Close the B2B SaaS Sales Cycle with Quality Content

Did you know that the average length of the B2B SaaS sales cycle is 84 days, with enterprise contracts taking over 170 days? Even the most experienced sales teams struggle to guide prospects through such slow and resource-intensive sales processes.

Luckily, quality content marketing can be a major help to your sales team by reducing friction and accelerating decision-making. By aligning your content with the different stages of the B2B sales funnel, you can close deals and generate revenue faster. 

Why Does the B2B SaaS Sales Cycle Take So Long? 

While B2C sales are often one-time transactions at retail stores made on a whim, B2B SaaS sales cycles are a different story altogether. In certain domains like cybersecurity, deals over $100,000 in annual contract value (ACV) can often take the better part of a year to close.

The actual B2B sales process has several stages that each require a good amount of time. From awareness to decision, each stage involves careful evaluation, cross-department input, and ongoing communication. SaaS providers must not only align their sales with annual budgeting cycles, but they must also create unique messaging for every phase of the B2B sales cycle. 

Guiding Buyers Through Different Stages of the B2B Sales Cycle  

The B2B sales cycle is a multi-stage process that guides prospects from initial awareness of a solution to long-term loyalty. While skilled B2B salespeople take the reins on prospecting and account management, they use targeted content from marketers to speed the process. 

Stage 1: Awareness – Capturing Attention & Building Visibility 

The awareness stage in the B2B SaaS buyer journey is where potential customers first encounter a problem or need. For example, a retail company might struggle with inaccurate inventory tracking and frequent stockouts, prompting them to seek a SaaS solution that offers real-time inventory management and automated restocking alerts.

During the awareness stage, you generate interest in your SaaS brand and establish yourself as a thought leader. Importantly, you also create an initial touchpoint that draws in decision-makers while still in the early stages of research. This touchpoint could be a landing page for a Google Ads campaign or a gated eBook on your website. 

Other Content Types in the Awareness Stage:

• Blogs on emerging industry trends or common pain points
• SEO content optimized for long-tail keywords relevant to your SaaS product

Example: Ping Identity Blog – Insurance Trends 2024: Navigating Digital Identity 

Tips for Speeding Up the Awareness Stage 

During the awareness stage, your content must be expertly written, highly informative, and widely appealing. By making your SaaS brand easy to find and learn about, you attract and educate potential buyers early. When your content outshines competitors, buyers spend less time searching for solutions and move into your sales funnel faster.

Stage 2: Evaluation – Educating Prospects on Challenges and Solutions 

As they enter the evaluation stage, B2B buyers are well aware of their problem and actively searching for solutions. To illustrate, a manufacturing company struggling with production delays might explore cloud-based ERP solutions. In doing so, they note certain ERP SaaS providers they might want to partner with.

Since customers are now aware of your brand, it’s time to demonstrate your understanding of their pain points. A cloud-based ERP solutions provider might create a white paper that shows how their products alleviate problems like data silos, outdated software, and jumbled inventory. 

Other Types of Content in the Evaluation Stage:  

• Live webinars that allow potential customers to ask questions about SaaS solutions 

Example: IFS White Paper – Bring Digital to Life: Systems, Processes, and Assets 

Tips for Speeding Up the Evaluation Phase

By directly addressing customer pain points, content in the evaluation phase should resonate deeply with customers. This type of writing is often psychological, as it identifies with how your customers are feeling, while also seeking to establish trust in your brand. Once a prospective customer buys into your brand on an emotional level, there is a good chance you can move them further down the funnel. 

Stage 3: Consideration – Showcasing Expertise and Differentiation   

In the consideration stage, B2B buyers have identified potential SaaS solutions and are now assessing which provider best meets their specific needs. For example, a hotel company looking for a cloud-based POS platform might narrow its search to three potential providers. 

Since you’re further down the funnel, content in the consideration phase is much more detailed than earlier stages. The idea here is to differentiate your brand from competitors, which often goes beyond focusing on specific pain points. In the case of POS for hospitality, prospects might search out case studies on SaaS solutions that provide real numbers to back up product info. 

Other Content Types in the Consideration Stage:

• Solution guides that demonstrate cost savings  

Example: Toast Blog – HOUSEpitality Increases Profit Margin 7-10% with Toast Mobile Order & Pay 

Tips for Speeding Up the Evaluation Phase

Since the consideration phase is all about differentiating yourself from competitors, you’re well advised to cut through the fluff and get to the metrics. Prospective clients want to know how much your SaaS services will cost and what types of savings they can expect down the road. If you provide this info, you will quickly move past competitors that don’t. 

Stage 4. Decision – Guiding Buyers to Choose Your Solution   

In this stage of the B2B SaaS sales cycle, buyers are ready to make a purchase but need final reassurance. To illustrate, a fintech company looking for a fraud detection SaaS platform might want to see a roadmap for integrating the SaaS product into their digital properties. 

Because the deal is almost closed, your team should take the time to create original content just for this prospective client. In the case of the fintech company, your engineers could put together a simplified product demo for the prospect’s services, while your marketing team can show everything in a live presentation. 

Other Content Types in the Decision Stage:

• Testimonials that feature quotes or videos from satisfied customers

Example: Gartner Peer Insights – Bot Manager Reviews 

Tips for Speeding Up the Decision Phase

The decision phase is all about reassuring prospects that your SaaS solutions are the best choice for their needs. Taking the time to create original content like product demos is a great way to establish trust. When they see how your solutions fit into their organization, they can confidently commit to a purchase. 

Stage 5: Loyalty – Turning Customers Into Advocates   

The loyalty stage takes place after B2B buyers have become customers. At this point, SaaS providers focus on nurturing the relationship and turning customers into brand advocates. 

The goal here is to create content that keeps your brand relevant and engaged with established clients. To illustrate, a Human Management System (HMS) SaaS provider would send regular emails to keep clients updated on new product features and industry insights.

Other Content Types in the Loyalty Phase:

• Exclusive access to advanced tutorials or community forums

Example: PeopleGuru eBook – Mitigating High Employee Turnover in the U.S.

Tips for Increasing Loyalty 

Content in the loyalty phase should make customers feel supported while keeping your brand relevant and top-of-mind. Personalized touches will go a long way in improving loyalty and creating brand advocates. 

Looking to Shorten the B2B SaaS Sales Cycle? Talk to KCG Content     

No matter if you work in human resources or cybersecurity, the B2B SaaS sales cycle is notoriously long. However, quality content marketing can speed the sales process by reducing friction and accelerating decision-making. 

At KCG Content, we specialize in turning your expertise into content marketing that drives action. We produce top-shelf copywriting for SaaS companies in industries like cybersecurity, HR tech, professional services, and more. 

Contact us for a quote!