customers."

        }

      },

      "address": {

        "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440007",

        "addressLine1": "456 Shipping Lane",

        "city": "Miami",

        "region": "FL",

        "postalCode": "33101",

        "country": "USA"

      },

      "taxId": "123-tax-id"

    }

  ],

  "currentPlanSummary": {

    "product": "Basic",

    "billingFrequency": "1 month",

    "price": 8.50,

    "quantity": 1,

    "nextChargeDate": "4/6/24",

    "nextChargeAmount": 7.65

  },

  "proposedPlanSummary": {

    "product": "Standard",

    "billingFrequency": "1 month",

    "price": 50.00,

    "quantity": 5,

    "nextChargeDate": "4/6/24",

    "nextChargeAmount": 85.00

  },

  "items": [

    {

      "product": "Standard Subscription",

      "quantity": 5,

      "price": 10.00,

      "total": 50.00,

      "proratedItemAmounts": {

        "proratedCharge": "35.00",

        "proratedCredit": "0.00",

        "proratedTax": "0.00",

        "proratedAmount": 35.00

      }

    },

    {

      "product": "Support Module",

      "quantity": 5,

      "price": 7.00,

      "total": 35.00,

      "proratedItemAmounts": {

        "proratedCharge": "24.50",

        "proratedCredit": "0.00",

        "proratedTax": "0.00",

        "proratedAmount": 24.50

      }

    }

  ],

  "invoiceAmounts": {

    "subtotal": 85.00,

    "discount": 0.00,

    "tax": 0.00,

    "total": 59.50

  }

}

In this scenario, the sales rep wants to show the customer the same subscription change but with a prorated price for August. In both scenarios, you can see how simple it will be for the sales rep to quickly show the customer several options, ensuring flexibility and a smooth path to growth and renewal.

Conclusion

When businesses scrutinize every fee and subscription, a smooth and speedy renewal process can be all it takes to retain more customers. However, that process requires automation, accuracy, and transparency in all customer communications—especially regarding pricing for add-ons and renewals.

FastSpring’s Proforma Invoice API removes the internal hassles, potential errors, and customer frustrations inherent in the old way of managing invoices. By deploying simple lines of code in your existing backend system, you can instantly empower teams to create accurate proforma invoices for their customers. Renewals that used to take weeks or months of negotiations can now take a few days—or even a couple of hours.

There will be no more back-and-forth, miscommunications, or frustrations. With FastSpring’s Proforma Invoice API, customers are happy, and finance teams can accurately forecast and hit their numbers more consistently. What more could you ask for?

The post How FastSpring’s Proforma Invoice API Automates Subscription Renewals, Upgrades, and Add-Ons to Maximize Revenue appeared first on FastSpring.

• HubSpot Integration
• Proforma Invoices
• Subscription Co-Terming
• Invoice API 
• Optimization for Discounts and Coupons

HubSpot Integration: Manage Sales Where Your Team Already Works

FastSpring’s HubSpot integration simplifies the operational management of products, pricing, user accounts through automatic data transfer from the FastSpring system to and from HubSpot which allows you to trigger email marketing automation and enable your sales, support, and billing teams who use HubSpot to manage relationships with customers and prospects. Plus, sales teams can generate a FastSpring quote directly from a HubSpot deal to close deals quicker and smoother..

Key Benefits:

• Integrated Marketing & Sales Automation: Combine the power of FastSpring for payments and subscriptions with the power of HubSpot for email marketing automation and as a CRM.
• Operational Efficiency: Users have automated flows between HubSpot and FastSpring to simplify deal flows and lead to faster close rates.

For more details, reach out to our sales team or submit a ticket to our customer team here.

Proforma Invoice API

Automate the creation of proforma invoices through the Proforma Invoice API. Using existing estimates and proration calculations from the FastSpring Platform, generate invoices that reflect your custom pricing structures, discounts, and negotiated rates. Plus, handle renewals and plan changes with invoices containing comparative cost breakdowns or immediate plan change calculations.

Key Benefits:

• Improved Customer Communication: Offer up clear communication and transparency around pricing by providing proforma invoices before a customer is asked to pay.
• Faster Renewal Cycles: Accelerate renewals or plan changes with automatically generated proforma invoices that customers can use to make decisions.

Learn more about the suite of APIs for Proforma below:

• Proforma Invoice GET API
• Proforma Invoice PUT API

Subscription Co-Terming

Simplify your customers’ subscription management by aligning renewal dates or consolidating currencies or payment methods used into a single entity through subscription co-terming.

Key Benefits:

• Streamlined Subscription Management: Consolidate subscriptions under a common identifier like currency, payment method, or currency used.
• Enhanced Flexibility for Customers: Make it easier than ever for customers to not only adjust their subscriptions, but also bring everything under a unified roof.

Learn more about the various co-terming APIs below:

• Auto Renewal
• Create a Group
• Update a Group
• Estimates
• Execute
• Get Group ID
• Delete Group ID

Coupon & Discount Management Optimization

If you offer coupons as part of your PLG (ecommerce) channel, you’ll enjoy powerful coupon and discount capabilities. Automate complex discount rules to ensure that your buyers know exactly what coupons are available and which discounts are being applied, no matter their use case.

Key Benefits:

• Reduce Complexity: With the new coupon automation, complex discount rules can easily be applied without additional headache for teams.
• Consistency and Clarity for Customers: Customers will always be able to get the discounts they’re looking for and you can make sure that they’re being applied correctly in all cases.

Learn more about how our new coupon and discount management APIs work below:

• Post an Estimate
• Create a Coupon
• Get Coupon Details

Upcoming Invoice APIs

Our latest updates to the Invoice API improves automation of the invoicing process to reduce manual data entry and errors. These improvements will allow you to automate the entire invoicing process via our suite of APIs so your teams can know that when they’re entering information into your forms it’ll be passed over to the systems they’re already using like Salesforce.

Learn more about how you can automate quoting with our Quotes API today.

FastSpring drives B2B growth

With FastSpring, you can close your PLG and sales-led opportunities faster. Instantly expand your B2B SaaS business worldwide, all in one place without the headache of global sales tax and compliance. Accept the top payment methods in 200+ regions, including low-cost options like ACH and SEPA all within our powerful invoicing, quoting, and CRM integrations.

Want to learn more about how FastSpring can support your global growth strategy? Schedule some time with our team or sign up for a trial account!

The post FastSpring Launches HubSpot Integration and Expands on its B2B Offering With Its Summer Product Releases appeared first on FastSpring.

In this episode of Growth Stage, we interview Sahil Patel of Spiralyze about his thoughts on: 

• Special considerations for B2B CRO.
• The best way to think about your B2B test data approach.
• Winning strategies Sahil has found helping clients like BambooHR, Okta, and Harvest with their B2B CRO. 

If you’re scratching your head wondering what you’ll test next with your B2B CRO strategy, don’t miss this episode!

Jump to video.  |  Jump to transcript.

Podcast Full Interview: Audio

Listen online or find it on more podcast services.

Podcast Full Interview: Video

Transcript

David Vogelpohl (00:04)

Hello everyone and welcome to the Growth Stage podcast by FastSpring, where we discuss how digital product companies can grow revenue, build meaningful products, and increase the value of their business. I’m your host, David Vogelpohl. I support the digital product community here in my role at FastSpring. And I love to bring the best of the community to you here on Growth Stage. In this episode, we’re talking about a topic that I’m really excited about: proven AB testing winners for B2B CRO, and joining us for that conversation is Mr. Sahil Patel. Sahil, welcome to Fast — I’m sorry, welcome to Growth Stage.

Sahil Patel (00:42)

David, really glad to be here. Thanks for having me.

David Vogelpohl (00:45)

Excellent. Well, thanks for bearing with me while I stumbled over your name there a little bit in the beginning; with a last name like Vogelpohl I should be better at that. But thank you for joining. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. And so for those watching and listening, what I wanted to share with you is kind of what we’re going to talk about today, which is Sahil’s thoughts on the special considerations for B2B CRO (what’s different about B2B versus B2C),

Sahil Patel (00:54)

Hey, we’re here. It’s good.

David Vogelpohl (01:12)

the best way to think about your testing data when you’re doing B2B CRO, and winning strategies Sahil has seen with clients like Bamboo, Okta, and Harvest. And so those are some really meaty B2B puzzles, Sahil. And so I’m really curious about what you’ve seen there. So I’m going to kick it off by asking you the first question I’ve asked every guest, which is, what is the first thing you bought online?

Sahil Patel (01:41)

What a great question. I’m gonna age myself a little bit. Probably it was in the 90s.

Buying stuff was not super common…

It probably was some kind of Star Wars related collectible on eBay.

David Vogelpohl (02:04)

Nice, do you still collect Star Wars collectibles?

Sahil Patel (02:08)

I do, yeah, but I have a decent amount. So there’s like a household cap on adding new Star Wars stuff.

David Vogelpohl (02:16)

I like it. I like it. Is it like one in one out the kind of thing at this point or have you hit the cap?

Sahil Patel (02:21)

Well, it’s pretty close. My kids are into it now, which gives me a little bit of leeway, which means I can get things that are for them, but aren’t really for me.

David Vogelpohl (02:32)

Nice, nice. I like it. Well, that’s a great first thing you bought online story. Thanks for sharing.

Sahil Patel (02:37)

What about you, David? What was the first thing you bought online?

David Vogelpohl (02:39)

The first thing I bought online was a product called Zanfel. It was designed, it is still sold today, but it’s a poison ivy cure. So I was at the end of like a three or four day stint of just being miserable with poison ivy. And I Googled a cure for poison ivy. Zanfel came up and it actually did work for me. It doesn’t necessarily work for everybody, but it was like a magic cure for me. So, late nineties. So yeah.

Sahil Patel (03:03)

And when was this? How early days internet was this? Yeah.

David Vogelpohl (03:09)

I might have done something before that, but that was the first one I remember. All right, cool. Well, let’s switch gears a little bit, kind of get get closer to the topic at hand. Could you quickly tell me about what Spiralyze does and what you do there?

Sahil Patel (03:26)

Yeah, thanks. I’m the CEO of Spiralyze. We’re an A-B testing company. There are 34,000 websites that run A-B tests somewhere on their website. We scrape all of them. We find the best A-B tests in the entire internet, then we run those for our clients.

David Vogelpohl (03:43)

Nice. So you’re detecting the sites that are running those tests. And then how do you know the ones that are best from sites you don’t control? I’m just kind of curious about this.

Sahil Patel (03:52)

Yeah, great question. How do we know which ones are best? Because all we can see is that they run a test and which version of the page, the A or the B, they chose at the end of the test. The first thing. No, go ahead, please, David.

David Vogelpohl (04:06)

So you’re, go ahead. I was gonna say, so you basically detect a test that’s happening and then when you figure out which one won in the end, you mark that as like that was the better one.

Sahil Patel (04:18)

Yeah, that’s right. That’s right. We’re doing those things digitally, but that’s a really nice way to describe it. If we.

David Vogelpohl (04:20)

very cool.

Nice, nice. I like the very simple explanation I needed to understand sometimes.

Sahil Patel (04:31)

We do this thousands of times a day. So what we’re looking for is not kind of one company running one test. If they do it, so what? It’s an anecdote, I’m not running out, tell them, I gotta say, you should go run this test. But for example, if we see 10 companies all run the same test and they converge on an answer, it’s what we call a proven winner. Those are the kind of tests that we like to run for our clients.

David Vogelpohl (04:59)

Right, because things are so specific to a specific company, I guess. So if you can look at multiple data points across multiple companies and find that common factor, you could identify something that would be, kind of in a sense, universally applicable to lots and lots of companies. Is that the gist?

Sahil Patel (05:15)

That’s right. That’s right. And you don’t have to look far to find one. I’ll give you an example of something that’s actionable for everyone listening at home if they say, well, hey, I’d love to try one of these. What have you learned that I could do right away? A great one to try is to show— But here’s the context. We’re talking about B2B SaaS companies.

And the problem many of them have is go to the home page. They have a picture of a happy person at the top of the page. Marketers call this the hero section of the page. This happy person costs you a ton of conversions. It doesn’t tell you anything about the product. It’s boring. And when someone is looking at your website, they’re there to buy software, which is to be really clear. They’re there to feel good about themselves.

They’re looking for product, and they’re somewhere on their buying journey. Some are early, some are ready to buy. That’s where they are. And the answer is, the A-B test I would run is, instead of showing a picture of a happy person in the variant, I would show a screenshot of your product.

And then run that test. Our data shows that just doing that can get you about 12 % more conversions from your website, from the traffic you already get, which is the beauty of conversion rate optimization, CRO. Take the traffic you already have, you run a split test, and you have the data to show whether it works for you or not. And you’re not blindly copying. You’re running the test. You’re not just doing it. But we’ve now seen this test run hundreds of times and has a high, high likelihood of

outperforming the picture of the happy person, that stock imagery of the person with a nice looking shirt looking or peering at a laptop looking at me. Who are all these happy people, by the way? Like what makes them so happy? I guess it’s better than sad people, but happy people don’t really convert that well. Pictures of your product convert much better.

David Vogelpohl (07:23)

Yeah, this debate actually is raging and FastSpring right now, which is like, okay, do we favor product images or people images and what degrees do we do that? Which one’s in the hero? Which one’s not like that kind of thing.

Sahil Patel (07:35)

And what’s the debate? I love that you’re sharing that, because my guess is people who are listening to this podcast are probably inclined to show the product. They get it. They maybe hear some this, this anecdote for me that there’s data behind it. But the reality, the messy reality is they have to then go convince some people internally. They may not be able to unilaterally run this AB test or just make the change. So what’s that? What’s that debate like internally? What’s the other side for the people that are.

in favor of showing more people on the website.

David Vogelpohl (08:08)

I think it connects to what I’ve seen is a shift in marketers mentality around CRO relative to optimizing favoring for emotion versus optimizing favoring for information. I heard this recently at Winter Games, but folks were talking about like people are there to buy products and features, not necessarily the outcome.

And so the outcome to me is an example of an emotion, right? Rest easy, do good at your job because of our product, hit your targets because we’re going to help you do that versus I need an ad network. I need an analytics platform. And so I think internally, what I think is at the root of the debates and many of these debates I’ve been in in the past is the blend between.

optimizing for emotion versus optimizing for information. So that’s my off the cuff version. How do you think about that, Sahil?

Sahil Patel (09:10)

Well, so first of all, thank you for sharing, because I think this is the messy reality of conversion rate optimization. So we don’t operate in a vacuum of a pristine laboratory where the only thing that matters is there’s a data set that tells us you should run this test. We’re human beings with, we come with baggage, good baggage, bad baggage, prior experience, a perspective.

And changing anything in an organization is hard. You have to do the work of selling it. Here’s a couple of ways I might sell it. One is through an analogy. I think the second is putting yourself in the point of view of your audience. And both of them are helpful. The first one I would say is this is sometimes if you want to actually make an emotional win the argument or persuade people through an emotional argument, I’d say this.

Think about, and I’ll ask David, I’ll post it to you. Let’s pretend that I was on one side of this, you were on the other. And I was saying, we need to show more product. And you’re saying, no, we’re giving you motion. I ask you this. Can you think of the last car commercial you saw? What was it? And I’m asking for real. What was it?

David Vogelpohl (10:25)

You’re asking the wrong person. I probably haven’t seen a commercial in like two years.

Sahil Patel (10:28)

Okay, well, think back two years. What was the last car commercial you saw? Okay, Ford. Can you picture the commercial in your mind? Like what was happening?

David Vogelpohl (10:32)

Let’s just say Ford.

It primarily pictures images of the truck that I saw.

Sahil Patel (10:42)

Yeah, if it was an F -150, it shows the truck driving up a mountain, probably going over some water and rocks. Maybe the people are putting their stuff, their camping gear. There’s probably some emotion. Maybe it shows them doing some happy activity that they’re only able to do because the Ford truck got them there. Fair? Is that?

David Vogelpohl (11:02)

But the person is often obfuscated, which you could argue is like that gives you room to be the person in the truck basically. Yeah.

Sahil Patel (11:10)

Yep, that’s right. That’s right. Now, if you reran that commercial and you digitally erased the truck, just think about what that commercial would look like. What would it be? What would you see?

David Vogelpohl (11:25)

smiling people at the beach enjoying their outcome of a trip and a hard to reach place because they had their trucks, something like that.

Sahil Patel (11:32)

Yeah, and you get the scenery, right? You see the camera panning, the bridge, the rocks, the mountain. Now, the little subtitle at the bottom says, closed course, do not try this at home, would make absolutely no sense. And the commercial wouldn’t work. You’d be like, what is this? Is this for a camping? And the emotion is there, but people buy a car. They buy it for a lot of reasons.

functional reasons, emotional reasons, value reasons. And you don’t know on any one day who is going to watch that commercial, just like you don’t know on any one day who’s coming to your home page. But if you wouldn’t run a car ad, I mean, no one in their right mind would run a car ad without showing the car. I don’t know why anyone would, when you put it that way, would anyone do a home page for a B2B SaaS company, not show the product? So that’s the analogy.

David Vogelpohl (12:26)

Yeah.

Yeah, if I was making a web page for a truck, I’d have a picture of the truck in the hero, not a picture of a smiling person. Yeah.

Sahil Patel (12:34)

There you go. Number two, this is the more, I would say, trying to be a pragmatist. Put yourself in the perspective of the random person that comes to your website. You’ve got about one second to convince them to stay. That’s the job of the hero section of the home page. It’s not to sell the product.

It’s not to explain the value of the product. It’s not even to convince them to read and educate, much less convert. Convert here means they maybe click, see a demo.

just to get them to stay. You’ve got about a second. So it can’t be complicated. It can’t be nuanced. And it has to cut through the noise. Your brain processes images faster than words. If you just ask yourself, does the happy person, which, by the way, could appear on any website on Earth, is it going to convince someone to stay? My guess is that FastSpring, you have competitors. Every company does. It’s got to be something that’s going to be to be

I always assume that they’ve looked at five competitors before they get to my home page. There’s got to be something in under a second that tells them, OK, let’s stay.

David Vogelpohl (13:56)

And this is intuitive and it’s interesting to hear how you’re looking at multiple tests, including those you’re not personally running to determine like who’s running these kinds of tests and what is like this universal signal. And that’s interesting to hear about featuring products over people. To dial it in a little bit on the B2B side of the CRO equation, what does that mean to you? Like, what are you optimizing? What are you trying to drive when you…

run a B2B CRO test?

Sahil Patel (14:27)

What I’m optimizing, great question, is can I get more people from the traffic you already get to turn into a sales prospect?

full stop.

Now, let’s unpack what a sales prospect means. But let’s be real simple, crisp definition. Traffic you already have, get more people to turn into a sales prospect.

Sales prospect if you’re a product -led growth company it can be that sign up for that 10 -day free trial If you’re a sales led company it’s Get a demo talk to sales get a quote some variation of it that’s for your highest intent audience. It’s the most valuable audience. That’s what everyone craves. It’s the hand raisers that go Hey, I may not be ready to buy but I’m ready to move towards the purchase

David Vogelpohl (15:20)

Thanks.

Sahil Patel (15:26)

That’s what I focus on. That’s what most of my clients, that’s where the value is, it’s what moves the needle. If you fully optimize that, then you start moving higher up the funnel for things like downloading a white paper, signing up for a webinar, reading some content. You should do all those, by the way. But you should start with the highest value, highest intent conversion on your website. And B2B SaaS, it’s a good idea.

Get a demo slash talk to sales or start your free trial. It’s almost always one of those two things.

David Vogelpohl (16:03)

I’m assuming for those metrics you’re excluding disqualifieds and things like that. Like it’s obviously more than just a form fill. When you think of quote prospect.

Sahil Patel (16:09)

Yeah.

Yeah. You should rate your lift based on the quality of the lift. Getting more lift, I don’t want to say it’s easy because nothing in life is easy, but you can do parlor tricks to just get more form fill. Cut out all the fields. Make it a single field. Sure, you should get garbage. You should track first. Did you get more of your traffic to fill out the form fill? Because if you can’t do that, none of the other stuff matters.

David Vogelpohl (16:40)

You didn’t –

Sahil Patel (16:40)

Once you do that, then say how, go ahead, David, sorry, please, you’re about to ask a question.

David Vogelpohl (16:44)

I was going to say what I didn’t hear you say is like your initial thing you’re optimizing for the primary thing is the softer leads, like the webinar, ebook download type stuff. A lot of folks place a lot of value in that one. We’ll even mention that as the primary thing they’ll optimize for, for B2B CRO. Why didn’t that make your cut for your top KPI?

Sahil Patel (17:07)

It doesn’t make my cut for two reasons. I’m going to put my CEO hat on.

I’ve got a revenue and a profit target I gotta hit. That target is on my back and I wake up every day thinking about it.

demo requests, free trial starts, or account sign -ups is what gets me to my target as soon as possible. It’s the highest intent, highest value, closest to revenue conversion you have on your website. Now, if you fully optimize that and you’re hitting diminishing returns on your A-B testing efforts, by all means, work on those softer, lower intent. Use some marketing speak.

top of the funnel or tofu type of leads. Sure, you should do it. I’m not saying there’s not value. You shouldn’t do that. But always, always, always start with your most valuable, highest intent conversion.

David Vogelpohl (18:04)

Yeah, it makes sense. Like they’re the most likely to emerge as pipeline and bookings. And so even if you’re optimizing those top of the funnel leads, you’re trying to get them to spit out the pipeline and bookings eventually. And if you’re putting too much value on the top of the funnel leads, then you may not even be representing real pipeline and bookings basically. Is that kind of the gist of how you think about it?

Sahil Patel (18:29)

100%, 100%. Let’s also go back to something I love that you raised at the beginning, just a few minutes ago, which is you’re having this internal debate about showing the product versus showing the people. I think if you have to sell people on just running the test, then you have to sell them on the outcome. Like here’s the results of the test.

I think if you are a CRO person, whatever your title is or function, you’re an agency or an in -house, you’re VP of digital, you’re an analyst, at some point you have to go to the senior people and say, we ran this test, here’s the outcome. And we got.

20 % more qualified sales leads. I validated them with the sales VP or the chief revenue officer and she’s thrilled.

Her pipeline is bigger, right? Yeah. Now, no, no, no, please go ahead.

David Vogelpohl (19:20)

So validating the quality of those as well. Right, because if I’m, go ahead.

If I’m only optimizing for raw qualified leads, but they don’t, they’re not quality as the sales team sees them. Cause qualified leads typically follow like a data pattern, right? Or a DQ from a rep. But then behind that, there’s still like a quality layer. And so what you’re saying is that by having the sales leaders validate those leads even further, it can help strengthen the case for why you should go with X or Y variant.

Sahil Patel (19:40)

That’s right.

It’s a, I’ve seen it happen and it’s a cautionary tale. You’re someone that works in marketing. You take a victory lap because you had this huge lift and then the sales leader goes, yeah, but they’re sh*t leads.

takes all the air out of the balloon. It’s not a fun moment.

David Vogelpohl (20:14)

Yeah, so take, so.

Yeah, I have fun in those moments because I learned something I learned. We didn’t work so try the next thing, but I know there’s like that sunk cost fallacy thing. People feel like when they spend a bunch of time testing something and it doesn’t work like all my ideas are bad or my execution was bad. Maybe, but like sometimes it just doesn’t work and like knowing that it’s valuable.

Sahil Patel (20:26)

Of course, of course.

So that’s the first thing. The second thing is.

really your sales team, your revenue team, whatever you want to call them, ought to be the biggest proponents of conversion rate optimization for the website. They are the biggest beneficiaries. In fact, they should be not just willing, but asking to ante up and put their budget towards CRO because they’re the main benefits. What salesperson wouldn’t want 20 % more qualified leads inbound?

Now let’s go ahead, please.

David Vogelpohl (21:18)

Yeah, I mean, that makes sense. Yeah.

Sahil Patel (21:23)

If we contrast that with you, I’m going back to the root question. Why do these type of conversions versus webinar signups? Because I think if you go to the sales leader and say, hey, we got you 20 % more webinar signups, I think he or she first goes, well, great, you got me from 30 people on an average webinar to 20 to 25. I’m not super excited about that. Also, if they say, well, what was the quality of that? Well, it’s going to be.

three months because we know from webinar sign up to drip campaign to nurture to sales demo takes three months and we know like one out of 50 actually turn into an opportunity. Just who’s going to get that excited about it? You got to do it. That’s an important part of the equation. It’s just not where I would start.

David Vogelpohl (22:12)

Earlier you said that sales leaders and salespeople should be the biggest advocates of CRO. I can think of a situation where it makes them very nervous and that is where you’re optimizing around lead gen.

Versus self -serve. Like I worked at a company called WP Engine We had like self -serve signups on the website and then like, you know schedule or demo or get a quote for like bigger services and If you want to you’re gonna test the the heartiness of your team start that debate around how you should change your pricing and packaging page with the blend of self -serve versus Lead forms and that the company was great. Everybody worked with is awesome

But obviously, this creates tension. So how do you think about that? How do you think about that blend in a B2B scenario where you have both the PLG self -serve motion and the sales -led motion?

Sahil Patel (23:07)

Ooh, you’re stepping. You’re opening a door. That’s tough to walk through, but it’s a really good one. Glad you asked it.

And let’s just assume for a moment that’s the right strategy for any particular company. You want to offer both. It fits your business model. I think the first thing is, I think you run different tests on both of those. And here’s why. They have very different down funnel conversion rates.

Because what you’re trying to do most of the time with PLG is make it as easy as possible to sign up and then give people really rewarding, fulfilling experience when they’re trialing your product. And industry average, what I read is somewhere between 8%, 10 % of free trials turn into a paying customer. And if you’re in that 15 to 20, you’re an all star. And I’ve seen some companies that are in like 3 % to 5%.

That’s a very different game versus the sales motion, which trying to do is just get people to talk to sales, but you don’t want to waste the sales team’s time. And you want to be a little bit more discerning with, hey, if you’re Sahil’s laundromat, why are you signing up for this enterprise software package? You’re going to waste my sales team’s time. So very different set of tasks. The first one is almost primarily about removing friction, getting people.

into that free trial as quickly as possible. And on the sales motion, I often run tests that are much more about improving the quality of the conversions so that the sales team goes, hey, my dance card is full of great prospects, real prospects. They’re in our ICP. They want to talk to me. They’re the kind of people I want to talk to. They have the headcount. They’ve got the revenue. They’ve got the problems that we can solve for.

David Vogelpohl (25:15)

If you separate your tasks on a page like that, obviously what’s good for self -serve and what’s good for sales assisted could be two totally different things, right? The best thing for sales assisted is to just delete the self -serve tiles. And the best thing for self -service is also to do that. The other way.

Sahil Patel (25:25)

Yes.

That’s a different strategy. That’s probably outside of CR conversion rate optimization.

David Vogelpohl (25:37)

Well, I mean, I really love extreme examples in business because it shows the tension. And so then obviously the answer is in the middle, right? And so I’m just curious, like if you have seen anything in the clients you’ve worked with or had any observations, it would be helpful about how to think about that tension. Like the way I’ve approached it in the past is, well, look, it’s all a revenue game. How much revenue did the A or the B shoot out? And…

Who cares about the mix of self -serve and sales assisted? So that’s one way I’ve approached it. I’m just curious like how you’ve seen it then.

Sahil Patel (26:15)

Is the question, David, like, how do you decide whether to hide one or the other? I think I lost you there.

David Vogelpohl (26:22)

I think the question is, if you’re a CRO in a scenario where you have both self -serve and sales assisted, what are some ways to deal with your test to get the most value for the company?

Sahil Patel (26:34)

to get the most value for the company.

David Vogelpohl (26:41)

I mean, how do you make the call? How do you know which one won or lost? If you tank the sales team’s leads with a B, that increased the total revenue, do you call that test? Yeah.

Sahil Patel (26:53)

I would. I would. Now, let me say, so let’s take that use case. You run an A-B test, and it shows why you’re getting fewer conversions. The conversions you do get are higher quality. Higher quality mean they fit the ICP, and the sales team says a higher percentage of these are turning into sales accepted or sales qualified leads. I think that’s the scenario you’re talking about. Is that right? Yeah. So first of all, I think most companies will take that all day long.

David Vogelpohl (27:17)

Yeah, basically.

Sahil Patel (27:22)

and I would call it a win.

Now the answer is there’s a trade -off that you have to measure. Is 10 % fewer leads for 10 % more qualified leads better? Most salespeople will take that.

David Vogelpohl (27:40)

What if you got 10 % less everything for sales, but total revenue went up? These are the types of decisions that I feel CROs have to make. And obviously, if you tank the leads for the sales team, that probably means somebody is going to get laid off somewhere along the way. So that’s a bad thing for the business. And then if you increase revenue but decrease the number of people signing up,

Sahil Patel (27:41)

There’s some extreme though that’s not. Go ahead, please.

Yeah.

David Vogelpohl (28:06)

then your total addressable market will start going down. And so these are the pressures I felt in similar roles in the past. I’m just curious, like, if you, how you think about it. We can keep going too. I was just curious.

Sahil Patel (28:16)

That’s a good one. It’s a good one. Here, I’ll answer this one. Let’s keep going. Let’s assume you mean you can actually attribute the change in revenue to that particular AB test. Is that right? That’s what you’re saying? OK. Yeah. I mean, first of all, I would tell everyone to throw just a word of caution. The further you get from the whatever activity you measured in your CRO test, you should take it with a bigger grain of salt. So.

David Vogelpohl (28:28)

Yeah, let’s assume that I get how tricky that yeah.

Sahil Patel (28:46)

you know, the form fill total, I think 100 % attribution, the impact on sales acceptedly pretty strong. Sales qualified lead also pretty strong. Opportunity, yeah, I’d put a lot of stock in that. Now, you know, kind of the value of the deal.

the whether it closed or not and the rate at which it closed, I would want to see a really big effect size before I drew a conclusion. Like a small nudge.

David Vogelpohl (29:15)

And the further you get.

Sahil Patel (29:19)

I would be hesitant to then claim a big conclusion about the impact. Because there’s so many other things that could have affected it. Do a trade show. You got a bunch of better leads. There’s some seasonal affect, all kinds of things.

David Vogelpohl (29:26)

Yeah, that’s a real…

Yeah, it’s a really good point, especially as you get further down the funnel in those metrics. And of course, those metrics get smaller and smaller. So it makes it, yeah.

Sahil Patel (29:44)

Yeah, your n is smaller. Yeah, I mean, a word of gosh, verily is like, don’t take your statistical significance on your conversion, like the form fill, and just assume that that’s true all the way down the funnel. It’s usually not.

David Vogelpohl (30:00)

Yeah, it definitely gets tricky, especially if you have like wildly different pipeline amounts or something per deal, like average deal size is like some whale will come in and you’re like our B1 and you’re like, well, not really. Just look at the op. You just got lucky. Yeah. So,

Sahil Patel (30:12)

is heavily tilted by this one. Yeah. Great point.

David Vogelpohl (30:19)

So that kind of brings up my next question, which what are the benefits or drawbacks of actually using pipeline and bookings? Like if I go to our CEO and ask about some test, he’s always like, well, how much pipeline and bookings sped out the other side of it? And rightfully so. But like, what are some other drawbacks and benefits to using those down funnel metrics?

Sahil Patel (30:38)

Well, I think that the main benefit is it gets the attention of the C -suite and it increases the likelihood that they will invest in CRO activities on an ongoing basis. That’s, I think, the most important thing and the best reason for using what CRO people call down funnel metrics. The impact not just on the form fill, but on sales, qualified lead, activation, account sign -up, whatever those things are, eventually revenue.

And you got to do it, and you should do it, and you shouldn’t shy away from it. I would lead with it, number one. And number two, the more you talk about it, the more you present it, the more space you have to then put caveats and just say, hey, let’s be realistic about what we know and what we think we know is the impact. And some of this is we have to speculate.

or we have to make a lot of assumptions for these realistic assumptions. But I would not shy away from it. When we do, I’ll say when I work with my clients, the impact on pipeline and on revenue is one of the first things we show them.

David Vogelpohl (31:53)

Yeah, it’s so important because there’s the politics of getting your testing invested in, getting the resources you need, the attention you need. And then as you pointed out earlier, kind of selling the results internally. And if your CEO or other leaders are asking about pipeline or bookings, it’s great to lead with that. I like that. Kind of reminds me of the trick of using Google’s PageSpeed Insights to convince your boss your website should be faster. See, Google thinks it’s slow. Yeah.

Sahil Patel (32:19)

Yes.

It’s good. It’s objective. It’s good. And I think that maybe the lesson learned, the actual insight I would tell everyone is spend a lot of time, maybe more than you think you need to, on testing the assumptions behind your estimated impact of an experiment on pipeline and revenue.

David Vogelpohl (32:44)

So earlier, you had mentioned that in your tests you’ve done and the kind of analysis you do of the 30 ,000 sites doing A-B testing, that product images are beating people images. You tend to. Yeah, I get it’s not absolute. Thank you for that clarification. What are a couple of other winning tactics you’ve detected that people could write down and go try on their own?

Sahil Patel (32:58)

They tend to, yes. They tend to.

Yeah, great question. Let’s do some actionable insights that people can take away. The second one I would do is, this is a great one to do on a home page or a landing page, is a quantitative bold claim headline.

I’ll give you an example. We’re in a client’s landing page, and it said something like this. Next gen.

financial reporting software.

It was just so bland. What does next gen mean? It says what it is. There’s no hook. There’s no benefit. It’s soft. I don’t think it persuades anyone. Just as bad as, you know, the number one financial reporting software. Just number one at what to whom? And no one 10x better than everyone else. No one believes that. It’s just not credible. There’s no benefit.

Now a better headline might be like, close your books 20 % faster than with spreadsheets.

I’m talking about this financial reporting software package. It’s specific, it’s quantitative, and it’s believable because it’s clear it’s 20 % better than what. Maybe it’s 20 % faster than using SAP, if you’re allowed to say it. You may not be allowed to say that. This is a great test to run, one, because it doesn’t require a heavy investment to run the test. You don’t have to do a lot of software development or designers or fancy graphics.

And you can run these tests very quickly at a low cost. Number two, it forces you to really articulate what is the value of our product? What is the hook that gets someone to stop scrolling and say, hey, this is the value to me. It’s not the emotion. It’s the benefit. So that’s number one. Number two.

is go on your website and find anything that’s more than two lines, like two line breaks. Turn it into bullet points. We call that skimmability.

David Vogelpohl (35:26)

is the benefit that you feel there? Like I feel like, I guess you’ve seen this in test results, that there’s different schools of thought on this. One thought is there’s skimmers and there’s readers and long form content is good for the readers and bulleted bold content is good for the skimmers. And there’s tension here too, when you create a landing page, cause you’re like, well, wait a minute, some.

Sahil Patel (35:32)

Mm -hmm.

David Vogelpohl (35:52)

I know our technical buyers, they like to read, you know, things like that. How do you how do you think about that? Like that’s that’s a bold claim even even in and of itself.

Sahil Patel (36:02)

So I’ll put some context around it first. I’m talking about a landing page, a home page, product page, not a blog, which is a blog should feel a little bit more conversational, a little bit more prose. You’re trying to get some people to think. But I think for everything else, home page, pricing page, demo request page, solution page, landing page especially.

No one is reading. Exactly 0 % of your audience wants to read. They’re all skimmers. And if you have any doubt about it, just go to YouTube. Go to TikTok. There’s a place for long -form content. It’s very valuable, high engagement. That’s why they call it long -form content. That is not what people are doing on your website. You’re fooling yourself if you think that’s what people want to do. Now.

David Vogelpohl (36:56)

So it’s.

Sahil Patel (36:56)

If you want to put that, I’ll just add a part. If you want someone to skim, and they like, and they want more, then take them to a place with more detail. Put that below the fold. Find a link. Read more here. You take them to your blog page or your detail page. Yeah, there’s a part of your audience that wants that when they’re ready for it. But don’t start there. No one wants a wall of text.

David Vogelpohl (37:20)

So it seems like you’re kind of positioning, and I’m going to paraphrase a little bit, that your home page and pages like that kind of have two jobs, to give you the gist and to point you in the right direction, where.

Sahil Patel (37:31)

Actually, I might change that a little bit. Your home page is there to get people to stop scrolling.

Full stop.

Once you’ve done that, then you do those other two things.

David Vogelpohl (37:48)

Ooh, I like that variation. And then my other follow -up question real quick on your bold claim one, I thought it was interesting the way you described that, you know, close your books 20 % faster. I feel like most people think of bold claims as like representing their scale, you know, over 2 million businesses trust whoever, you know, like that kind of thing over like an outcome oriented bold stat. Did you choose that example like that on purpose or do you think, okay.

Sahil Patel (38:13)

I did. I did. Bolt claims should be a direct benefit to the user. You then support that claim with the copywriting on the page. One of those points can be social proof.

Our data shows bold claim, especially when it’s quantitative and specific, with support. And one of those support things is social proof, like 2 million happy customers, whatever, quadrant leader according to Gartner, five stars on Capterra. Those help people believe the bold claim. But the reverse is not as effective. If you lead with a,

you know, four stars on Capterra and then the sub bullet is close the books 20 % faster. It doesn’t perform as well. Yeah.

David Vogelpohl (39:05)

It doesn’t make sense as a story, even. Yeah. All right, that’s cool. Last question. If someone wants to get in touch or see what you’re up to, how should they do that?

Sahil Patel (39:17)

The best place is on LinkedIn. I post every Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 .30 AM Eastern.

David Vogelpohl (39:25)

Ooh, very scheduled there. I like it. Sounds like you.

Sahil Patel (39:28)

It is, and I try to keep everything short, sweet. You can get something from it in about 60 seconds.

David Vogelpohl (39:37)

Excellent, excellent. Well, thanks so much for joining and sharing today, Sahil. So glad to have you here.

Sahil Patel (39:43)

David, thank you for having me. This is a lot of fun.

David Vogelpohl (39:46)

If you’d like to learn more about what Sahil is up to, you can also visit spiralyze.com. Thanks everyone for joining us on the Growth Stage Podcast. Again, I’m your host David Vogelpohl. I support the digital product community here at FastSpring, and I love to bring the best of the community to you here on the Growth Stage Podcast. Thanks everybody.

The post EP22: Proven A/B Test Winners for B2B CRO appeared first on FastSpring.

• FastSpring’s new Payout Statements.
• Nine key pieces of info to include in support cases for faster help.
• FastSpring’s self-serve B2B document library.
• How Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager can help your business, plus FastSpring integration.

Need FastSpring support? Visit our Support page.

FastSpring provides an all-in-one payment platform for SaaS, software, and digital products businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, and consumer support. Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

Introducing FastSpring Payout Statements

You asked, we listened! We’re pleased to launch Payout Statements to provide you with detailed documentation breaking down your payouts.

Payout statements from FastSpring provide a detailed record of your financial transactions, including orders, refunds, fees, chargebacks, and adjustments. These statements are designed to offer transparency and assist in managing your store’s financial activities. 

There are three types of payout statements available:

• Payout Cycle Statements: Detail transactions for each payout period, which varies depending on your payout schedule. For example, monthly FastSpring users receive payouts on the 15th of each month based on the previous month’s activity, while twice monthly FastSpring users are paid on the 15th and the last day of each month, based on activity from the preceding two weeks.
• Monthly Statements: Summarize the activities for a calendar month.
• Annual Statements: Provide an overview of transactions for a calendar year, excluding the first payout of the year.

To generate a payout statement, follow these steps:

1. Access your FastSpring dashboard and select Account Summary.
2. Click on Payout History.
3. Choose how you want to view your statements:

• To see a statement for a specific payout cycle, click on the period under the “Payout Cycle” column.
• To see monthly or annual statements, click Generate Statements. Then, select the desired date range and click View Statement.

4. You can download a copy of the statement by clicking the download icon.

The key components of a payout statement are:

• Orders: Total processed orders during the period.
• Refunds: Amount refunded to customers.
• Fees: Transaction-related fees.
• Chargebacks: Total chargebacks received.
• Adjustments: Any adjustments to your account balance, which could be due to affiliate funding, commission, or accounting corrections.

These components correspond to the Orders and Returns line items in your Account Transactions log, which can be found in the Dashboard > Account Balance section of your FastSpring App.

More information can be found in this detailed FastSpring Doc.

Beth Thorpe
Senior Platform Support Specialist

Resolve Issues Quickly: Include These 9 Key Points in Your Support Cases

Creating a case for support can be a challenge to both new and existing FastSpring users. In order to resolve the problem quickly and efficiently, the key is providing the right information upfront. By including these details in your support case, you’ll help our agents diagnose the problem quickly and get you back on track:

• Describe the Problem Clearly. What’s happening? Be specific! Mention any error messages you see, and if possible, include screenshots. If the problem can be repeated, explain the steps to reproduce it.
• Tell Us About Your Environment. What FastSpring platform are you using? (Classic or Contextual). What Operating System? (Mac or Windows). This helps us recreate the issue and find a solution that works for you.
• Have You Made Any Changes? Did you recently install new software or update your settings? Sharing these details can help pinpoint the cause.
• How Is This Affecting You? Is your workflow disrupted? Are you unable to complete tasks? Letting us know how the issue impacts your work helps us prioritize its severity.
• What Outcome Are You Hoping For? Do you need to resolve this by a specific deadline? What would a successful resolution look like for you? Clear expectations help us meet your needs.
• Got Error Messages? Share Them! Error messages often contain clues about the root of the problem.
• Is a Customer Affected? Provide Order Numbers or Email Addresses. This helps us locate past interactions and troubleshoot more effectively.
• Need It Fixed Fast? Let Us Know! Urgent issues get prioritized, so communicate any deadlines clearly.
• Feedback Matters! Once your issue is resolved, we’ll send a short survey. Your feedback helps us improve our support and ensure even better service in the future.

By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to a speedy resolution. Remember: The more information you provide, the faster we can assist you!

Luanne Albright
Manager, Customer Support

Simplify B2B Sales With FastSpring’s Self-Serve Document Library

We’re delighted to announce the addition of our B2B Document Library to the existing FastSpring Trust Center. This library provides B2B buyers with all the commonly requested documents they need to confidently onboard FastSpring as their supplier before making a purchase.

Benefits for You:

• Faster Onboarding: By proactively supplying these documents, you can significantly reduce buyer onboarding time and expedite the sales cycle.
• Multiple Access Options: Choose to provide the documents directly to your buyers or simply direct them to the self-serve library page for easy access.

Accessing the B2B Document Library:

The B2B Document Library is conveniently located within the FastSpring Trust Center. Here’s how to find it:

1. Visit the FastSpring Trust Center.
2. Navigate to the “Public” Documents tab.
3. Expand the dropdown menu to see a list of all downloadable documents.

It’s important to note that only Public documents may be shared with buyers. Private documents are for FastSpring user access only and require an Access Request to be submitted and approved. To request private documentation access:

1. Click on the “Private” Documentation tab.
2. Click on the Request Access to Private Documents.

The FastSpring B2B Document Library provides all the information your buyers need upfront, leading to faster decisions and quicker purchases. Visit the Trust Center today and see the difference!

Beth Thorpe
Senior Platform Support Specialist

The Power of Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager for Your Business

In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing and ecommerce, tracking user behavior and website performance is key to success. When it comes to sophisticated data analysis and tag management, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Tag Manager (GTM) are the dynamic duo that every business needs. In this blog, we’ll take you on a journey through the history of analytics, explain what GA4 and GTM are, and show you how they can supercharge your ecommerce endeavors.

The Evolution of Analytics

The practice of recording and analyzing data to gain insights and enhance business performance has been around for decades. In the early days of the internet, businesses relied on raw server logs to capture website activity, providing basic data like visitor counts and accessed pages.

However, as technology advanced, so did analytics. Google Analytics emerged as a game-changer, offering a wide range of features, including ecommerce tracking. This innovation allowed online stores to monitor crucial events such as product views, add-to-cart actions, and completed purchases.

Around the same time, Google introduced Google Tag Manager in 2012. GTM tackled the challenge of managing multiple tracking codes and tags on websites by providing a centralized platform for easy implementation and management. The combination of Google Analytics and GTM became a powerful toolset for tracking ecommerce events, making it a must-have for marketers.

Google Analytics: Unveiling the Power of Data

Google Analytics is a robust web analytics tool provided by Google. By embedding a tracking code on your website, it collects data on how users interact with your site, offering a treasure trove of information. 

Here are some key features and benefits:

• Visitor Insights: Get a deep understanding of your website visitors, including their demographics, location, devices they use, and how they discovered your site. This data helps you connect with your audience more effectively.
• Website Performance: Track metrics like page views, bounce rates, average time on page, and conversion rates. This information is vital for assessing your website’s effectiveness and identifying areas for improvement.
• Conversion Tracking: Define goals and monitor conversions. For ecommerce websites, a conversion can be a purchase, form submission, or any other desired action. This enables you to evaluate your marketing campaigns and optimize your website for improved conversions.

Google Tag Manager: Simplifying Tag Management

Google Tag Manager is a tag management system that streamlines the process of handling tags on your website, including tracking codes, without requiring direct code editing. It acts as a centralized hub to manage all your tags. 

Here’s why it’s a game-changer for tracking ecommerce events:

• Easy Implementation: GTM allows you to add and manage tags without relying on developers. You place a container snippet on your site and, from the GTM interface, add or update tags as needed. This speeds up the implementation of tracking codes, including those for ecommerce.
• Enhanced Flexibility: GTM offers a user-friendly interface for creating and customizing tags, triggers, and variables. It simplifies the process of adding tracking codes for various events, such as product clicks, add-to-cart actions, and completed purchases. You can also set up additional tracking, like measuring scroll depth or form submissions, for deeper insights into user behavior.
• Version Control and Testing: GTM provides version control, allowing you to make changes to your tags systematically. You can preview and test tags before publishing them, ensuring they work as intended before going live on your website.

The Power of Integration

When you combine Google Analytics with Google Tag Manager, you unlock a comprehensive understanding of how users engage with your ecommerce website. You can track critical events such as product views, add-to-cart actions, and completed purchases. This data empowers you to analyze the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your ecommerce performance.

GA4/GTM Integration at FastSpring

At FastSpring, we’ve gone a step further to assist our users by providing a GA4/GTM integration. This integration is designed to help our users track and utilize analytics data based on their websites and purchase flows via the FastSpring platform and storefronts.

Understanding Key Concepts

Before diving deeper into GA4 and GTM, let’s clarify some essential terms:

• Tag: A code snippet that enables Google Analytics to collect data about your website visitors and their activities, helping you make informed decisions.
• Event: An event in Google Analytics is a way to measure and analyze user interactions on your website. It tracks how users engage with specific elements.
• Trigger: A rule in Google Analytics that determines when an event or tag should be triggered based on specific conditions. It’s like a switch that activates tracking and data collection.
• Variable: A container that holds dynamic values, allowing you to manage and reuse data across your tracking setup for accurate and consistent analysis.
• Data Layer: A JavaScript object that acts as a bridge between your website and marketing tools, capturing and sharing data points about user interactions for tracking and analysis.

FastSpring Support

At FastSpring, we’re here to support all our users in various aspects of GA4 and GTM. Here’s what we can help with:

• GTM troubleshooting problems with tags not firing or firing incorrectly.
• Issues with purchase events or conversions not being recorded via GA4.
• Cross-domain tracking problems with FastSpring users not seeing the full customer journey at checkout. 
• Setting up the integration on Classic or Contextual for GA4 or GTM on Contextual.
• Demonstrating how to test and view live purchase events using the Tag assistant in GTM.

If you require assistance, please reach out to our support team and create a support ticket including the following:

• If your inquiry is related  to GA4 or GTM. 
• Brief description of the problem.
  • Example: “GTM, problems with tags not firing” or “GA4 Issues with purchase events or conversions not being recorded via GA4.”

Top Tips for a Successful Integration

Prerequisites: Ensure you have the essential elements in place, such as a GTM account, Container ID, GA4 property, and Measurement ID.

Follow the Documentation: Stick to FastSpring’s integration documentation for a step-by-step setup of GA4 and GTM.

• Google Analytics Contextual.
• Google Analytics Classic.
• Google Tag Manager.

Copy and Paste Both Code Snippets: Don’t forget to insert both header and body GTM Container code snippets onto your webpage for seamless integration.

Leverage GTM for Tag Management: Harness GTM’s power for tag management, simplifying the process without extensive coding.

Preview and Test: Prioritize previewing and testing your tags in GTM before going live to ensure flawless functionality and avoid tracking errors.

Use Version Control: Maintain order and control in your tracking setup with GTM’s version control feature, enabling systematic changes.

Troubleshooting and Debugging: Familiarize yourself with GTM’s debugging tools such as the Tag Assistant Companion for identifying and resolving tracking issues.

Monitor Over Time: Be patient and consistent in monitoring your reports, since it may take 24-48 hours for data to appear.

Browser Privacy Settings: Recognize that certain web browsers default to privacy settings that can hinder data visibility through third-party cookies and cross-domain tracking.

Reach Out for Support: When facing unresolved issues, don’t hesitate to seek assistance from FastSpring’s support team in troubleshooting and configuration. 

The integration of Google Analytics 4 or Google Tag Manager offers ecommerce businesses a golden opportunity to gain deep insights into user behavior, optimize their websites, and make data-driven decisions. With FastSpring’s support and expertise, you can harness the full potential of these tools to drive your online success.

Don’t miss out on the power of data analysis and tag management — empower your business with GA4. 

Phil Taylor
Customer Success Engineer

FastSpring provides an all-in-one payment platform for SaaS, software, and digital products businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, and consumer support. Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

The post FastSpring Support: 2024 Q2 Updates From Customer Support appeared first on FastSpring.

Join us at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, in Paris, France, on May 22nd – 25th, for an extraordinary event dedicated to all things tech. This year’s themes cover the big topics in tech, including the Creator Economy, Gaming and eSports, B2B, and, of course, Artificial Intelligence.

With over 150,000 visitors, VivaTech contributes to the acceleration of innovation by connecting startups, technology leaders, large companies and investors addressing the world’s greatest challenges.

Where To Get Tickets

Still need tickets? Head over to the registration page to grab your ticket to get a 4-day pass with access to all the sessions from world-class speakers, dedicated roundtable and networking opportunities, and a custom event app that will maximize your experience even more!

How to Connect With FastSpring at VivaTech 2024

Stop by our booth or connect with the team via the VivaTech app to learn more about subscription management, international taxes, and how using a merchant of record can enable you to collect payments faster for your business model. Schedule a demo now or at VivaTech in person!

FastSpring is how SaaS companies sell online in more places around the world. We handle every payment need from subscription management to tax collection, remittance and more so your business can go farther, faster. We’re also the leading merchant of record for global software companies — powering over a billion dollars in worldwide transactions every year. We’ll manage your checkout, VAT and sales taxes, compliance, and more, freeing you to focus on what you do best: building great software. Sign up for a free account or request a demo today to learn more.

The post FastSpring at VivaTech 2024! appeared first on FastSpring.

“I think there was a time of, ‘Everybody should be doing it; why aren’t you doing it?,” he says.

After becoming the It Thing that many organizations adopted quickly — “The pendulum swung maybe a little too far,” John explains — GTM teams are now finding a balance between sales led motions and product led motions to fully optimize adoption and sales of their products.

In this episode of Growth Stage, we interview John, Chief Sales Officer of Demandbase, about his adventures solving exponential growth puzzles within organizations like Canva and others using both PLG and sales-led growth motions. John shares his thoughts on: 

• The financial benefit of focusing on both.
• The common struggles organizations face when pursuing both PLG and sales led growth.
• What success looks like for using both together.
• Specific tactics you can use to drive value out of both sides of your growth funnel.

If you’re struggling with how to use PLG and sales led growth together, don’t miss this episode of Growth Stage!

Are you looking for a merchant of record that will partner with you to grow your business internationally? FastSpring provides an all-in-one payment platform for SaaS, software, video game, and other digital goods businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, and consumer support. Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

Jump to video.  |  Jump to transcript.

Podcast Full Interview: Audio

Listen online or find it on more podcast services.

Podcast Full Interview: Video

Transcript

Producer  00:00

This is the Growth Stage podcast. And here’s your host, David Vogelpohl.

David Vogelpohl  00:04

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Growth Stage podcast by FastSpring, where we discuss how SaaS and digital product companies can grow revenue, build meaningful products and increase the value of their businesses. I’m your host, David Vogelpohl. I support the digital product community as part of my role here at FastSpring. And I love to bring the best of the community to you here on the Growth Stage podcast. In this episode, we’re going to be talking about how you can use PLG product lead growth, and sales lead growth together to drive exponential results for your business. And joining us for that conversation is someone who I personally know has a lot of experience this from time we work together in the past, and certainly in this person’s current role. But I like to welcome to Growth Stage. Mr. John Eitel. John, welcome.

John Eitel  00:54

David, thanks for having me on.

David Vogelpohl  00:56

Yeah, so glad to have you here. I know, you and I have been through quite a few adventures on this front. And I’m sure you’ve had plenty of your time there at Demandbase. And I won’t give away too much of the lead here. But really excited about this interview. So for those watching and listening, what John is going to talk about today, really his adventures, solving growth puzzles, with organizations like Canva, Demandbase and others, using both PLG sales, lead growth motions, I’m sorry, PLG, and sales lead growth motions together in order to drive exponential results. So really looking forward to the conversation and digging into this. And I think there’s, you know, this tension there with product lead growth and sales lead growth. And it’s like PLG, supposed to replace Sales Lead growth, but that doesn’t really work in b2b. And so this notion that they should work together, I think, is really powerful. John, to kick it off, I guess I’ll ask you the same question. I asked every question or every guest here on Growth Stage, what was the first thing you bought online?

John Eitel  02:03

Gosh, the first thing I bought online, it’s hard for me to remember back to that, like, it’s so it’s like, you know, kind of like asking about the first time you took a breath, right? It feels like we’ve been doing it for so long. Probably, uh, you know, gosh, maybe was it CDs, I mean, I feel like, you know, maybe maybe that would be out, I think being a big music guy kind of feel like being able to buy music online in an actual non mp3 format, physical, physical disk sent to my, my house, maybe through Columbia House or something like that would probably be like one of my earliest memories of using the internet to buy things. I

David Vogelpohl  02:42

really liked the restraint you had and buying your music back in those days instead of the file sharing. All right, so tell me a little bit about Demandbase and what your role is there.

John Eitel  02:57

Yeah, so Demandbase, you know, has an interesting, I would say, kind of origin story. But, you know, obviously, we started out in, you know, Account Based Marketing, you know, which were really, you know, was tied to, you know, being able to make very targeted, you know, purchases of advertising so that you could go after specific, you know, buyers with messaging that was relevant, and kind of follow them wherever they go on the internet. And, you know, I think it’s a great strategy to be used when you have a very defined, you know, ICP that you’re going after, so if you’re, you’re going after the, you know, 1000 CIOs and the Fortune 1000, right, you can, you can use, you know, use our platform to be able to target them and make sure that, you know, when they went to the internet, they were receiving your messages, you know, prioritized you know, since then we’ve, we’ve taken our DSP and a lot of the tools and power that it gets us to be able to, you know, be able to get intense signals and be able to see like, when people are looking online for you, when they’re searching for your competition may be searching for things that’s, you know, really, you know, relevant to, you know, needs, you can you can help them solve their and then, you know, we took intent and then we added in some acquisitions that we’ve made over the last three or four years and we built this complete you know, it’s a go to market console where sales and marketing now you know, live in work together can action on a lot of these very targeted strategies to be able to meet customers where they are, you know, with the right message at the right time, and make sure that you’re landing things more effectively. And so I do you know, I define it in a lot of ways but it is kind of sales and marketing magic. And that you can be very prescriptive in the way that you you go to market here you can you can land you know, your your, your touch points more effectively, and hopefully win together more effectively, which is the power of what we do.

David Vogelpohl  04:43

And what do you do there, John? So I

John Eitel  04:45

am the Chief Sales Officer, which means I lead sales for you know, us globally you know, across you know, all of our different regions and capacities. So, you know, it’s been great to kind of drive build and kind of grow their their their sales right algae are.

David Vogelpohl  05:02

Excellent. Well, that’s really interesting to hear. And I know that, you know, as we think of product led growth, this idea of your ICP and what they experience, you know, you were talking about the personalized advertising, you know, kind of ABM focus follow you around the web. And I know that these same kind of activities play out on the product side. So this dance between how we go to market and how customers and potential customers experience our products. Seems like there’s some interesting overlap there. So earlier, I described briefly product lead growth. I’m just curious, like, what what you think though, what does that mean to you? What is product lead growth?

John Eitel  05:44

Yeah, well, I think I’ve actually had the benefit, and the ability to be a part of some pretty cool, you know, product lead growth stories, David David and I worked together at a company that had elements of product led growth, so that’s probably where I, you know, began kind of my fascination with it, and, you know, went to a company called Canva, and took them through a lot of their, you know, series of kind of growth and expansion into new regions and markets. So I feel like I got a lot of like, I would say, you know, you know, the, the the NBA of kind of doing it in motion here of PLG. But it is, you know, it’s a new way of kind of looking at, you know, how you attract and, you know, kind of grow customers using the product as the hook to be able to get them, you know, into your kind of funnel and being able to use the product ID to drive usage, adoption, expansion, you know, throughout the lifecycle of a customer. So, you know, as opposed to the old kind of, you know, method that which is, you know, your sales lead growth, which we’ll talk about probably next year, you know, really kind of flips things around to use the product is the the entry points to be able to attract, retain and grow customers. Yeah,

David Vogelpohl  06:53

it feels like the promise of it is something akin to build a great product, people will organically be attracted to it, they will sign up for the product on some form, maybe through a free trial. And then that’ll be so amazing that they’ll want to pay. And then after the fact, your in product experiences will be so amazing, that one has been more on more things. And so it’s like this promise of almost like automated acquisition and upgrades I feel like underpins the kind of core value people put forth with PLG. You think that’s a fair way to look at it? Or how might you think of that?

John Eitel  07:29

Yeah, yeah, no, I think it is. And, yeah, I think it’s great to and that it puts you know, puts product at the center of the universe, it doesn’t mean that, you know, any of those things like sales and marketing are less important, you know, but I think it just changes the way that you, you know, embrace these things. And it puts, you know, puts emphasis on, you know, making sure that you’re building a great product, right, if that’s your entry point, that it has to be a great experience, it has to be, you know, something that has some virality to it right, or else this thing doesn’t work or takeoff, I think that’s kind of one of the core tenants. And so, you know, it’s what I really love about it is that you, you build that focus around the products, and then you know, you put the right touch points to kind of enable that customer journey. And it just turns out to be a more effective, you know, probably way for a lot of companies to acquire customers and matches well. So I think the way that the buying behaviors are shifting, right, I think that people want to self serve when they can, you know, they want to, you know, not just hear from you about how great your product is they want to experience it, you know, and so this gives them that ability to be the driver in this situation.

David Vogelpohl  08:35

So it’s kind of like this idea that like good UX, good product experience is always good. And these debates are always funny, like, what’s better, you know, PLG, or sales, like growth, or like human written content versus AI written content? And like, a lot of the times the answer is, what if you mash them both together? Maybe that’s the best answer for the puzzle we’re solving here. And so I feel like that kind of underlying promise of almost like, costless revenue, like your product department is going to generate all your revenue for you, is probably short sighted and coupling that especially with b2b with sales, like growth missions, you know, feels like the winning combination. So now, we’ve kind of established what PLG means to you. What does Sales Lead growth mean to you? Yeah,

John Eitel  09:22

I mean, I think that is the more traditional, you know, version of, you know, basically, you know, sales that that we know, we’ve known historically, and it really is, you know, very much human human driven, right, it’s sales and, you know, marketers, you know, kind of creating the right messaging going to market with the right sales techniques and tactics, you know, it’s largely driven by humans is what I like to say, you know, that’s that that’s the piece that really kind of makes it differentiated from a product like growth strategy.

David Vogelpohl  09:52

And so I think like one of the benefits for me on the SOG side is the benefit of context and adaptability. So in other words, if I’m a prospect, and I’m looking at a product, and I’m going through the sales team and talking maybe to a sales engineer, if it’s like that kind of product, or whatever it is, that I can get a lot more context a lot more quickly. And it makes up for a lot of bad product experiences, right? You’re like, oh, yeah, this is how you do that work your job to be done. And so I feel like that’s one of the strengths of SLG is really to understand that better understand the value, but also understand how configurable the product might be, or how it might fit with your particular use case. And I find that that’s near impossible to replicate in a product context.

John Eitel  10:41

Yeah.

David Vogelpohl  10:42

What do you think about that?

John Eitel  10:43

No, that’s a good comment. I mean, I think like, I put emphasis on, you know, human, you know, for a reason there and chose that word wisely. I think that that’s exactly it, David, that I feel like, you are able to be, uh, you know, be able to smooth the bumpy road of a product experience with humans, right, and the ability to, to gather feedback and be adaptive. And so I think the, the human element is really great there, you know, for certain areas, and I think it, you know, is the way that we’ve always kind of historically done things. And so I think we’ll talk a bit about some of the, the nuances of different strategies, but I would say like, in some places, like, that’s an expectation, right, you know, I think that there’s, you know, there’s a couple of different trends we’re seeing people want to buy, you know, they want to self serve, you know, when they can or buy, you know, without a friction filled experience, right? But then there’s some times where it’s like, well, I want to talk to a human right. And, and so like you, it’s, you know, there’s certain places where I think a sales lead experience has to be there, or has to be a component of it, because I think people, people buy from people, you know, at the end of the day, like that’s, that adage is still true to this day. And I think there’s certain elements that really have an important point of differentiation there.

David Vogelpohl  11:57

Now, there are tensions that emerge within organizations between product teams and sales teams over when PLG should be the focus versus sales lead growth. You talked about self serve, maybe as one example, where a product group might favor self serve motions over say, demo based motions, or at least motions that require a demo, maybe before trial, like that kind of thing. And I think a lot of you tackle this in different ways. Some times there’s big rivalries and lots of tension. Sometimes there’s more of like a working relationship where we’re both trying to improve on both sides. Our time at WP Engine reminded me of that, actually. But what do you think? Like, mean, what are the financial benefits of working together? Like maybe putting your company hat on for a minute instead of your just your sales hat? But like, why, what benefits? Can folks maybe think about or expect if you’re working with them both together? Like why do this?

John Eitel  12:55

Yeah, well, I think, you know, it varies, you know, by by company, you know, space product, right? I think there are lots of reasons to think about this. And I think you mentioned, you know, my background is a puzzle solver. And I’ve been, you know, said that a few times, but I think that’s what I enjoy about what I get to do, because I think you have to be able to be a you know, sales, or go to market kind of puzzle solver or problem solver to figure out like, what is the right thing. And I think that the interesting thing is, I think a lot of folks think of this decision as very binary, like you have to do one or the other, you know, you know, or, you know, or else and I think that there is you know, a place for combining, you know, these things, there’s a place to think about like timing of when to use one over the other, you know, there’s all those things that kind of play in and so I think like my advice always is, as someone who mentors and advisors, many, many companies in the, you know, PLG, SLG, PLS, you know, kind of insert TLA here, we’re all it is that you have to be, you know, adaptive, and you have to be able to look at these things in lots of different ways. And I think, you know, just using my Canva experience, as a, you know, kind of a bit of a story around that, even to David was, you know, when I was brought in, like Canva grew, you know, for their first six years of their company, five years with a company without a sales team, they grow with all product led growth, they were largely in consumer and I think, you know, consumer can can get by doing that, that motion, and it’s a very beautiful, efficient thing. But they found that people were starting to take their product to work, right, like, kind of like Dropbox started the shop and enterprises Canva onto the show up and enterprises as well. And so, you know, they tried to use PLG to attack the enterprise solely on its own and they found quickly that, you know, is great for getting entry points and PLG can can be this this perfect way for us to get our toe in the door. You know, but we eventually found out was that there was like stall points where, you know, we found that lots of companies of 1020 employees would pull out a credit card I’d sign up overnight to use Canva. And, you know, there was a belief that, you know, gosh, if we go to bed and wake up tomorrow at 20, we’ll be 40. And then it’ll be 60. And they never really kind of grew beyond those stall points once we define them. And the reason and rationale for that was that, you know, they were being used largely in a very departmental manner. So if they wanted to expand outside of the department, it meant that we’d have to probably engage procurement and meant that we probably have to engage security to make sure that we are compliant with their standards, we would probably have to tip some radars because I think a lot of these folks have actually done this just kind of going rogue with departmental expenditures that they can make on their own. You know, and so it meant that we were gonna have to raise the visibility on this in the right ways to be able to go from 20 users to 1000s of users at these big companies. And so that was when it was really important for them to think about, like, when do you bring in this augment augmentation strategy of sales? Like growth? And how do we leverage it in the white right way? And that’s my commentary about this being a very binary thing. And I think sometimes people are like, okay, good. So are we gonna flip all the way to Sales Lead growth, and it’s like, no, like, you know, we need to think about, you know, the elements of each and how to use them in the right ways. And so when we built the sales team on top of the product, lead growth strategy, you know, it was fun to think about, like, okay, not everybody gets a sales experience, like, let’s still let people self serve, let’s let people get interest, let’s let people start to use the platform. And then when they get near to this, like stall point, like, let’s make sure that we inserted a sales resource at that time to say like, we’d like to talk to you about expanding your use case with us, let’s talk to you about how we can, you know, begin to develop our relationship together and work together in a more meaningful way. And that was when we would bring in the sales resource. And so it became very much complementary, you know, with a lot of other pieces that we kind of layered in more and more over time, and it was fun to kind of crack that puzzle and mature that that organization, but that was a lot of it. It was again, like finding that that right kind of tipping point of balance and when to insert, you know which strategy at the right time.

David Vogelpohl  17:06

Yeah, so that balance it sounds like is the key there in thinking about through the stories and examples you just provided? It sounded like one financial benefit of that approach is new ARR acquisition, right. In the case of Canva, you were talking about how layering in the Sales Lead growth on top of the PLG. You could leverage the PLG for this entry points. And then Sales Lead growth expand across departments. So you’re you’re you’re opening up bigger customers with higher MRR it sounded Of course, like that would then equate to more ARPU, which, you know, dippin for most businesses is going to be a positive driver of your valuation. And then you also talked a lot about upgrades there. And this is being really influenced it sounds like by the ARPU, in other words, lower ARPU transactions are less likely to be sales assistant, higher ARPU, ones are more likely. And with those self serve smaller accounts, there might be an enterprise upgrade, they’re sitting around, that’s, you’re not going to get 20,000 of MRR or something from a CTA in a product page. Right. And that is, am I getting that? Right?

John Eitel  18:21

Yeah, no, you’re absolutely right. So yeah, I think the, you know, the key elements are, you know, there are some definite financial implications of like, when to use one over the other, you know, acquiring customers obviously, feels like the easiest, you know, least expensive way to acquire customers, but there’s also elements of like, you know, growth that can be unlocked by putting a sales lead strategy in place over that.

David Vogelpohl  18:44

Yeah. Okay, that makes a ton of sense. And I know you’ve worked at a few words that have leveraged PLG. And obviously, your perspective isn’t limited to your own experiences. But But do you find most orgs favor investments in one or the other? Like are people addicted to PLG? And so they’re just trying to make everything PLG? Have you seen that they’ve been blended? Or? I’m sure depends on the company, but like, what are your observations there?

John Eitel  19:09

Yeah, there’s a lot going on. And I think, you know, it is a, you know, it’s an interesting topic to bring up, I would say, obviously, like, consumer, for sure. Like, I think consumer really drove a lot of the success of PLG. And then it started to move into these new kinds of contexts of b2b. And I think that’s been, you know, fun to see, you know, over the last few years to like PLG really saw a rise and there was a lot of great stories around it, like the Calendlys, the Dropboxes, you know, the Miros of the world. You know, Canva’s, you know, all these great stories that started to come up. And so, you know, I would often get people asking for advice on like, How and when do we bring this in? And so I would say like, I think there was this, like, started with consumer moved into the b2b context. I think there was a time of like, everybody should be doing it, why aren’t you doing it? And I think that It settled out a little bit in that, you know, it’s not so extreme of like everybody should do it, why shouldn’t we do it now. And it’s it’s back to some sort of reality, which is, which is great. I think that’s the good thing about like balance. And like when things get out of control, the pendulum swung kind of a little, maybe a little too far. But it’s now back to the middle. And I do believe that everybody should have some element of it in their kind of playbook or strategy. There’s lots of different ways to use it in different kind of contexts. And so it’s not again, not that very binary, like, you know, we’ve got to go all in on it and bet the farm, it’s like, let’s place it in the right place to drive the right impact here.

David Vogelpohl  20:39

You know, it’s funny, the examples you gave, we are often in these kinds of conversations, talk about b2b and b2c. And the reality is, especially for the mid market, a lot of that b2b is a self serve motion, right? If you’re buying Canva, for your three salespeople at your small law firm, or I mean, our law firm has salespeople that I don’t know insurance firm or something like that, then credit card transaction online makes all the sense in the world, right, and I never gonna upgrade that much. So like, let’s just do it that way. But, you know, as my org gets bigger, and my needs get more complex, I probably need to talk to somebody about that. And that’s where sales lead growth comes in. And, you know, it’s funny, because I think one trend I’ve noticed is a trend towards trying to make that b2b process easier for folks, even as simple as like the transaction or payment can be very complicated for sales teams, and, you know, custom systems created to support all that funky ways to create invoices and send out places for people to enter their credit card for sales assistant transaction. Do you ever get jealous of the ease of how PLG is kind of just like go through, click a button, and pay? Maybe Demandbase has that really well built out or something? So I just curious, like, from the ground level, do you think those sales lead growth motions could be easier and more intuitive for the reps and the prospects 100%.

John Eitel  22:07

And I do think like, you know, there’s lots of times where you feel tension between the different, you know, kind of models and versions and things like that, but I think like the world is all going to easier transactions and easier to do business with and easier to, you know, to do the things that we want to do more effectively. And so, I think PLG probably PLG, you know, being relatively new means that these companies, you know, were built in the last, you know, kind of decade. And so I think they’ve got the benefit of modernization and building for, you know, the right foundation for scale. And so I do think that that is something that they’ve got going for them. And I think we can all learn and model from, you know, I think that’s, you know, even if you’ve been in business for 20 years, I think we should be all looking at our processes and thinking of ways to like make it easier and more efficient to do business. And I think there’s, there’s a, there was a maybe a, you know, belief that’s changed, or maybe a misbelief that we had that, you know, you had to, you know, gate contents, or you had to add friction in the system, right? Like, let’s get content, like, let’s make them talk to a salesperson like because that’s, that’s where the value is, you know, and I think that pendulum is shifting now where it’s like, let’s also make it really easy for them just to do things they want to do, and not make their life more complicated. But I think if they want to also be able to talk to it and you know, real person, like let’s fast track them to that experience, too, right, and being able to provide both. And so I like that I think actually, even in past worlds, like ones you and I’ve worked in, like, I think we should be looking at that, from like, legal perspective, like we were, you know, heavily in you know, invested in making it really easy to like, make our terms easy to accept and click through, right. And it was like, let’s just, you know, not overly complicated, let’s not drop a binder on somebody, let’s, you know, put in the right protections for the business, but make it easy for people to just say, okay, I can I can agree to this, even the biggest companies in the world, right? And then it’s like, okay, you we means we can use less legal resources, it means we can slow down transactions, or the we can speed up transactions, we have transactions, yeah, is when we’ve historically slowed them down. And I think that’s just a good example of where we should be looking for these pockets of efficiency, you know, it would not only make us better as businesses, but it would probably make customer experience buying from us even better.

David Vogelpohl  24:25

Yeah, cuz like as a buyer, you’re thinking like not only am I gonna have to have multiple meetings, and then I’m going through his sales team, but I’m also going to have a complicated transaction on some level. And, you know, obviously for teams that work for companies that haven’t figured that process out on the back end very well. That means probably cramming a bunch of transaction admin time at the end of the month, like you’re trying to get deals close like these can be very disruptive not just for the prospects but for the sales teams themselves. In your experience, working with product teams, and you know the sales teams, you relating what what are some common tensions that arise? Like, one example might be I don’t know, like the product team figures out the free trial process really, really well. And now there’s people that are self serving, instead of going through a sales team, have you ever had to deal with, like, quota attainment issues are like Target changes? Like? Or maybe there’s other tensions that you think are more relevant, but how do you think about those tensions?

John Eitel  25:25

Yeah, I mean, I think like, you know, as you’re going through change, there is always going to be tension, right. And anytime you’re evolving or adapting a strategy, there’ll be tension, you know, with the old way of doing things and the new way of doing things. And, you know, the beauty is always in how you navigate those, when I remember even, you know, with you and I working together in the past with what we kind of had our elements of PLG on which was self serve for our customers, right, we had that that constant debate of like, is the sales lead cannibalizing the self serve, right, and, you know, vice versa, right. And so I think, like, that’s, that’s always one that you’re, you know, want to be make sure, make sure you’re mindful of, and that you’re not, you know, feeding one, you know, stuff that would naturally just kind of flow through another, etc, and taking from one to make make one look better. And so I think that’s, like, kind of step one is like, how do you make sure that you’re not cannibalizing, you know, one for the other there, I think, you know, it can, but we had a lot of, you know, kind of even more kind of scaled nuances and that they’d never had a sales team before. So building this whole sales team from scratch was, was in way kind of like a, an introduction of kind of a whole new thing. And again, a greenfield motion, and, you know, we had to be able to think about like, when do you put a sales resource on some of these customers, and again, you know, if your that your example of the three person Insurance Agency, right, that just bought for their sales team, and they’re probably never going to grow their original insurance, you know, firm of 1010 people, right? Probably don’t want to have a seller ever touch that, right. And so like making sure that you have like, hard and fast rules of like, what a sales experience is and what it isn’t, and make sure that you don’t deviate from them. And so, you know, we define that really to say that, hey, our enterprise offering, which was what our sales lead, you know, group focused on was, how do we bring Canada into b2b, we wouldn’t go after that 10 person group, because we knew that three people would always probably be three people, regardless if we talked to them for hours or weeks, right. And so really trying to focus your resources up market, and we targeted kind of the mid market all the way up to the biggest brands in the world there. And so that was kind of a, you know, our first kind of, like, hard and fast rule of like, let’s make sure that, you know, we don’t overburden, you know, kind of people with talking to sales, let’s make sure we use the sales resources on the accounts that matter. And that was really helpful. Like, there’s, you know, there’s two sides of the tension as well, like, if you’ve always been PLG, you know, and you’ve gotten, you know, really addicted to that, you know, ability to acquire customers, you know, affordably and easily, you know, there was a lot of like conversations I have with the with the CFO of like, do we really need a sales team? Like, do we really need, you know, this? Could we just make a few tweaks to the product, and we wouldn’t need a sales team? Right, you know, and so, you have to be kind of, like, comfortable with having those conversations when going through this, you know, evolution there. And so, you know, it was it was it was a good healthy tension, I would say and a good dialogue that we were always having, and it was, you know, also I would say, largely, you know, stepped through and that I was like, I’m not going to overuse that we’re not going to overpay salespeople to touch customers that don’t need that touch, like, let’s put them on the ones that matter. Else prove that they do matter, right? And like, are we able to move these customers from, you know, a 40 person stall point, like I described of like, you know, departmental usage to 1000s of users? How do we take them from kind of like a very kind of, you know, nascent entry points to an employee, it’s ELA, where everybody in the company gets access to it, and they see it in their, you know, as, as a software package that’s supplied by their employer. And that’s a that’s a whole different motion versus, you know, pulling out a credit card to sign up.

David Vogelpohl  29:01

Yeah, that’s really interesting. You know, I think from the ruleset perspective, it sounds like a really clever way to help alleviate some of those tensions in terms of like, when sales will focus on prospect or a customer for upgrades. And when they won’t, you know, and it’s funny because it’s easy to sit back on like an interview like this and breakout or abacus and say, well just go with the thing that makes the most money for the company, right? But the reality is, you have teams on the ground, you have quotas to hit. And so one of the things that really kind of bugs me I feel in business are things I call invisible lines, where we make some sort of attribution line within the business to give credit to this group or that group for this, that or the other. But the reality is the sales team wouldn’t sell anything and the product team wouldn’t have anybody using their products, particularly on this bigger customer side without some form of selling effort. And so FastSpring We follow the product lead sales philosophy, really where We look at our product and how it can support our sales funnels. So it might be a CTA that has a chili Piper link in it to schedule time with the sales engineers or something like that. Do you have any examples of when you felt product and the sales team have worked really well together on something from your past?

John Eitel  30:20

Yeah, no, that’s a it’s a great, great reference to the invisible lines theory. I think that’s actually something I, you know, I felt that I haven’t heard that way. So I think that’s really cool. Yeah, no, I think that’s the key too, I think that’s, you know, as I advise others about like going through this journey, you know, I think you have to be heavily partnered with products and more so than any place I’ve ever been, like, I think like, you know, sales and product always have, I think, a kindred relationship, and that they, you know, feedback flows both ways, and one owns the product, one owns the customer relationship, you know, the connection has to be strong, but I think we really thought about it in a, you know, kind of three concentric circles model of like, you know, sales, marketing and product all together, you know, working on these things. And I think that that’s something that comes with companies going through this evolution is like, realizing that we’re all equally you know, kind of in this together. And, you know, that’s so important to establish that early. And so I’d say like, that’s something that I’ve seen and sensed and felt work. I think like, it means once you kind of make that shift, and you really build that strong foundation, you know, you have to have the telemetry in place to be able to see customer behaviors better understand, like, when insert those sales, you know, kind of touch points. And I think if you’re working on this in the right way, in the right, you know, sophisticated organization like product will define that with you and help get set and move those lines occasionally to with each others where, you know, we started to spot like these customers, we are using Canva, as an example, Canva is a design tool for everyday people. And so we knew that basically, if someone joins, you know, at a big company, and, you know, that was a great sign. So that was like, kind of like the tip, tip of the, like, beginning of the conversation, if we saw them, create, you know, 15 to 20 designs in a month. Like, that was another great sign if we saw them inviting people to join a team with them, you know, another great sign, right? So then we knew, Okay, those are the things that needed to happen again, before a salesperson got involved, you know, so it was like, okay, you know, we were getting a lot of this great telemetry from the product organization. You know, it’s great for me to think about almost, you know, like, you would have done SDR, it’s like, okay, well, how do I nurture them through that before I get a salesperson involved, because if a salesperson doesn’t get involved till, you know, 40, people have joined a team at Microsoft to use the product, right? Like, I want to speed up that journey, right. And so we created this, you know, kind of Canva coach model, but it was like, you know, someone who, you know, would work with those customers, when they hit a couple of those thresholds, and be able to, you know, be able to say, let me do a training for your team, like, let me help create 20 templates to complement the 20 you just already built, like, you probably want a corporate presentation, you want business cards you want you know, employee signatures, like let me show you how to do those really quickly and build your brand kit. So again, like we were able to kind of think about this baton passing back and forth, you know, between product and sales and like, augmented with the right people. And so I think that was something that was really, you know, fun to see and kind of get that validation on. And we met regularly, we were always adapting together. And I think that’s the key to is like, you don’t kind of set those invisible lines and then like wait for things to kind of work naturally, you have to like, test measure, test again, and reassess. And that’s where we have to kind of be very fluid in that since I think there was there was a lot of great examples, I think the product or you know, was was a major part of their DNA at Canva, who obviously it’s a it’s a product and design company that was you know, you know, graded at PLG. And so they have that DNA, you know, mastered, I think me coming in with my teams being layered on top was kind of fun to be like, you know, this new, you know, kind of superpower for them to kind of layer in and, you know, allow me to kind of tap into.

David Vogelpohl  34:05

That’s awesome. That’s so cool to have that experience to kind of coming into it on top of that strong PLG org. And you know, I think, you know, when I feels like when a lot of people think about, well, how can product help sales, it usually has to do with like layering some sort of CTA and some sort of product or, potentially, of course, changing the way a product works to make it more sellable. Like that kind of thing. And I think the piece that doesn’t get as much attention, which is what you hit on was just access to data usage data thresholds. And of course, a good PLG group is going to be thinking about like, Okay, well when they’ve almost use all their I don’t know Canva thingies; we’re going to show them a adoption to upgrade their plan, you know, self serve and portal or something like that. But it could be usage or it could be behavioral, like you said number of users like that kind of thing. That paints a picture that wait a minute, maybe If someone should have a conversation with these folks and make sure they’re getting the best value out of our products, they’re connecting with sales. It’s an unsung part of how product can support sales. I feel. I don’t know, what do you think, John?

John Eitel  35:14

Yeah, no, I mean, I’m smiling too. And I think like, back to the adapting piece, and I think that’s what’s really great about your podcast, David is that, you know, it’s, it is truly a constantly evolving, developing, you know, concept that we’re working through, it’s going continuously getting better, I think all the things that have been done, you know, are great to learn from you get to stand on the shoulders of giants and learn from their mistakes and, you know, get get access to that. I’m, you know, one of the things that kind of even, you know, was interesting for me was, you know, you talk about like product product qualified leads PQ ELLs is something that kind of comes out too, as you think about a sales lead motion coming in. And I would say like, one of the things we quickly learned in Canva. Two is that the concept of, you know, product qualified leads didn’t necessarily work if we transition from a consumer, SMB to this enterprise context, and I’ll explain that a little bit better. But I think the, you know, the neat thing was that, you know, 40 people who signed up at Microsoft, you know, did it probably unbeknownst to their boss, or their boss’s boss, and probably just said, Hey, I need to do my job. And this is an easier way to do it. So I need this tool. And so they went out and bought it there. But you know, when, when you think about them as a product, qualified lead, like going to sell to them, like, when we reached out, they’re like, Please don’t tell my boss, like, if my boss finds out and asked me to, like, shut this off, I call the shadow as soon as they shadow IT purchase. So they’re like, yeah, like, we love the tool, you know, it helps me be successful. But please don’t tell anybody. It’s like, okay, I get it. Like, I don’t want to blow up your situation here, I get it. And what we ended up trying to realize was, when they get to that kind of 40 person, kind of momentum stall plan area, it becomes more of a product qualified accounts. And that was the, you know, the thought of like, okay, if you’re gonna, you know, now prospect into the CMO, you know, you’re gonna call them, you know, now at this point, and you’re going to call, you know, a couple clicks ahead of the team that’s even using it right, so you can reach out to them. And again, not to blow them up and, and call it their usage. But just to say, look, I think we’ve got a tool that can really help you. Here’s how we’re helping other companies in your space. This is what the the advantages that they see from it, and why you might be a good fit for it. And then it becomes actually a kind of flipped with a situation because oftentimes, whenever I’m being sold to, you know, my first reaction is like, do I have time, money and resources to implement a new tool right now, like everybody’s thinking from that concept, hopefully, as a business owner, and so they’d be like, yeah, it’s gonna be really hard to adopt. I don’t know if my teams would get on board. And it’s like, well, that’s great that you brought that up, we actually know that there’s a team internally that started to use it. And we’d love to make them you kind of a champion in this process, and really kind of showcase their usage. So you make them the hero in the story. And it really, you’re gonna change the way that we kind of, you know, went to went to market and were able to kind of, you know, crack the code of how do you break out of the business unit and go through a larger part of the part of the organization?

David Vogelpohl  38:08

Yeah, such an attractive, yet tricky part of having a b2b product with more of a PLG, or self serve motion, and trying to surface it into these broader accounts with the bigger org, and not making us getting someone in trouble for circumventing it. Or I could imagine the CMO being like, why is HR using Canva to create creative for our company like that should be, you know, our official way, like that kind of thing. But it’s such a big opportunity. But yeah, obviously a really tricky dance there. Yeah.

John Eitel  38:45

Well, last comment, as I talked, I’m sure you get a lot of folks saying this on your show. And, you know, I’d say like, I talked to a lot of my peers at the time and continued and like, the tricky dance is absolutely right. Like you nailed it. I felt like my sellers, at one point, were like, Hey, I’m just going to email the CMO and say that there’s a team of 40 people using it. And like that turned into like, Hey, let me forget it and shut this down. I was like, yeah, the art of the dance was an important thing there and that you had to think about, like, you know, let’s make them two heroes in this story. Let’s bring them to the forefront at the end of the of the sales pitch, not at the beginning. You know, and like, let’s use them as a as a way to be able to get traction and momentum early and highlight that there’s a need, you know, to have a solution like ours in place.

David Vogelpohl  39:29

Well, that may be your most valuable tip of the podcast, John, because that’s not an easy one to solve for. But thank you so much for joining today. And this has been really informative. I really appreciate it, John. Yeah.

John Eitel  39:41

Likewise, David, great to reconnect with an old friend and yeah, excited to talk shop anytime, and had a great time on the show today, so thanks. Excellent.

David Vogelpohl  39:50

If you’d like to learn more about what John is up to, you can check him out on LinkedIn or visit demandbase.com. Thanks, everyone, for joining us. For the Growth Stage podcast if you’d like to learn more about FastSpring and how we can help you sell globally, and keep your engineering team focused on your products, visit fastspring.com. Thanks everyone for joining and enjoy the rest of your day.

Are you looking for a merchant of record that will partner with you to grow your business internationally? FastSpring provides an all-in-one payment platform for SaaS, software, video game, and other digital goods businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, and consumer support. Set up a demo or try it out for yourself.

The post EP18: Using PLG and Sales Led Growth Together to Drive Exponential Results appeared first on FastSpring.

Started in 2011, Austin Startup Week is a celebration and showcase of everything entrepreneurial in Austin. Each year, we bring entrepreneurs, local leaders, and friends together to connect, collaborate and grow through our educational tracks, mentor office hours, startup showcases, and networking mixers.

The 13th annual Austin Startup Week will take place November 6-10, 2023 with a week of engaging sessions, workshops, special events, and amazing speakers. Register today and join us in celebrating Austin’s diverse and unique community of entrepreneurs, movers, and shakers!

We are proud sponsors of the B2B Scalability & Traction track. This may be the track for you if you’ve embarked on a journey of growth and success. Honed your product, persuasion skills, pricing & packing and relationships to scale your B2B revenue. Join the sessions in this track to uncover new markets, seize opportunities, and discover clever ways to grow your business. Join this track to go farther, faster with B2B today Check out the full list of speakers and the schedule here.

Don’t miss out on the biggest party in Austin since 2011- Startup Crawl! Dozens of startups and partners set up tables to demo their products and talk to thousands of potential customers, investors, and employees.

Purchase a GA badge, GA+ badge or Startup Crawl wristband, grab your friends, and crawl past startup tables, entertainment activations, and drink stations. Experience what happens when the hottest startups come together at the same time, in the same place!

Where to Get Tickets

Still need tickets? Head over to the registration page to grab your ticket. 

How to Connect With FastSpring at Austin Startup Week

Join our 2 sessions on Thursday, or stop by FastSpring’s table during the famous Startup Crawl on November 10, 2023, 6PM-9PM to learn more about subscription management, international taxes, and how using a merchant of record can enable you to collect payments faster on your website, enjoy many conveniences of selling in a course marketplace, and pay a fraction of the cost! Schedule a demo now or at Austin Startup Week  in person! 

FastSpring makes it easy for digital goods and software companies to sell around the world by handling business needs such as VAT and sales taxes, fraud detection, and global compliance. Our platform includes branded localized checkout, subscription management, and so much more. Sign up for a free account or request a demo today to learn more.

The post Join FastSpring at Austin Startup Week 2023! appeared first on FastSpring.

Q4 sales numbers usually outperform the rest of the year thanks to year-end holidays and their associated shopping cycles — but how much does that trend carry over into software and SaaS sales? And does it improve B2B sales too, or is it more just a B2C advantage?

FastSpring serves as a merchant of record for over 3500 companies that use our platform every day to sell digital products globally. We’ve analyzed aggregate sales data to give you insights into just how important Q4 can be for your software, SaaS, or other digital goods business.

While modern holiday shopping trends may have started with Black Friday deals and spread to Cyber Monday, the entire weekend is now often referred to as Cyber Weekend — and sales throughout the quarter are generally strong as shoppers prepare for its many holidays. Are you optimizing all possible Q4 sales opportunities for your software business? 

Below, we’ll cover: 

• U.S. sales trends by month and quarter.
• Global sales trends by month and quarter.
• How B2B vs. B2C sales compare.
• Advice for making the most of seasonal sales opportunities around the world.
• How FastSpring can help.

Are you looking for a merchant of record to help you grow your business internationally? FastSpring provides an all-in-one payment platform for SaaS, software, video game, and digital goods businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, and consumer support. Set up a demo or check out our platform yourself.

About Our Data

Where the Data Are From

FastSpring supports over 3500 companies to help sell digital goods in over 200 countries and territories globally, but we’ve narrowed down the data we used for this report to keep it applicable to software and SaaS companies.

The data below are also specific to where the sales took place, not where the companies are located. 

For the global statistics, we selected eight  countries — the United States, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia, and China — to get a broad view of sales around the world.

When the Data Are From

The data below are pulled from 2018-2022 to give the most up-to-date insights, while showing trends that are relatively consistent across a five-year period and avoiding any outliers skewing the data unnecessarily. 

We further use a seasonal index to highlight each month’s or quarter’s sales against the year’s monthly or quarterly average.

US Year-End Trends for SaaS and Software Purchases

We first looked at U.S. software and SaaS sales data from 2018-2022 to glean insights into monthly and quarterly sales trends across the last five years.

After calculating a monthly average, we compared each month to that average to get a percentage. For example, if February shows a percentage of 90%, that means it is 10% lower in sales compared to the monthly average. If November shows a percentage of 111%, that means its sales are 11% higher than the monthly average. 

5YR Average US SaaS and Software Sales by Month

While sales do peak in November at 11% higher than the monthly average, sales for all three months in Q4 are the highest throughout the year, with October at 4% higher and December at 8% higher.

5YR Average US SaaS and Software Sales by Quarter

When looking at the quarterly average, Q4 sales are higher by 8% — high enough that each of the other three quarters fall below the average. 

Global Year-End Trends for SaaS and Software Purchases

Moving beyond the U.S., we combined data with the same parameters from the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India, Brazil, Australia, and China. This gives us a clearer picture of how late-year software sales might fluctuate across the globe.

In fact, the bump gets bigger. 

5YR Average Global SaaS and Software Sales by Month

Global sales jumped to a yearly high of 16% more in November compared to the monthly average. As in the U.S. data above, October and December round out the highest quarter of the year with respective 4% and 7% increases.

5YR Average Global SaaS and Software Sales by Quarter

When viewed from a quarterly perspective, Q4 is 9% higher than the quarterly average, once again so high as to push the other three quarters below the average. 

While global Q4 quarterly sales were only 1% higher than sales in the U.S. for the same quarter, November as a standalone month showed a jump of 16% compared to the U.S.’s 11% jump in the same month — suggesting that November specifically is a huge sales opportunity around the world. 

5YR Average SaaS and Software Sales by Month per Country

For more detail on how each month breaks out by country, we parsed the data for the 8 countries we included in our global review. Here’s what monthly software sales fluctuations look like with five years of data for the United States (US), Canada (CA), Germany (DE), Great Britain (GB), India (IN), Brazil (BR), Australia (AU), and China (CN).

Particularly large lifts in countries like China and Germany in November suggest a huge opportunity for SaaS and software companies to profit in Q4, especially if you’re targeting those countries as part of a global expansion strategy. 

Additionally, while U.S. data suggest a smaller lift of only 11% in November, keep in mind that North America accounts for a very large share of global software and SaaS sales, with one study reporting 43% of 2022 global software revenue attributed to North America, and another reporting a share of up to 57.5% of the 2020 global SaaS market attributed to NA. Therefore,  an 11% lift in November in the U.S. could mean a lot more revenue if it’s a slice of a much larger pie.

B2C vs. B2B

Many companies that use FastSpring to sell software globally serve both B2C and B2B markets, but whether your SaaS business focuses on both or just one, it can be helpful to monitor how Q4 sales trends differ between the two markets. The resulting information can help you decide how much to focus marketing and sales efforts within those segments, especially if one segment offers a bigger opportunity.

While in prior reports, we focused on a small segment of specific companies over three years for B2C vs. B2B comparisons, this year, we expanded the data set. The following information comes from the same eight countries we mentioned above and spans the same five years, 2018-2022. We filtered that data for B2B-only and B2C-only data, and we excluded data from companies that explicitly serve both.

The resulting data show the same general trends throughout the year, with Q4 being the strongest quarter for both segments. 

B2C sales saw an average bump of 11% above the quarterly average, which is perhaps unsurprising in a season known for promoting consumerism — “consumer” is in the name. 

But don’t sleep on B2B sales in Q4. While B2B revenue appears to be slightly more stable throughout the year than B2C revenue, a 5% lift in Q4 is significant within a sometimes spend-happy segment that still takes advantage of end-of-year deals, regardless of whether a buyer is buying for themselves or their company. Corporate credit cards are of course still wielded by many people — people who are shopping for software, and who may still want a good deal, especially if rigid departmental budgets are a factor in their purchase decisions. 

Additionally, some B2B shoppers may be looking to use up budgetary money before the end of the year to ensure their budget is not reduced next year, or they may be pushing their teams or departments set up with the right tools before the new year starts. Business-specific instances like these could contribute to increased B2B sales in Q4 despite the many holiday work disruptions.

To see some of the following strategies in action and take advantage of great SaaS and software deals yourself, check out our 2023 Cyber Weekend deals roundup!

Cyber Weekend Strategies for SaaS and Software Companies

Wondering about the best ways to take advantage of that Q4 bump? Regardless of whether you’re targeting B2B or B2C shoppers, here are some tactical strategies for boosting software and SaaS sales before the end of the year.

Give Partners Custom Coupon Codes

Providing custom coupon codes to your affiliates and partners can work better than a generic one shared everywhere. Your partners will be more likely to promote codes that promote their own brand, and the promotion will work better for their audience if it mentions their brand. 

Plus you’ll be able to better track how that sales promotion performed compared to other coupon codes.

Use the FastSpring portal to enter custom coupon codes for your partners, or use the FastSpring API to pull codes from your own partner platform and populate in FastSpring.

Don’t Have Partners to Give Custom Coupons To? Find Some!

If you’re not yet taking advantage of promotional partnerships, the holiday season can spur on new connections. Look for other SaaS and software companies that offer a product that compliments yours. (For example, if you make a database tool, look for companies that make front end tools.) 

Besides custom coupon codes, offer to exchange Cyber Weekend promotions to each other’s audiences in the form of newsletter messages, website banners, social media mentions, or other preferred methods that will help both companies increase end-of-year sales. 

Email Your Own Prospects 

Even if you choose not to pursue partnership promotions — or if that’s a larger project you’d need more time to plan for — emailing your existing prospect list is a relatively quick and easy tactic to execute. 

Prospects can’t take advantage of sales they don’t know about, so don’t rely only on a website banner to grab the attention of potential buyers on a visit to your website. Bring them to your site with proactive email messages about upcoming, current, and extended deals to grab their attention where they are.

Email Your Current Customers

Just like prospects, customers can’t be upsold if they don’t know about holiday promotions, either. 

Here are just a few of the profitable opportunities you could target within your existing user base:

• Upsell add-ons. Analyze user data for customers that use your product the most often or the most broadly, since they might be most likely to want even more features and usability. 
• Upsell bigger subscriptions with more features. Just like with downloads, if you can pinpoint your product’s power users, you can target those most likely to want more of your product.
• Convert freemium customers to paid subscriptions with an irresistible sale. If freemium is a big part of your business model, a strong holiday sale might be the lever to finally convert users who love the features they have access to, but who know they could really use a lot more of them.
• Upsell from individual subscriptions to team subscriptions, or from team to enterprise subscriptions. It may not be easy to find out which power users are also evangelists for your product at their own companies, but if you have contextual user information (such as that which can be gleaned by your own internal salesforce), Q4 could be a great time to target companies where you have some user penetration but the opportunity to get a lot more. 
• Cross-sell into entirely new products. If your business model includes various standalone products, there’s a big opportunity to target the user base of one product with offers to purchase the other, and vice versa. The more products you have, the more segmentation you can do, and the more opportunities you have.
• Switch users from monthly to yearly subscriptions. The English adage “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” often applies in business, as revenue available to your company now may be preferable to slightly more revenue doled out slowly throughout the next year. Take advantage of buyers being in a shopping mindset in Q4: Tempt them with a great offer to save money in the long run by switching their monthly subscription to a yearly one.

Leverage Social Media 

Social media platforms can be a great place to celebrate events, so sharing holiday-themed posts from your business can be a natural fit. 

Many social media platforms have advertising services that can target users by geographies or interests. Consider taking advantage of the ability to show regional holiday ads in applicable regions, or the ability to show ads to users who may have mentioned their interest in the holiday on the platform.

Conversely, organic social media posts — which can often be seen by any users who follow you regardless of geography — can also be a good way to spread sales without limiting views to a small segment. Just keep in mind that if your followers or audience are very diverse, your holiday-specific organic posts should be too.

Offer More Aggressive Discounts in Target Geos

If you experience greater profitability in a particular region or just want to break into a new market, promoting more aggressive discounts in specific regions can help you further take advantage of Cyber Weekend sales increases.

To implement this, use GeoIP-based elements on your marketing site to promote region-specific discount codes. 

Then use FastSpring’s Store Builder Library to automatically apply those codes in the checkout to help increase your conversion rates. 

Localize Holiday Promotions

While Cyber Weekend has become popular around the world, there are still local holidays that may be more profitable in each region or country you’re targeting. Holidays like Boxing Day can rival more U.S.-centric specials (such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday) in countries such as the UK, Australia, and Canada, or Singles’ Day in China and southeast Asia.

Customize your holiday season campaigns by geography so you don’t miss out on big opportunities in key regions. 

How FastSpring Can Help

Need a real partner to help you take advantage of Q4 sales lifts and expand your SaaS or software business globally? Here are just a few of the great FastSpring features that can help your business go farther faster.

Global Payments: Localized Languages, Currencies, and Payment Methods

FastSpring knows that simply making your product available in more countries isn’t enough — it needs to be easy for your customers to make the decision to purchase. 

That’s why FastSpring’s global payments features provide a localized checkout experience that can automatically convert pricing to your customer’s local currency and language, then enable customers to purchase with dozens of the most popular payment method options. 

Global Tax Management: Let Us Worry About Taxes

While your customers expect the purchase process to be easy for them on the front end of the sale, we think it should be easy for you on the back end of the sale, too — especially when it comes to global tax management.

FastSpring is a merchant of record, which means that not only do we help facilitate payments, but we actually become the entity selling the product — so we become the entity worrying about card brand rules, regulatory rules in many geographies, risk, and even taxes. 

Our tax experts stay current on global tax regulations, and we calculate, collect, and remit taxes so you don’t have to. See what one of our experts has to say about taxes here. 

Consumer Support Management: Send Them to Us!

One of the other key responsibilities FastSpring helps cover is consumer support management. Your customers can start with us to help them solve issues with checkout and purchasing, taxes, billing and subscriptions, downloads, and more. 

If our consumer support topics don’t solve the issue for them, they can contact us directly by submitting a support request, and our team of support agents will reach out to further assist them. 

Are you looking for a merchant of record to help you grow your business internationally? FastSpring provides an all-in-one payment platform for SaaS, software, video game, and digital goods businesses, including VAT and sales tax management, payment localization, and consumer support. Set up a demo or check out our platform yourself.

The post Cyber Weekend Benchmarking Data: 2023 SaaS and Software Holiday Spend Report appeared first on FastSpring.