HQMarketing Conference
Operating principles

100 things to remember when you are trying to sell SaaS.

Search them, filter them, favorite the ones you keep forgetting, and come back when marketing starts feeling complicated.

RULE #1Strategy

Your acquisition channel should match what a customer is worth, not what is fashionable.

RULE #2Strategy

Low-priced SaaS cannot support expensive human selling on every account.

RULE #3Strategy

Pair one fast channel with one compounding channel.

RULE #4Strategy

Start with one narrow buyer before expanding to an entire industry.

RULE #5Strategy

Sell a measurable transformation, not the difficulty of the software you built.

RULE #6Strategy

A problem that is frequent, urgent and expensive is easier to monetize than an occasional annoyance.

RULE #7Strategy

Your first market should be small enough that you can name real prospects.

RULE #8Strategy

Strategy answers where you will play and why; tactics are the individual actions inside that choice.

RULE #9Strategy

Do not copy a large competitor’s marketing mix before you have their budget, brand or sales team.

RULE #10Strategy

Choose a channel you can execute consistently for at least one learning cycle.

RULE #11Customer Research

Ask about the last time the problem happened, not whether someone likes your idea.

RULE #12Customer Research

Behavior is stronger evidence than compliments.

RULE #13Customer Research

Current workarounds reveal both pain and willingness to act.

RULE #14Customer Research

Write down the exact phrases customers use to describe the problem.

RULE #15Customer Research

The person using the software may not be the person who controls the budget.

RULE #16Customer Research

Interview lost prospects as seriously as won customers.

RULE #17Customer Research

Do not treat one loud customer request as a market trend.

RULE #18Customer Research

Look for repeated workflow patterns across several customers.

RULE #19Customer Research

A strong trigger event can make an ordinary prospect become a timely prospect.

RULE #20Customer Research

If nobody has tried to solve the problem in any way, investigate whether it is actually important.

RULE #21Messaging

If a prospect cannot understand what you do in one sentence, improve the sentence before buying more traffic.

RULE #22Messaging

Lead with the customer problem or result before describing your architecture.

RULE #23Messaging

Specific claims are more credible than vague superlatives.

RULE #24Messaging

Use customer vocabulary even when your internal product vocabulary is more sophisticated.

RULE #25Messaging

One strong proof point can carry more weight than five generic benefits.

RULE #26Messaging

Different buyer roles may need different value messages for the same product.

RULE #27Messaging

Your homepage should help the right buyer recognize themselves quickly.

RULE #28Messaging

Do not make visitors decode what category of product you are selling.

RULE #29Messaging

A good CTA matches the commitment level of the buyer: learn, calculate, watch, try or talk.

RULE #30Messaging

Messaging improves fastest when you compare what customers say before buying with what they say after getting value.

RULE #31Outbound

Quality lists beat giant lists when you are still learning your market.

RULE #32Outbound

Use trigger-based outreach whenever possible.

RULE #33Outbound

Keep cold emails short enough to understand in one screen.

RULE #34Outbound

Personalization should connect to a business reason, not prove you found their favorite sports team.

RULE #35Outbound

A useful 90-second audit can earn attention before you ask for time.

RULE #36Outbound

Cold calling still works when the call is relevant, respectful and specific.

RULE #37Outbound

Open cold calls by acknowledging the interruption instead of pretending it is warm.

RULE #38Outbound

Slow your delivery enough that the prospect can think.

RULE #39Outbound

Ask a real question after your opener; do not launch into a monologue.

RULE #40Outbound

Track conversations and learning, not just sends and dials.

RULE #41Outbound

If your message gets replies but no meetings, examine the offer and CTA.

RULE #42Outbound

If your list gets no replies, examine fit and relevance before blaming the channel.

RULE #43Outbound

Follow up with new information, not “just bumping this.”

RULE #44Outbound

A voicemail can be useful when it gives context to an email or future call.

RULE #45Outbound

Stop an outbound campaign when evidence says the audience is wrong; persistence is not the same as denial.

RULE #46Sales

Selling is diagnosing before prescribing.

RULE #47Sales

Ask about the current state before showing the future state.

RULE #48Sales

Quantify the cost of inaction without exaggerating.

RULE #49Sales

Never give every prospect the same generic product tour.

RULE #50Sales

Show the few features that directly solve the pains they named.

RULE #51Sales

Use micro-confirmation questions throughout a demo.

RULE #52Sales

State your price clearly and stop talking long enough for the buyer to respond.

RULE #53Sales

Do not discount before you understand the objection.

RULE #54Sales

“Too expensive” may mean “I do not see enough value yet.”

RULE #55Sales

“Send me information” is often a request for lower commitment; clarify what would be useful.

RULE #56Sales

“We use a competitor” is an opening to learn what they wish worked better.

RULE #57Sales

Confirm who else is involved in the purchase before assuming one enthusiastic user can buy.

RULE #58Sales

Agree on a concrete next step before ending a sales call.

RULE #59Sales

A proposal is not progress if the buyer has not agreed on problem, value and process.

RULE #60Sales

Follow up around the buyer’s stated goals, not your need to close the month.

RULE #61Content & SEO

Write pages for problems and buying questions, not only product features.

RULE #62Content & SEO

Comparison pages should help the buyer decide, not simply insult competitors.

RULE #63Content & SEO

A credible comparison can say when the other product is a better fit.

RULE #64Content & SEO

Alternative pages work best when they explain why someone is switching.

RULE #65Content & SEO

Bottom-of-funnel traffic can be more valuable than large volumes of generic traffic.

RULE #66Content & SEO

Every repeated sales question is a candidate content page.

RULE #67Content & SEO

Use internal links to move readers from education to evaluation.

RULE #68Content & SEO

Publish fewer useful pages before publishing hundreds of thin pages.

RULE #69Content & SEO

Industry terminology matters because buyers search in their own language.

RULE #70Content & SEO

An integration page should explain the workflow it enables, not merely announce that an integration exists.

RULE #71Content & SEO

Directories and marketplaces can provide borrowed distribution.

RULE #72Content & SEO

Content should have a next step appropriate to the reader’s intent.

RULE #73Content & SEO

Measure demos, trials and qualified conversations from content—not just pageviews.

RULE #74Content & SEO

Update important comparison and pricing content when the market changes.

RULE #75Content & SEO

Search and discovery are different jobs; do not force one channel to do both.

RULE #76Authority & Demand

Teach something useful before asking for attention.

RULE #77Authority & Demand

You do not need to become an influencer to become trusted in a niche.

RULE #78Authority & Demand

Choose a few content pillars so your publishing builds a recognizable point of view.

RULE #79Authority & Demand

Useful calculators and templates can market your expertise while helping the buyer.

RULE #80Authority & Demand

A narrow industry benchmark can be more valuable than a broad trend report.

RULE #81Authority & Demand

Your best content ideas often come from customer calls, support questions and implementation work.

RULE #82Authority & Demand

Screen-share tutorials can work even if you dislike being on camera.

RULE #83Authority & Demand

A newsletter needs a clear recurring promise, not simply company updates.

RULE #84Authority & Demand

Original examples from your industry are harder for generic competitors to copy.

RULE #85Authority & Demand

Give away enough expertise to prove you understand the problem; charge for the system that solves it repeatedly.

RULE #86Retention & Scale

The sale is not complete until the customer reaches a meaningful first win.

RULE #87Retention & Scale

Activation should be defined by value received, not merely account creation.

RULE #88Retention & Scale

Reduce time-to-value before adding more onboarding emails.

RULE #89Retention & Scale

Churn reasons should be categorized and reviewed regularly.

RULE #90Retention & Scale

Bad-fit acquisition can look like a retention problem later.

RULE #91Retention & Scale

Ask for referrals after a visible win, not randomly.

RULE #92Retention & Scale

Case studies should quantify before and after whenever possible.

RULE #93Retention & Scale

Expansion revenue should follow real added value: more teams, locations, workflows, volume or service.

RULE #94Retention & Scale

Document founder-led sales before delegating it.

RULE #95Retention & Scale

Do not automate a process that has never worked manually.

RULE #96Retention & Scale

One strong channel executed well is better than six neglected channels.

RULE #97Retention & Scale

Know your conversion rate at each major step from visitor to retained customer.

RULE #98Retention & Scale

Watch payback period, not only top-line acquisition cost.

RULE #99Retention & Scale

Retention makes acquisition economics work; poor retention eventually defeats great marketing.

RULE #100Retention & Scale

The goal is not more marketing activity. The goal is a repeatable system that creates and keeps profitable customers.