Removing Friction from Proposal to Payment with Rosalyn Santa Elena

Our Co-Founder and CEO Sarika Garg was featured on The Revenue Engine podcast, hosted by Rosalyn Santa Elena. 

Sarika and Rosalyn had a thoughtful conversation about the future of SaaS sales and the importance of revenue velocity. 

Let’s break down the key takeaways. 

In the past, sales were conducted by professional buyers. Today, buyers are more informed than ever and looking for a more streamlined experience. 

• Software sales should feel more like retail sales. 
• Buyers prefer an automated, self-serve checkout and payment experience. 

Buyers are ready to move fast. So it’s essential that SaaS companies can move even faster, starting with quote configuration. 

“CPQ platforms were actually built for manufacturing companies,” Sarika says. “We’re using systems that were not designed for software companies.” 

Most SaaS companies struggle with their CPQ process, and they often find that CPQ platforms are bulky and unwieldy, often causing more problems than they solve. 

“Sales velocity is the number-one thing that revenue leaders should be focused on,” says Sarika, outlining three major areas where velocity matters:

1. The customer experience is key. Have you removed every instance of friction possible for your customer? Today’s customers are not interested in being sold to – they know what they want and they want it fast. 
2. Sales resources are expensive. It’s essential to eliminate manual work across departments, but especially in Sales, so that Account Executives can focus on closing more deals – not chasing down details. A platform like Cacheflow integrates seamlessly with existing tech stack, so you can make the most of the investments that you do have, while increasing sales velocity. 
3. Maximize revenue over time. In SaaS, true-ups, usage-based billing, renewals, and expansions grow your ARR without having to pay to acquire a new customer.

“When the customer signs the deal, it’s just the beginning of the journey,” said host Rosalyn. Sarika agreed. 

“People want to pay for value.” 

And Cacheflow brings value to customers and sellers alike. Traditionally, closing and billing are disconnected in the back end. But for the customer, signing and paying are part of one flow. Cacheflow allows leaders to experiment with pricing and optimize it without disrupting back-end processes. 

Flexibility is the future of SaaS sales, and it’s powered by automation.

For early-stage companies relying on Google Docs and Sheets, Cacheflow functions as a quote, contract, and billing platform, all in one, helping companies reduce human error and eliminate manual work. And as a modular API-based system, Cacheflow integrates seamlessly with other platforms. 

WIth great sales velocity comes great power. 

Cacheflow allows sellers to collect cash in a wide variety of ways, so you can offer your customer a truly flexible buying experience.

“Chasing down payments manually should be a world of the past,” says Sarika. Payment reminders aren’t pleasant for the seller to send, or for the buyer to receive. With Cacheflow, buyers can keep a card on file, or directly connect their bank account. 

“The most innovative sellers are already doing this,” Sarika says.

Finally, Sarika and Rosalyn discussed the experience of being women of color in revenue leadership. Sarika shared a word of advice:

“Find the people who are true believers in you,” she says. “We can make an impact, and do great things.” 

Listen to the full episode here on Spotify, or here on Apple Podcasts.