You're going to love our tagline then :) Moving B2B sales from vendorship Partnership.
Don't get me wrong, there will always be transactional purchases, but in the B2B SaaS space we're operating in buyers are looking for partners to teach and guide them.
The businesses that we sell to (and that our users sell to) are trying to solve a problem rather than purchase a product. It's hard to help someone solve a hairy problem in a meaningful way if you look at the sale as transactional. Also since this is SaaS the buyer can leave. You need to continue to provide value over an extended period of time.
I see this as a sign that we are getting ready to collapse as it reminds me of the way the borderline finance scams are being sold to elderly -
- "we are not here to sell you financial products -- that's evil and it just enriches the brokers, we are here to educate you on stuff that we happen so have a partners that sell. And if you know of other products that could be sold to people like you, tell them about our program."
Maybe my experience is unique, but I've seen large and small businesses successfully partner together (with money, knowledge, and other goods being exchanged as part of the partnership). This was true during my time building the sales process at Google Cloud, and helping other startups build their go-to-market motions at Accord.
Don't get me wrong, there will always be transactional purchases, but in the B2B SaaS space we're operating in buyers are looking for partners to teach and guide them.
The businesses that we sell to (and that our users sell to) are trying to solve a problem rather than purchase a product. It's hard to help someone solve a hairy problem in a meaningful way if you look at the sale as transactional. Also since this is SaaS the buyer can leave. You need to continue to provide value over an extended period of time.