Join us as we interview CEOs and CMOs of fast-growing SaaS firms to reveal what they are doing that’s working, and lessons learned from things that didn’t work ...
Ep. 150 - De-Risking Paid Social Campaigns: A New Approach with Ken Lempit
Guest: Ken Lempit, President & Chief Business Builder at Austin Lawrence GroupIn this episode, Austin Lawrence Group’s Ken Lempit shares a bold approach to overcoming the inefficiency of traditional advertising campaigns. He emphasizes a new strategy: combining foundational customer interviews with rapid, real-time testing via high-frequency organic social media posts. This iterative approach helps identify messaging that resonates most with target audiences before significant ad spend, enabling SaaS companies to avoid costly missteps. Lempit calls out outdated "ivory tower" methods, where messaging was developed in isolation and assumed durable for years. Today, he argues, messaging must evolve constantly based on audience engagement.Key Takeaways:Real-Time Validation Beats Guesswork: Test messaging in organic social media environments before committing ad budgets. Insights from live engagement can refine campaigns and improve ROI.Messaging Is No Longer Durable: Static messaging fails in today’s dynamic market. Iterative testing ensures campaigns stay relevant and effective.Drive Action with the Cost of Inaction: Instead of focusing on ROI, highlight the risks of staying in the status quo to compel prospects to act.This practical framework bridges the gap between creative intuition and data-driven decisions, setting a new standard for SaaS advertising.Other resources to check out:Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting---Thanks for listening to the SaaS Backwards Podcast, brought to you by Austin Lawrence Group. We help SaaS firms reduce churn, accelerate sales, and generate demand. Learn more at AustinLawrence.com.---Is your messaging a sales ally or sneaky saboteur? Let us help with our free messaging audit.We’ll look at your website’s messaging, content, and conversion potential from the eyes of today’s buyer and deliver a presentation with new combinations to more sales conversations and demos. And the best part? It’s absolutely free. Get started today!
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Ep. 149 - The Buyer Has Changed—Why Haven’t You? How Splashmetrics Delivers the Experience Buyers Actually Want
Guest: Steve Brothers, CEO of SplashmetricsWith 77% of millennial buyers avoiding sales interactions until they’ve already made a purchase decision, buyers are consistently clear about what they need: fast, personalized, and self-directed answers. Yet vendors stubbornly stick to outdated practices, forcing buyers into their processes rather than meeting them where they are.In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Steve Brothers, CEO of Splashmetrics, explores how modern B2B buyers are reshaping the sales process—and how many vendors are failing to adapt. He discusses how Splashmetrics bridges this gap by enabling companies to deliver tailored, interactive content journeys that put buyers in control while providing sales with critical insights to close deals more effectively.Key Takeaways:The buyer is in control: Buyers prefer to self-educate, completing 80% of their research before engaging with sales. Vendors must adapt or risk irrelevance.Outdated models kill opportunities: Relying on traditional MQL-driven processes results in 95% of SDR outreach being ignored.TheSplashmetrics solution: The platform allows buyers to “choose their own adventure,” and bridges the sales-marketing divide to create a truly buyer-centric experience.This episode is a wake-up call for companies still stuck in yesterday’s playbook.---Thanks for listening to the SaaS Backwards Podcast, brought to you by Austin Lawrence Group. We help SaaS firms reduce churn, accelerate sales, and generate demand. Learn more at AustinLawrence.com.---Is your messaging a sales ally or sneaky saboteur? Let us help with our free messaging audit.We’ll look at your website’s messaging, content, and conversion potential from the eyes of today’s buyer and deliver a presentation with new combinations to more sales conversations and demos. And the best part? It’s absolutely free. Get started today!
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Ep. 148 - From Pain Points to Purchase: Understanding Customer Motivation
Guest: Beth McHugh, Fractional Product LeaderWhen deals stall, buying committees often default to doing nothing. Why? Because they didn’t all agree that the problem was worth solving.In this episode, Beth McHugh explains why pain points alone rarely drive action and how the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) methodology identifies the “struggling moments” that compel prospects to move forward. These critical moments are when a prospect or team collectively decides that a problem can no longer be ignored.Beth shares why JTBD is, in her view, the most effective way to uncover the true motivations behind customer decisions. Beyond improving product-market fit, she highlights how JTBD creates alignment across sales, marketing, and product teams, ensuring everyone is focused on what truly matters to customers.Key Takeaways:Struggling Moments vs. Pain Points: Not all pain points are actionable. JTBD uncovers the struggles customers are motivated to resolve.Driving Differentiation: JTBD helps identify where your product stands out by focusing on the jobs customers are trying to accomplish.Faster Product-Market Validation: With JTBD, you can prioritize development efforts that directly address critical customer needs, reducing wasted resources.Tune in to learn how to move beyond surface-level insights and position your SaaS offering as the solution customers can’t ignore.---Thanks for listening to the SaaS Backwards Podcast, brought to you by Austin Lawrence Group. We help SaaS firms reduce churn, accelerate sales, and generate demand. Learn more at AustinLawrence.com.---Is your messaging a sales ally or sneaky saboteur? Let us help with our free messaging audit.We’ll look at your website’s messaging, content, and conversion potential from the eyes of today’s buyer and deliver a presentation with new combinations to more sales conversations and demos. And the best part? It’s absolutely free. Get started today!
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Ep. 147 - How to Discover What Really Drives Customer Decisions
Guest: Bob Moesta, Author of “Demand-Side Sales 101”In this episode, Bob Moesta, author of Demand-Side Sales 101, reveals why uncovering your customers’ “struggling moments” is the single most efficient step for any business. Whether it’s product development, marketing, or sales, understanding the root causes behind why customers make a change transforms every decision you make.As Bob explains, customers don’t buy products—they hire solutions to make progress. Without a clear struggling moment, there’s no motivation to change, and no sale. By focusing on these moments, you’ll align your entire go-to-market strategy, saving time, money, and effort across teams.Key Takeaways:The Struggling Moment as a Catalyst: Every purchase starts with a struggle. Most companies fail to uncover this because they focus on features or pain points instead of the deeper context driving change.Align Teams Around Progress: When marketing, sales, and product understand the customer’s struggle, handoffs disappear, and everyone works toward the same goal—helping the customer progress.Most Companies Miss the Mark: 60% of B2B proposals fail due to “no decision.” This happens because companies don’t clearly define or quantify a problem worth solving.---Thanks for listening to the SaaS Backwards Podcast, brought to you by Austin Lawrence Group. We help SaaS firms reduce churn, accelerate sales, and generate demand. Learn more at AustinLawrence.com.---Is your messaging a sales ally or sneaky saboteur? Let us help with our free messaging audit.We’ll look at your website’s messaging, content, and conversion potential from the eyes of today’s buyer and deliver a presentation with new combinations to more sales conversations and demos. And the best part? It’s absolutely free. Get started today!
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Ep. 146 - Why Your Demos May be Costing You Deals
Guest: Peter Cohan, Author of “Great Demo!”Have you ever walked into a software demo, hoping to learn something new, only to sit through a “Harbor Tour” of irrelevant features? You’re not alone – and neither are your prospects.Peter Cohan, author of Great Demo!, joined us on the SaaS Backwards Podcast to unpack the biggest demo mistakes SaaS teams make:❌ Starting with the how instead of the why❌ Overloading prospects with unnecessary features❌ Failing to tailor demos to decision-makersHis solution? Flip your demos upside down. Start with the results your prospects crave, not the laundry list of features.Peter also shared:✅ How to identify wasted demos (hint: 30% of them are)✅ Why "vision generation demos" are the key to nurturing leads✅ The metrics that show if your demos are working---Thanks for listening to the SaaS Backwards Podcast, brought to you by Austin Lawrence Group. We help SaaS firms reduce churn, accelerate sales, and generate demand. Learn more at AustinLawrence.com.---Is your messaging a sales ally or sneaky saboteur? Let us help with our free messaging audit.We’ll look at your website’s messaging, content, and conversion potential from the eyes of today’s buyer and deliver a presentation with new combinations to more sales conversations and demos. And the best part? It’s absolutely free. Get started today!
About SaaS Backwards - Reverse Engineering SaaS Success
Join us as we interview CEOs and CMOs of fast-growing SaaS firms to reveal what they are doing that’s working, and lessons learned from things that didn’t work as planned. These deep conversations dive into the dynamic world of SaaS B2B marketing, go-to-market strategies, and the SaaS business model. Content focuses on the pragmatic as well as strategic, providing a well-rounded diet for those running SaaS firms today. Hosted by Ken Lempit, Austin Lawrence Group’s president and chief business builder, who brings over 30 years of experience and expertise in helping software companies grow and their founders achieve their visions.
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