10 Best Books on Growing your SaaS Company (for Eventual Sale)
With the continued boom in the Software as a service (SaaS) industry, there’s a lot of interest from investors. SaaS companies and products have proven popular with most businesses now leveraging the power of SaaS for the management of their operations. Almost 73% of companies plan to make their systems SaaS by 2020.
Some of the most inspiring SaaS Companies & SaaS Products include Google, Slack, Microsoft, Zoom, Shopify, Wix, Adobe and Salesforce. These offer solutions ranging from data management, Enterprise resource planning (ERP), Customer resource management (CRM) to Project management, and many others.
The global SaaS market will reach $113.1 billion by 2021, with an annual growth rate of 18%. This impressive growth and emerging opportunities have seen increased M&A SaaS transactions and new businesses. Whether you are an entrepreneur, marketer, or business analyst, the SaaS industry should interest you.
There are many online resources on how to grow your SaaS business, but nothing beats a good book. Books provide more detailed quality information on diverse topics. You can always bookmark a topic and come back to it. With growing interest in SaaS, there are valuable books on key industry issues from metrics, improving onboarding, increasing MRR to creating the best SaaS exit strategy, and more.
Here are some of the books you should look out for to grow your SaaS Company for eventual sale.
1. Product-Led Growth
“Product-Led Growth is a book by Bush Wes classified as an absolute must-read for SaaS business owners. The approach of product-led growth helps your customers experience the ongoing value your product provides. This book helps you do this effectively.
It takes you through crucial topics such as product design, marketing, and other customer-related topics. You also learn different kinds of PLG approaches for your business. Most readers recommend it for any Software as a Service company.
2. The Complete Guide to SaaS Metrics
This is a free eBook, but the quality and relevance of the content make it a compelling read for SaaS business owners and managers. Metrics are a critical component of any business but more son in the SaaS industry.
In this book, you learn to identify, measure and understand the key SaaS metrics to grow your business. These metrics include MRR, active users, retention rates and customer lifetime value. These SaaS metrics can also come handy in your business exit strategy.
3. Behind the Cloud
It’s hard to talk about the Software as a service (SaaS) industry without a mention of the cloud. This book by Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, takes you behind the scenes to discover the untold story of the $50 billion cloud software company.
Salesforce is one of the leaders in the SaaS industry, and this is an interesting read that showcases the strategies Benioff and his team used to inspire employees and turn customers into brand evangelists.
4. The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Well, the title is a bit awkward, but this shouldn’t discourage you from reading this gem by Ben Horowitz. It is everything you need to lead your SaaS startup from the early stages to scale. The book forces you to face the real problems; however unpleasant they might be.
5. SaaS Sales for Startup Founders
Steli Eftiis one of the best writers in SaaS sales and he doesn’t complicate his topics. One of his popular works is SaaS Sales for Startup Founders – How to sell SaaS products when you’re not a sales pro.
This guide covers SaaS sales basics, self-service vs. sales-supported SaaS, increasing customer lifetime value, Selling like a SaaS sales pro, and other crucial topics.
6. Retention Point
Robert Skrob reveals the single biggest secret to membership and subscription growth in his new book. Every SaaS business owner ought to remember that membership growth comes from retention, not from getting new members. This membership marketing expert takes you through a discovery journey where you learn the futility of gaining new members when the older ones quit at the same rate.
This is an invaluable book for SaaS businesses, publishers, subscription boxes and all membership, digital access companies and other subscription-based businesses. Learn about the fallacies of membership retention, Retention Point Accelerators, how to achieve 90% to 98% annual renewal percentages, and more. It’sretailing at only $9.97.
7. Hacking Sales
The complete title is Hacking Sales: The Playbook for Building a High-Velocity Sales Machine. The book written by Max Altschuler (CEO and founder of Sales Hacker Inc) is a transformative book targeting SaaS investors.
It guides you to rejuvenate your SaaS sales process using the next generation of tools, tactics, and strategies. Learn how to build a business that generates more revenue with fewer resources.
8. Customer Success
Another interesting read for everyone in the SaaS industry is Customer Success: Customer Success: How Innovative Companies Are Reducing Churn and Growing Recurring Revenue. This book by Nick Mehta, Dan Steinman, and Lincoln Murphy details customer success.
This is the hottest trend in the B2B movement. This is a guide to help you leverage customer success for your SaaS Company. Learn how to kick start your customer-centric revolution in your subscription-based business. It also helps your investment in customer success become long term.
9. Blueprints for a SaaS Sales Organization
This is a SaaS-centric book on how to how to design, build and scale a customer-centric sales organization. It is an update of one of the must-have books for SaaS sales teams.
In this book, learn how to get your sales team and process in place to scale once the service is ready. There are detailed instructions for the SaaS sales team on building a sales structure that works together across the entire customer relationship.
10. End to End SaaS Serviceability, Metrics, Monitoring, and Alerting
Eamon Maguire delivers a concise collection of experiential and technical information that every SaaS entrepreneur or sales professional will find critical. It touches on the quality of service, SaaS availability, and correctness of results as key features of your SaaS Company. Read about essential features such as metrics, monitors, serviceability framework, and alerts in your SaaS Company.
Eamon’s sense of humor and witty style makes this an interesting read. The fact that the material is from real-world experience makes it a must-read for SaaS professionals.
Thinking of an Exit?
Many entrepreneurs continue growing their SaaS businesses with an exit strategy in mind. Whatever the reason for selling your company, we help you draw a detailed exit plan. From the business valuation, marketing, negotiations, documentation, NDAs to closing the deal, our team helps at every stage. Contact us today for a custom exit plan that suits your SaaS business.