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You’re a SaaS CEO plagued by underperforming sales revenue. You might even have to deal with loss-making deals. So our first question is this -   How long has it been since you’ve had a good night’s sleep?   You know it all too well- it doesn’t matter what the cause of your sales problems because it’s you at the end of the day, in the boardroom, taking the rap for why things are wrong.  We’ve worked with a lot of SaaS CEOs and we’ve heard their challenges. That's why we wrote this article on strategies for boosting underperforming sales, sharing the insights we’ve gained along the way.   The Silent Destroyers: Underperformance and Loss-Making Orders  Both are red flags on your financial dashboard. And they undermine your business and the well-being of you and your team.  And it’s not just a revenue problem that manifests in staff layoffs and budget cuts. These challenges can put a ton of stress on you and your teams which means longer hours. Tougher expectations.   That’s when the sleepless nights kick in. And possibility anxiety. All stuff that you don’t need.   What Causes Sales Underperformance and Loss-Making Deals?  It’s only from understanding the causes of sales underperformance and loss-making deals that anything can be done about it.   Here’s what we hear CEOs talk about the most. Do any of these sound familiar?    Poor market research: Skimping on market research never works out well - it just means you waste time and money offering a product that doesn't resonate using marketing messages customers don’t care about.   Many companies overlook research (ideally segmented research with personas) will give ideal customers' needs or preferences. B2B buyers are researching SaaS companies before they get in touch for solutions, so when SaaS companies don’t do the same, they put themselves at a huge disadvantage.   Bad pricing: Pricing can be a nightmare in the SaaS industry because of all the factors involved. There’s a lot of complexity that can turn keeping up with customer demand and the ever-changing landscape of competitors’ pricing into an impossible ask. And we haven’t even gotten to the differences in pricing between individual customers!   Discounts and promotions can be a total killer. When pricing doesn’t reflect the value your products and services give, you’re stuck with either loss-making deals or deals that have customers jumping ship the millisecond a competitor offers something better.   High Customer Acquisition Costs: This can be down to sales salaries being too high compared to the 4-5x of revenue they’re supposed to bring in. It can be down to a bad website that causes people to bounce within seconds. And it can be down to marketing.  Often it’s all three. No matter what it is, it’s a costly disaster.   Subpar CX: There’s no denying that customer experience is one of the most important factors in sales (and customer retention!). SaaS businesses ignore this at their peril, even if they’ve got an exclusive or genius product.  Why? There’s simply too much competition out there who will swoop in, and give customers the well-designed user interface, simple navigation, targeted offering and messaging, and knowledgeable and organized sales and service that get them to say yes.    Admin: Soul-sapping, repetitive tasks are everyone’s natural enemy, but this is particularly true with sales teams. According to McKinsey, only 39% of a sales rep’s time is spent selling or interacting with prospects and customers. The rest is admin. If they don’t have tools that sort admin, revenue will never be what it could be.   It can all be a mess that you constantly mop up. Fortunately, there are ways of turning it around.   Strategies for Boosting Sales and Preventing Loss-Making Deals  When you’re ready to boost your underperforming sales and bring in more of that sweet, sweet cash, there are strategies you can use. Here are some of the most effective:   Get to know who your customers are: Research your ideal segments to shape your products, services, pricing, and how to best reach them.   Optimize that pricing: The best pricing strategies are flexible and tailored. They’re easy to keep track of no matter how complex. And they reflect the true value of your products and services.   Cut down on customer acquisition cost: Boost the relationship between sales team salaries and incoming revenue by giving them the support they need to sell as much as possible. Ensure your website performance is excellent. And invest in marketing that uses SEO, social media marketing, content marketing, and influencer marketing to boost your reach and credibility.  Enhance customer experience: Give your existing and your potential customers the best experience possible. Make it easy for them to learn what you’re all about. Communicate with them on their terms. Give your sales and customer relations people the time they need to grow those relationships. Train your sales team: Your sales team should have a solid foundation in your product and service offering and how to know what to pitch to potential customers. They should also be trained in building long-term relationships with customers. And they should know how to work with your revenue and customer service teams to keep information accurate and streamlined.   Monitor your competitors: It’s absolutely vital to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing all the time. It’s a big ask, but how else will you know what’s out there attracting your potential customers? The great thing is that you can keep an eye on their failures just as much as their successes. You’ll learn from both.  All these strategies do take a lot of time and resources, but if you need to boost these sales, they’ll have to be done.   If it feels like too much of a drain on your time and resources, there is one option you can do that takes care of almost everything in one fell swoop.   The Game Changer: Automation  Automation is a powerful tool that can completely change how you and your people do sales. It can also revolutionise your results. High-performing companies are 2x as likely to have automated sales processes (Velocify).    Here’s how it can make underperforming sales a thing of the past:   Operations are streamlined: Repetitive tasks that sales, revenue, and customer service teams have to do are eliminated, freeing teams to focus on strategic tasks that drive sales. Automation can cut those business costs by 60-70% and transaction times by up to 80% (Forrester).  Customer experience is improved: Automation keeps you in touch with your customers. They get instant responses and offerings specifically tailored to them when they need it.    Your data is enhanced: AI-driven automation collects, manages, and analyzes data much more effectively. You’ll know your customer better. And insights are available 24-7 to whoever needs them.  No more lost sales opportunities: Automation creates new sales opportunities and spots upselling and cross-selling opportunities. It also identifies the best time for the sale and feeds them directly to the right salesperson.    The best pricing: Automation constantly monitors the landscape and creates and keeps track of the best pricing possible.   Reduced Errors: Automation cuts down costly errors in sales and billing because it eliminates silos between the revenue, sales, and billings teams.   Your numbers are reliable: Because everything is streamlined, customers are kept track of between departments, and errors cut down, you can rest assured knowing your revenue numbers are reliable and will adjust when things change.   All this means you and your teams are less stressed, happier, and more productive.   And you’re finally sleeping at night.   Conclusion  It can be overwhelming to have to tackle underperforming sales.   But knowing the root causes and most effective strategies certainly makes things easier for you to turn things around. And the best news of all is that you can let automation take care of all the problems so that you can reap the rewards of boosted sales performance.   You’re a SaaS business. You exist because you give your customers cutting-edge solutions to your problems.   So why not do the same for you and your teams?  SaaS discounting lowers customer LTV by 30%. -Paddle Say goodbye to underperforming revenue and boost your growth with Bluefort's cutting-edge sales automation solutions. Learn how our end-to-end system streamlines pricing models, identifies sales opportunities, breaks down silos, and maximizes customer value.

Feeling a little down, SaaS Finance team member?   Your eyes might hit this quiz and your brain might scream ”I beg you, not another thing I have to do no NO NO NO!!!.”  We get it. You all are going through it. Your entire team might be treading water and putting out fires at the same time.   That’s exactly why we’ve made this quiz – to gauge how low your morale might be. So grab a coffee (who are we kidding, you probably have a bucket o’ coffee right next to you already!), put those revenue reports on pause (YAY), and let's dive in!  1. What is your reaction when you hear the dreaded words, “end of the month”? A) Adopt a fetal position and start whimpering for Grandma.  B) Start stress-eating office snacks. C) Avoid direct eye contact with the boss so that you’re not asked to stay LATE AGAIN. D) You’re happy to lock down the numbers for the last four weeks. 2. What’s your favorite spreadsheet function?  A) CTRL+Z (undoing my career choices). B) VLOOKUP (I'm always looking for an escape route). C) IFERROR (if only life had this function). D) SUM (because adding it all and getting solid numbers feels amazing). 3. How do you handle payment errors?  A) Start looking up how to fake your own disappearance. B) Blame it on the intern then hide from them till their contract expires. B) Pretend it's a new innovative strategy until I get busted. D) Payment errors? As if!  4. How often do invoices haunt your dreams?  A) Every night. “Invoices” is the Latin name for my sleep paralysis demon. B) Sleep? LOL.  C) Anytime I accidentally snooze at my desk (I’ve perfected the art of sleeping with my eyes open). D) Invoices are my version of counting sheep.5. What’s your reaction when either your team or your customers have a sudden software update? A) Panic, then cry. Ugly cry.  B) I browse through my pre-written resignation letters, and see how long my finger can hover over “send”. C) Anonymously send a note to the CFO suggesting we switch back to abacuses.  D) We’re always given a heads’ up, so no big deal.  6. When you hear the word “automation” what do you feel?   A) I hum "The Robots are Coming" on rotation because why am I the only one who sees it coming?! B) Hopeful, but suspicious (like when someone is super nice to me). C) Are you serious right now? We have not got the time to even think about automation!!! How very dare you even suggest it.  D) Like a kid locked up with their best friend in a candy warehouse overnight. 7. It’s budget season. What’s your affirmation?  A) “I am strong and powerful and have survived all my previous battles against Invoices and the other powers of darkness!!” B) It’s a calm one- “I’ll take another bottle of Jack Daniels, No, the big one.”  C) “LA LA LA It’s not happening I can’t hear youuuuuu!!!!!” D) No affirmations needed. I put my feet up because it’s all done.  8. When you see you’ve got a meeting about the recognized revenue numbers, what do you do?  A) I sit in my seat, close my eyes, and throw my arms around screaming because who are we kidding we’re never getting off this ride!! B)  Turn into a sweat-soaked puddle and then when I reach for my back-up sweat-free shirt, realize I forgot it AGAIN. C) Finally release my soul with a world-weary sigh.  D) Eh, whatever. Meetings are a pain, but at least we know where we are. 9. How’s your relationship with the marketing team recently?  A) They’re in our budget meetings, but I’m so distracted by the gaping hole in my soul during budget meetings that I don’t really notice them. I’m just trying to stay alive.  B) I pass them the Jack Daniels under the table. They’re going through it too.  C) We have a marketing team?  D) We bond over how to deal with Sales.  10. Speaking of sales, how do you feel when the sales team exceeds their targets?  A) Like I've won the lottery! Just without the money! (Just kidding – I am now dead inside and feel nothing).  B) Welp, there goes my weekends.  C) Thrilled but suspicious – how are they organized enough to know what their targets are?  D) I’m thrilled – all our data flows between our teams, so it’s no skin off my nose.  How did you score?   Mostly A – Wow. We would say you’re a total drama queen with serious main character energy, but if we’re being perfectly honest, given how stressful SaaS finance can be, we reckon you’re only human. Something will have to give soon though, because everyone needs a break from the stage or they crack up.   Mostly B – You are probably on the verge of a heart attack. You definitely have ulcers. We’re here to let you know it’s possible to not live under your desk for the rest of your life. A change is needed.    Mostly C – Coffee has no impact on you- you’re far too burned out for that. You also work about 80 hours a week and don’t seem to be getting anywhere with it. We’ll bet your finance and accounting systems are as modern as a wooden trebuchet.   Mostly D – Who are you? What is this witchery? How have you managed to be calm in a SaaS finance team? Clearly you’ve got some supernatural help. Harumpf.   Right, so congratulations! You made it through the quiz!   Ready for change? The thing is, we can joke as much as we want, but low morale is so draining. And so common.   But you're definitely not alone in your struggles.   The good news? You can get to a point where you answer mainly Ds on the quiz.   You absolutely deserve to have your problems solved.   You can have everything done for you, automatically.   You can your time freed from mundane and repetitive tasks.   You can be compliant and free from errors.   You can know what your recognized revenue numbers are at any time.    And you can finally feel the freedom to return to what you’re best at – financial strategy and focusing revenue on the future!   Change is possible. In fact, with the right solution, it’s automatic.   You just need automation.   The average cost of manually processing one invoice is $15.  -Levvel Research Curious to see how your and your team’s morale could improve by 2,945,922,418% (accurate scientific figure)? Schedule a Free Discovery Call today. Step out of the black hole and into clarity.

Most CEOs are focused on customer acquisition. And it’s no wonder- you gotta keep the people coming in to buy your products and services. It’s exciting building that base, and watching your numbers grow. Expanding into new territories, and new markets is quite thrilling and a real testimony to a CEO’s leadership. New customers are enticing, but do they tend to overshadow a potent growth strategy that's right under our noses? Yes, we’re talking about selling to the customers we already have. Placing upselling and cross-selling into SaaS pricing models can unlock hidden revenue streams within a business while cutting down on the investment and time needed in customer acquisition. We get this is easier said than done, which is why most SaaS CEOs have trouble with losing upselling and cross-selling opportunities. That’s why we’ve written this article – to talk through the problems with missed revenue opportunities, what is challenging about them, and steps you can change to sort it out once and for all so that you can enjoy a massive bump in your revenue. It’s Complicated – the relationship of pricing models and upselling/cross-selling It’s safe to say the SaaS industry is pretty famous for its complex pricing models. They’re a massive headache because they’re a rabbit warren of tiers, features, tiers, add-ons, and constantly changing usage. It can be really overwhelming for both your company and your customers. And the more complex your models, the harder it is to upsell and cross-sell. Though both upselling and cross-selling are fairly straightforward, they can be difficult to dovetail into your offerings. The problem is that these missed chances are like throwing money in the garbage. Because selling to existing customers is a lot easier than new customers. You’ve already won their trust. You know what they need. You’ve built a rapport. So how much does this cost you? The Cost of Missed Selling Opportunities It’s costing you more than you might think. According to Forrester, SaaS companies are leaving an average of 30% in additional revenue on the table by ignoring upselling and cross-selling opportunities. That’s not just a missed chance – that’s a powerful drain on your growth. It’s compound loss, not interest. Imagine what you could do with 30% more revenue coming in. You could invest it right back into the company, fueling your product development and innovation, attracting top talent, making your customer service unparalleled with your competition, or even boosting your marketing. It could have been a cushion that allows you to take bigger risks. Experiment longer with new ideas. Try new things. But instead, this money is simply unclaimed, which makes your job ultimately harder.  So what can be done to change this? Steps To Boost Upselling and Cross-Selling To stop the problems that siphon money and resources from your business, you can take proactive steps to integrate upselling and cross-selling into your pricing models: 1. Find the opportunities Start by having your teams review your products and services. Which combinations work? How can newer products complement your older offerings? Are there newer products, add-ons, and features customers might be willing to upgrade to? Services they could add-on? 2. Split customers into segments The more specific your customer segments, the better your offerings will be. Customers have varying needs, usage patterns, and budgets. When you segment your customers according to their behavior, needs, and willingness to spend, you will better understand what they need and when they need it. This is exactly what you need to tailor your upselling and cross-selling strategies (and the messages you use!) to each segment, making them much more impactful. 3. Train Your Sales Team with this skill Most people on your sales team have at least a good few years of sales experience under their belts. But upselling and cross-selling require a different set of skills than initial selling because sales reps need to understand why each existing customer needs to go beyond which products and services they currently have. They need to tread carefully around the trust that has already been established. 4. Streamline your pricing models The most unsurprising point ever, but still it needs to be said. Though SaaS is the home of complex pricing models, if your teams are struggling with keeping up (and losing customers along the way because of delays and errors) something needs to be streamlined whether it’s the models or the selling and contracting process. 5. It’s about value, not only the products The easiest way to upsell and cross-sell is to show the customer that your products and services add value to their lives. That’s all it is. Pitching add-ons should always involve showing the customer how it can solve their problems, and meet their needs. This way you boost your chance of the sale, and you invest even more into the customer relationship. 6. Track and Measure Success Yay, another spreadsheet! Sorry, but it’s true – teams have to track the success of their upselling and cross-selling strategies so that tweaks can be made where necessary when things aren’t working. Or get it all in one solution: how automation sorts upselling and cross-selling for you It could take quite a while (and a lot of resources!) to get through all the steps above. The good news is that there’s one solution that gets it done in one fell swoop. Automating all these processes, not only frees you and your teams of the boring, repetitive tasks, but cuts way down on errors, and misses no opportunities any longer. Here’s what an end-to-end solution can give you: Automation recommends the best pricing models that suit your offerings, no matter how complex they are. These recommendations are agile and adjustable and are instantly enacted. It breaks down the silo between your revenue and sales teams- there are no more costly mistakes that cut into your margin or invoices that slip through the cracks Loss-making orders are a thing of the past because automation gauges how much your customers are likely to spend It uses data and analytics to identify which customers are ready for an upsell or cross-sell, suggesting appropriate products or services based on customer behavior. It then automatically feeds the info to the right salesperson at the perfect time. So upselling and cross-selling don’t feel pushy. All sales data is available in real time, and accessible by whichever teams need it. Sounds good, right? Why not let automation make life easier for you and save your margins?If you want to maximize your revenue, then placing upselling and cross-selling into your pricing model is a must. There’s too much money to be made by shifting some of your energy onto your existing customers rather than focusing only on customer acquisition! Using automation doesn’t just make this process easier, but almost completely relieves your teams of all the time and effort and admin that comes along with it. That means they can finally focus on what brings in the most revenue – selling and making your customers happier. And that means you’ll have the time and the headspace to finally focus on your vision for the future of the company. 86% of consumers will leave a brand they trusted after two bad customer experiences. - Emplifi Say goodbye to missed opportunities and boost your growth with Bluefort's cutting-edge automation solutions. Learn how our end-to-end system streamlines pricing models, breaks down silos, and maximizes customer value.

Your Biggest Problem It’s hard to be a CFO. You’re in charge of the financial health of your company. That means you’re juggling regulations and compliance, revenue growth and profitability, and keeping to budget. Despite those key responsibilities, there’s one thing that strikes at the heart of any CFO in IT Services. Payment collection. It robs you of your time and resources - so much so that it crushes your profit margins. This guide is to talk you through the causes of payment chasing and high overheads. We’ll also cover strategies for how to cut chasing payments and lowering overhead so you can finally concentrate on what you’re supposed to be free to do- future-proof the financial health of the business. Chasing Payments Chasing payments hits hard in IT services because its subscription models mean on-time payments are a crucial part of it. But it’s challenging because it’s common- the more customers you have, the more payments you’re likely to be chasing. Anything can cause late payments: Cash flow problems Forgetting to pay Not providing customers with their preferred method of payment Misunderstanding the payment contract terms Disagreements over subscription costs or charges Mistakes between your sales and revenue teams Whatever caused it, you and your revenue team are stuck spending hours and days chasing payments. What damage does chasing late payments cause?  Saying that chasing payments is inconvenient is a bit of an understatement. It’s completely disruptive to you and dangerous to your organizations, causing a lot of damage to your overheads over time. Any of these impacts sound familiar? Operations - Your team won’t be able to do the other things they’re supposed to do if they are busy chasing missing money. That’s less time for budgeting, planning, and strategies for future growth. Financial - Every second wasted chasing money you’re already owed costs you staff hours, any legal fees, admin, and - the worst - borrowing to cover any cash shortfalls. Cash Flow - Speaking of disruption, cash can’t flow if your customers’ payments are late. That means difficulty in paying bills and salaries. It also makes investing tough. Clients - Regardless of whose fault it is, it’s hard to keep up a good relationship with someone whose payments are late. Even if they tell the truth or have a good reason to be late, all you are thinking when you see them is “The AUDACITY.” You’re only human! Credit Rating - The minute you struggle with your bills, you’re risking your credit rating. And this is an industry that thrives on “investibility.” You lose out on negotiating leverage with suppliers. You lose out on a trustworthy name. Next thing you know, investors won’t touch with you will a million-foot pole. Legal Risks - Some arguments over payments and bills need to involve lawyers. They’re expensive and a last resort and though you will probably win, nobody wins, you know? Physical and Emotional - Just because we’re saving it for last doesn’t mean that it’s the least important impact. We saved it for last so it would stick in your memory! Your physical and mental health are extremely important and the stress of chasing payments is the last kind of stress you need. It’s endless and thankless. It can cause burnout and turnover. Once you can identify the impacts that chasing payments causes you, your team, and your business, it’s a lot easier to justify doing something about it (especially to those C-Suite and stakeholders who dear change and doing things differently). Because the bottom line (literally!) is this - NOTHING should create overheads that rob you of the present and the future of the company. You know change is way overdue - you just need to know what your options are. Strategies to Minimize Overheads in Chasing Payments If you’re ready to cut down all the overheads that chasing payments causes, you’ve got plenty of options: 1. Make on-time payment irresistible - You can offer discounts (like a small percentage off the bill) or additional benefits (extra add-ons, more usage) to customers who pay on time. Not only do you get paid on time, but there’s a chance for good word-of-mouth. 2. Clear Communication - When your customers are crystal clear on their contract terms, there’s no confusion. What helps are very clear terms (and penalty clauses!) and payment reminders so that customers don’t have a reason to forget or misunderstand what’s expected. 3. Streamline disagreements - Disputes cost time. The way to save this is to have a process already put into place that becomes part of your contract terms. That includes ways for customers to ask any questions and expect a fast response. 4. Get strict - No one wants to have dealbreakers when we’re talking about new customers, but sometimes it’s necessary. Doing credit checks and setting credit limits can help. Yes, it seems like a lot and you might turn off some customers, but you’ll filter out a lot of costly misery too. 5. Consolidate the payment platform - A good chunk of efficiency can come from using a billing platform that cuts down the time needed to switch back and forth between systems. That means fewer mistakes and an easier time of tracking payments. 6. Outsourcing - Sometimes point it’s easier to give the problem to someone else. If your team’s missing time and resources are worth more than the percentage a collections company would cost, it might be worth considering it. These are all great options. But what if we told you that there was something that could solve all the problems that cause nearly all late payments? Something that takes no additional time from you- in fact, it frees you up to do the things you want to do for the company? It’s just one word - automation. When you leverage the technology available to automate the entire billing and payment process, you cut way down on your troubles. We know because over the last 2 decades we’ve worked with IT Services CFOs who had struggled to solve their problems alone when they didn’t need to. The biggest challenge is that many CFOs aren’t aware of just how much automation can change how they and their teams work. We’re talking about a total, end-to-end solution that finally grants you the time to work on financial strategizing for the future. A solution that gives you the correct numbers you can be confident about. A solution that actually gives even more than this. The right automation solution gives you: 1. Invoicing Your system can generate and send correct invoices for you (including the complex multi-month invoices that gauge usage and other factors) 2. Scheduled payments Automated payments can come out at agreed intervals 3. Reminders Customers won’t be caught off guard. They won’t forget either. The system can send reminders for you. 4. 24-7 reports A CFO’s ultimate fantasy is most likely knowing where all their revenue is at any given time. Automation gives you real-time updates, including the rev in and cash flow figures you need. And with your financial information in one place, you can make the informed decisions you need to. 5. Streamlined disagreement It’s a lot harder to have disputes when everything is clear and automated, but when they pop-up, they will pop up earlier so they can be resolved faster. And everyone loves that! 6. Reconciliation Silos between sales and finance are finally knocked down. That means there are no longer misunderstandings about customer offerings and contract terms. AND payments and invoices are matched automatically, so there isn’t any manual reconciliation to do. 7. Easy payments You can have secure payments that are put into your account fast. No, really! 8. Scalability The magic word! Of course you want to scale, but without automation it can feel practically impossible. With automation it doesn’t matter how much you grow - it can handle the transactions and still keeps those overheads you get with bigger numbers at bay. And, as a bonus, it automatically gives your sales teams upselling and cross-selling opportunities that not only maximize your product offerings and bring in more revenue, but build confidence and long-term relationships with customers who now enjoy personalised offerings when they’re needed. 86% of consumers will leave a brand they trusted after two bad customer experiences. - Emplifi It can be yours You know that your cutting-edge products, services and offerings are specifically designed to help your customers with their needs. Why shouldn’t you enjoy the same? Especially when a cutting-edge offering SAVES you your precious money and time? And cuts those overheads for good? You and your team deserve a stress-free life. The time you need to strategize for the future. And you as the CFO deserve to be able to walk into any meeting with the C-Suite or stakeholders, completely confident in your team’s performance, and the numbers that have turned around thanks to letting something do the necessary work for you. Give yourself and your team the time it takes to take your company’s finances to the next level. Curious? Why not schedule a free, no-obligation call with it to see how much you can save.

Baggy pants were never so hot. You have to trust us on this. It’s impossible to explain exactly how popular rapper MC Hammer was in the early 90s if you weren't there. We’re talking a full-blown, worldwide phenomenon. MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" blared on every radio station. His videos, complete with signature Hammer pants and flashy dance moves, are a regular feature on MTV. And the enormous, expensive tours were next. They were spectacles. But there was one big problem. MC Hammer (aka Stanley Burrell) might have earned around $70 million dollars. But – plot twist – a few years later, he was bankrupt and drowning in $13 million dollars of debt. What went wrong? The answer lies in two words: cash flow. With Hammer's lavish lifestyle, extravagant spending, and poor cash management, financial failure was inevitable. Sounds familiar? We’re not saying you’re out spending your money on metallic pants and 50 dancers and mansions with gold-plated front gates. Maybe you are (no judgement). But we’ll bet as a CFO in the IT Services industry, you might be dealing with your own version of "Hammer Time." Unreliable numbers, late and incorrect payments, and unexpected costs can all lead to cash flow challenges that threaten your company's financial stability. What Causes Cash Flow Problems? Most departments in an IT Services business will have processes that can slow down cash flow. For the finance department, one of the biggest contributors is late or delayed billing. It's a common problem because most teams simply don't have the resources that they need to ensure every customer gets their bill without delay and as early as possible. (And there are those pesky timesheets that need to be approved before bills can be processed. Hopefully mentioning them hasn't sent your blood pressure through the roof). An inefficient payment collection makes this even worse. Customers have diverse needs and preferences in terms of how they want to pay. But the finance team must be able to keep up with these methods to keep that cash coming in. Problem is, they usually aren't given the tools to do so. And that can mean serious stress for you and the business. How Cash Flow Misery Hurts You and Your Company Cash flow problems inevitably lead to big challenges, including: 1. Failure with Ops When there isn’t enough cash around, there’s going to be disruption in everything from payroll to buying inventory and paying for ops overheads. Not only does this put the business at risk, but it makes employee morale crash. 2. Crushed growth If you don’t have enough cash, it’s going to be hard to invest in anything that helps long-term growth. Things like market expansion, product and service development, strategies to improve customer relations, or hiring key talent are necessary for future growth and staying competitive. 3. Damaged reputation The last thing you need is both customers and creditors giving you a bad reputation. Late bills won't make customers happy. And if you haven’t got the cash flow to pay your bills and make your customers happy by solving problems immediately, you and your company will be in trouble. So will your standing in the industry. 4. Investors will run away screaming Okay, maybe they won’t scream, but they won’t stick around. Investors always look closely at cash flow to measure a company's financial health. If you struggle with the flow, investors will go. 5. Big financial risks CFOs always know to expect the unexpected. Financial shocks happen (boy have we learned that over the last few years!). If your cash flow suffers, you’ll be vulnerable to these financial shocks. It will be a lot harder for you to survive. 6. More strain on you It’s hard enough being a CFO in the best of circumstances – the stress list is LONG. But without cash flow, you’re getting it from all angles and – BAM – you’re not sleeping and you haven’t seen your family or friends in months. How are you supposed to focus on financial strategy when you’re putting out fires all the time? Cash Flow Management: What we can learn from MC Hammer’s mistakes When the beat of cash flow turns from a sweet groove to a discordant thump, it’s not just you who feels the pain. Because everything that Finance does has a domino effect, your whole company can suffer. The good news is that there’s a way to turn this mess into something spectacular, just like MC Hammer at his best. You can keep the money rolling in smoothly, just like a melody. It’s all down to the right strategies. Here are the ones that work best for our CFO clients and partners: 1. Better forecasting The most precise the forecasting, the better your ability to stategize and make the best financial decisions. Good forecasting cuts down on human error and helps with financial planning. 2. Streamline billing The simpler your invoicing and billing process, the easier your life. Use a system that processes timesheets faster, generates and sends invoices promptly, tracks the payments, adjusts when necessary, and remembers overdue bills. A good system will cut down the hours spent on billing. 3. Payment solutions that your customers want The easier the payment process for your customers, the more you’ll get paid. Offer multiple payment options to cater to what they want. That improves the customer experience too, which will enhance cash flow in the long-term. 4. Cut your overheads This is the biggest strategy MC Hammer should have used. You must cut your outgoings as much as possible. We don’t mean stop providing tea and food to your staff or cut their wages. We mean cut labor costs and overheads by streamlining your end-to-end so that your staff aren’t wasting time on tasks they shouldn’t have to do. You’ll make a lot more money when they’re free to do what they do best – sell, strategize, develop, and innovate. Now you might be thinking, “Sure, I’d love to wave a wand and have all these things, plus the gold-plated front gates (and some big Hammer pants thrown in for good measure). But we can’t always get what we want." Yes, you can. Here's something that will be music to your ears You can enjoy all the good stuff that steady cash flow brings. You can put every one of those working strategies into motion and get rid of your problems for good. You just need the right tool. MC Hammer didn’t have one solution that could turn everything around. You do. And that solution is automation of your financial processes. Specifically, an end-to-end process that takes care of everything for you. Automating your finance functions will transform everything, radically enhancing your financial management capabilities. This means everything from sales like the terms, usage rates, prices, payment times, etc. gets processed in your system and brought to your team ready to go. (Our solution can't eliminate those timesheets altogether, but we can make you a lot more confident in the numbers, so they're signed off faster). Invoices are created automatically. Bills are sent automatically. Payments are processed fast and automatically. In other words, automation lets you finally do the job you were hired to do, because you no longer have to worry about the stuff you shouldn’t have to. You’re the CFO. You’ve got a lot on your shoulders. Why suffer with more than you have to? Why not give yourself the gift of cutting-edge innovation – the same gift you give your customers? You can end cash flow misery and bring a new era of financial stability and growth. You can have a comeback tour because unlike MC Hammer, you have the power of automation at your disposal. So put those metallic virtual Hammer pants, take control of your cash flow, and dance your way to success. Because when it comes to managing your company's finances, you can touch this - and you can master it. 86% of consumers will leave a brand they trusted after two bad customer experiences. - Emplifi Supercharge Your Cash Flow with Bluefort Are cash flow challenges haunting your IT Services company? Don't let your finances slip into "Hammer Time" chaos. Bluefort Solutions is your key to financial stability and growth. Here's how we can help: Precision Forecasting: Say goodbye to financial uncertainty. Our cutting-edge tools provide accurate forecasts, empowering you to make informed decisions with confidence. Streamlined Billing: Save time and reduce errors. Our automated invoicing and billing system processes timesheets swiftly, sends invoices promptly, tracks payments, and manages overdue bills efficiently. Customer-Centric Payments: Enhance the customer experience by offering multiple payment options. Increase your cash flow while keeping your clients satisfied. Cost Optimization: Streamline operations, cut unnecessary overheads, and maximize your team's productivity. Let your staff focus on what they do best – sell, strategize, develop, and innovate. Unlock the Power of Automation Imagine a finance process that handles everything for you – from sales data to invoicing and payments. Bluefort offers an end-to-end automation subscription management solution that empowers you to focus on your CFO responsibilities without the hassle. Our automation solutions will revolutionize your financial capabilities, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in every aspect of your finances. Leave the manual work behind and embrace innovation. With Bluefort, you can leave cash flow challenges behind and pave the way for a future of financial stability and growth. So, Dance Your Way to Success Unlike MC Hammer, you have the power of automation at your disposal. So put on your virtual Hammer pants, take control of your cash flow, and dance your way to success. Ready to master your company's finances? Get in touch with us today and let's turn your cash flow from chaos to harmony!

Imagine that you're sinking. Slowly. The ground has turned into a trap. It’s quicksand, and everything you do to get out just makes the situation worse. This is what it feels like when your B2B SaaS sales cycle slows to a crawl. It’s draining and exhausting. The maddening thing is that SaaS is no place to get stuck. It’s meant for speed, efficiency, and innovation. That’s what keeps your company going. But a slow sales cycle will make everything start to fall. Next thing you know, you and your team are wading through molasses, watching potential sales slip through your fingers. Losing customers and revenue hurts. And it impacts you too- the stress, the pressure, the worry. You don’t want to sink any further- you've poured your heart and soul into this venture. You've sacrificed. Things need to change, and fast. But how?Let’s look at how you got in the quicksand first. Inefficient Processes It doesn’t matter how amazing your product is- things like outdated tech, bad communication channels, or a lack of coordination in the sales team can grind things to a halt. Poor Lead Qualification Some leads are bigger than others. It’s a common trap to chase a lead that is just going to waste your time. Make sure your lead qualification process is robust so your sales team’s got a fighting chance. Lackluster Follow-ups The first contact can be perfect, but if there’s no good follow-up, what’s the point? There’s way too much competition out there to drop the ball with a potential customer. Communication that’s impersonal, infrequent, or doesn’t address their concerns will make them run like a kid after an ice cream truck. Overcomplicated Sales Cycle If the sales cycle is too complex or convoluted, or if communication is poor between your departments, it’s not exactly going to be lightning speed. Stress and Pressure If your sales team is stressed and worried over targets and lost sales, that’s not going to be good for them or you. Time Management Issues It’s tricky to balance the ops of your business, strategic planning, and effective decision-making when you’re distracted by the sales cycle.But here's the good news- a slow sales cycle isn't a death sentence for your business. You can escape the quicksand and accelerate your SaaS sales cycle. You’ve already recognised there’s a problem (many people miss at this first stage!) There are proven techniques that can help you speed up your sales cycle. They’re like branches that you can grab to pull yourself out. 1. Automate repetitive tasks If you needed to buy a week’s worth of groceries, would you break ground, plant crops, mill grain, harvest and process it all? No, because the grocery store has done it all for you. It’s the same with SaaS automation. It takes care of all the time-consuming routine tasks, so that your sales team can focus on selling and strategy. Identify everything that is repetitive and doesn’t need human intervention, then use automation tools to sort it. 2. Set goals for each sales call A clear goal will help keep the conversation productive and focused. Then goal can be simple - want to present a product demo? Talk about pricing? Answer concerns? 3. Explore objections before answering them You don’t have to answer concerns right away. Ask more questions- be curious. Find out what the root cause is. You’ll give a better response. 4. Give social proof Prospects like to see testimonials, case studies, and reviews. Let them see how they’ve benefited from your product or service - it works better than telling them. 5. Close in step Why not shift to smaller agreements during the sales process rather than one big close? It could be steps like a trial or demo, or acknowledging how great one of your features are? Small wins make a difference. 6. Score your leads A scoring system can prioritize high-quality leads for your sales team. Then they can refocus their efforts on leads they’re likely to convert. 7. Treat customers individually Personalize how you communicate with each customer as much as possible. Tailoring your product demos. Make specific product offerings. Adapt your sales pitch. 8. Unify sales and marketing Bring your teams together so they can align goals and strategies. Regular meetings can cover performance, leads, and conversion rates. 9. Figure out the red issue What’s the main obstacle stopping a prospect from making a purchase? When you tackle this head on you help your prospect move forward in the sales process. 10. Manage Stress and Pressure You and your teams need care and consideration too. Stress management techniques like mindfulness, exercise, or delegating tasks can help. The root of the problem needs to be sorted too, but taking away the problems and obstacles of a slow cycle will certainly help. Bluefort's end-to-end subscription management platform streamlines processes, enhances lead qualification, automates repetitive tasks, and empowers your team with the tools they need to succeed. There are fellow CEOs who know exactly what you’re going through, but they’ve turned things around. You can do it too. Though each of these techniques can make a difference, when you combine them, you can pull yourself out of the quicksand and accelerate the cycle. You can be back on solid ground. You can move forward, grow, and guide your business to achieve all the things you’ve envisioned. All you have to do is take that first step. Grab that branch. Be patient with the process. Pull yourself out of the quicksand. Your business—and your peace of mind—depend on it. Ready to Escape the Quicksand and Supercharge Your B2B SaaS Sales Cycle? At Bluefort, we understand the challenges of a slow B2B SaaS sales cycle. We've helped numerous SaaS companies break free and achieve lightning-speed growth. Our end-to-end subscription management platform streamlines processes, enhances lead qualification, automates repetitive tasks, and empowers your team with the tools they need to succeed. With Bluefort, you can turn your SaaS business into a well-oiled machine that accelerates sales and maximizes revenue. 86% of consumers will leave a brand they trusted after two bad customer experiences. - Emplifi So if you’re looking to give your subscribers the best possible experience (and reduce churn!), make sure personalization is at the top of your priority list—it could be the difference between success and failure. And if you give these SaaS customer personalization tips a try, you’ll be on track to providing them an unforgettable experience that keeps them coming back for more. Don't let the quicksand hold you back any longer. Take the first step towards success today! Schedule a consultation with our team of experts, to see how Bluefort can transform your B2B SaaS sales cycle and propel your business forward.

Being a COO in charge of an IT Services organization feel like being lost in darkest space. Especially when you're dealing with the dreaded project 'black hole' – a project balances that you can’t trust. You know the feeling - the project that was supposed to be smooth sailing. But it’s evolved into this ridiculous, resource-guzzling monster. It's enough to give any COO sleepless nights. That’s why we’re here to talk about it. Strap yourselves in! Where does the problem come from? Ever spun plates and juggled chainsaws at the same time? Then you know what maintaining a healthy project balance feels like. You must keep your eye on all resources, staff, deadlines, any external stakeholder concerns, scope, and cost. No matter how good a COO is, sometimes the project goes wrong. It might be more complex than it looked at the beginning. Stakeholders might ask for adjustments. The timeline doubles. Potential risks are everywhere. Maybe the cost is much different than we thought. Or the PM quits. Blink, and suddenly you’re floating in the project 'black hole'. And at the center of that is the money, scheduling, and quality.So what can trigger the chain reactions that cause them? Here are several of the most common: 1. Resources underestimated When either the PM or the COO underestimates any of the resources involved in the project (whether that’s people, tech, or money) odds are there will be a resource crunch that is not likely to be resolved unless you push deadlines back, spend more money, or bring in more people or overwork the ones you have. 2. Miscalculation of deadlines The time each task (large or small) in a project takes has to be estimated. That means there’s lots of opportunity to miscalculate. Pls, unexpected things happen which can also impact all the processes around it. All of it means missed deadlines and extended timelines. This disrupts the balance. 3. Scope creep Ah, this little beauty is the bane of every PM, COO, and any team involved. When your project’s scope goes beyond the original parameters or objectives, you’ll have to adjust time, deadlines, cost, resources, and workforce. Otherwise, you’ll be plagued by incorrect project balances. 4. Bad communication When communication is ineffective, there will be misunderstandings. And misunderstandings always affect project expectations. And then yet again, a project balance is off kilter. 4. Neglecting Risk Management Risk is woven into even the “safest” of projects. We all know Murphy’s Law and how it’s best to plan for things going wrong. When potential risks aren’t identified or managed, the first thing they’ll do when they show up is knock the project balance. The bottom line is this – it’s really hard to keep everything going smoothly once problems start to arise. And once you have one incorrect project balance, it’s hard to keep the other ones from being impacted. How incorrect project balances wreak havoc When you’re suffering with project balances that are wrong or unreliable, the knock-on effects are brutal. Do any of these sound familiar? Chaos in operations: You need your operations to run smoothly, but once you have gaps in one part of your operations, you might have to siphon resources from other projects to plug the gap. That causes a domino effect, and everything is delayed or disrupted. That makes it hard to keep your balances anywhere near accurate. The money abyss: Whether it’s because of errors or changes, unexpected costs can start to pile up and nickel and dime you to death. Suddenly, your budget’s totally shot, but there’s nothing you can do about it because costs have to be met. Personal Stress: Whew, if you manage to avoid incorrect project balances taking their toll on your mind and your body, you’re very lucky. Stress costs. It costs you sleepless nights, anxiety and even ulcers, and can impact your moods and mental health. No one, even the most experienced COO, should have to fantastize about running for the hills to be a hermit. Teams are shattered: Your teams are impacted too. They can go through the same mental and physical stress. They might be pulling all-nighters or shutting out everything else in their lives to keep the project afloat. Working relationships can be damaged. Not only are they exhausted, but they won’t be happy. And that’s going to lead to quitting or burnout. Either way everyone loses. This isn’t about pointing the finger of blame for these problems; unless real negligence is involved, people do make mistakes and unpredictable events happen. But at the end of the day, it’s you as the COO who has to take the fall and explain to the C-Suite and stakeholders why things are the way they are. Strategies to Avoid the 'Black Hole' No one wants to float around in space forever. (Except adventurous 6-year-olds). So, how can you make your life easier by cutting the possibility of incorrect project balances way back? Here are six of the most popular steps: Use the tech that’s available to you: COOs and PMs that use the most cutting-edge project management tools and software will have jobs that are a lot easier. Why? They get real-time data and analytics. They’ll get numbers that are reliable 24-7. And when things go wrong, the right tools will make automatic adjustments and recommendations for pivoting. Get agile: Agile is a word that’s used a lot, but it’s for good reason. The more agile your approach, the better you’ll be when challenges or opportunities to do something better pop up. You and your teams will be less likely to panic when things demand change, because you’ll understand that readjusting is part of any project. It’s all part of the process. And when you’re not panicking, you’ll make better decisions. Encourage a collaborative attitude: Projects don’t happen if people can’t work together. Teams that practice open communication and teamwork will mean more eyes are on the situation. Obstacles are spotted earlier. Potential solutions will be more plentiful. When everyone’s involved in project reviews, there aren’t any surprises. Learning and upskilling: This doesn’t sound like an obvious solution, but this is more of a long-term strategy. There is zero chance that if you and your team are behind the times with strategies and best practices you will operate in the most efficient way. But if you and your team are up on the landscape of IT Services and project management, you’re far more likely to enjoy the best performance possible throughout a project. Good management of risk: When your team takes the time at the top of the project to identify risks and re-evaluate throughout the course of a project, you’ll always have a contingency plan ready. That saves time and resources. And you’ll have a stronger project at the end of it. Good communication with everyone: Every single person with a connection to the project needs to be kept in the loop. All communication should be transparent and timely – even when things go wrong. Misunderstandings and mistakes can be reduced when there are regular meetings and updates. These steps will start you on the right path to better project balances. It’s a lot of work, but you’ll be able to sleep better at night. Though…there’s one thing that can bring you all these benefits with just one process. Automation and your project balances There are two things that using an end-to-end, integrated automation solution does that will improve your life in ways right now you can’t imagine. First, automation takes away the causes of incorrect project balances. There is no more guesswork in resource allocation or timeline estimation because you’ve got real time data-driven numbers to keep you on the right path. Scope creep is a thing of the past, because you’ll never lose sight of the scope. When things start to come off course a bit, you’ll know right away instead of getting a nasty shock. And risk management will be so much easier because with automation all compliance is constantly monitored, risks are identified and graded, and solutions are automatically proposed. Automation also makes communication crystal clear because it knocks down silos. Information flow is streamlined. Misunderstandings and mistakes are cut way down. Everyone’s on the same page. And when your automation solution is cutting-edge, you benefit from the best practices and most effective project management processes that will keep your project as efficient as possible. Second, because the causes of incorrect project balances are now either seriously reduced or eliminated altogether, you don’t have to worry about how they impact you and your teams. You’re free to focus on what you need to focus on, because you and your team no longer have to put out fires. And you’ll be able to take back reliable balances to the C-Suite and stakeholders, confident that you know exactly where everything is.As a COO, you put a tremendous amount of work. You deserve to have correct project balances that reflect how much effort you and your team put into projects. As with everything else, once you understand what’s behind incorrect project balances, you’re in a much better place to take the actions necessary to keep your teams and your projects balanced (and your ulcer medication at bay!). Or you could let automation do it for you. Get out of the black hole for good. 86% of consumers will leave a brand they trusted after two bad customer experiences. - Emplifi Bluefort's end-to-end subscription platform simplifies challenges, ensuring COOs like you can lead with confidence. Ready to transform your business? Schedule a Free Discovery Call today. Step out of the black hole and into clarity.