What agencies can learn from SaaS sales motions
This is an excerpt from my article in this month’s SoDA Report “The billion-dollar SaaS playbook agencies can borrow”. For the full piece, you can view it on the Webflow blog here.
Many SoDA agencies are exceptionally good at uncovering unmet needs.
We might name the method differently (e.g., user research, ethnography, rapid prototyping, trend analysis), but the outcomes point in the same direction: insight-driven solutions that help clients connect more meaningfully with their customers.
I’ve been struck by how much this mirrors the way SaaS businesses operate, having moved back and forth between agencies, SaaS companies, innovation consultancies, and corporate ventures over the course of my career. There is a kin-like overlap impossible to ignore: we share an emphasis on discovery, validation, and shaping propositions and messages around real need states.
But when it comes to sales, arguably the most important pieces of growing a business, SoDA agencies and SaaS companies couldn’t be more different. SaaS companies have a level of sales discipline, go-to-market execution, and unabashed ambition that I’ve heard said from agency leaders to be some combination of “too salesy,” “vulgar,” and, well, just, “not for us.”
Regardless of how you view the way SaaS companies develop and sell their solutions at scale, I offer you this: as you think about where revenue growth might come for you in 2026, there might be something in these 4 SaaS plays to help you and your team.
"Don't find customers for your products, find products for your customers." – Seth Godin
Play #1: Sharpen your ideal customer profile (ICP)
Agencies usually define ideal customer profiles (ICP) by industry and size. We've all said at some point: “we want clients in luxury, automotive, AI…who are at least $500m in annual revenue.” Let's put these lenses aside for a moment and look at what problem/s you are good at solving.
Much like the advice shared in this year's SoDA Global Member Meeting growth session, run by a collaborator of mine, Howard Moggs of UNCOMMON, the best place to start is:
Reviewing who you already serve and look for a pattern for the challenges you solve.
In the Jobs to be Done (JTBD) framework: what are they hiring you for?
With this insight in hand, you can not only create strong positioning language (We solve X for companies who Y), but you can also run inbound (content) campaigns and outbound (audience-targeted, direct) efforts that take into account what you've learned about who you serve and what you are solving for them. This also allows you to show up in new categories and verticals that, on the surface, you don’t have a right to play in. But upon examining what the client is really asking for or needs, it turns out you have three case studies ready to demonstrate you’re a good fit after all.
I'd recommend speaking to 3-5 people across these three groups: current, prospective, and aspirational clients. How I've run this for SaaS startups and early stage corporate ventures looks roughly like this:
Use the same interview script to ensure reasonably structured data.
Ask questions that help reveal behaviors and preferences, avoid leading or on-the-nose questions, and avoid selling (at this stage, curiosity is the goal).
Have a consistent approach to analyze transcripts and synthesize findings; I generally like the human-run protocol: we met, we were surprised to learn, we wonder if this means, it would be game changing to. I then have some prompts I use with Claude to see if I missed anything.
Play #2: Map the full sale
We’ve all been blindsided by a “no” in a pitch or RFP process that came from people we’d never met or considered. It’s easy to default to the person who is giving us the most positive feedback and engagement, but what if they don’t have the final say or enough influence to advocate for us behind closed doors?
Something you’ll see in software sales is the concept of mapping all the key players, roughly using the following model:
Champion: Advocates for you and helps you understand the internal landscape. Helpful in mapping the rest of the stakeholders, booking meetings with them, and preparing the right materials/talk track to show up strong.
Economic Buyer: Controls budget and makes the final call. Know what they value, how they measure impact, who signs, and who approves.
Details Person: Often procurement, legal, compliance, finance. Focused on risk, comparability, ease of purchase; they can block you if you appear too different, risky, or hard to buy.
End User / Integrator: Lives with the consequence of the sale (e.g., managers and directors in departments like marketing, communications, product, IT, operations, etc.). Understand how your work fits into their day-to-day reality; have clear value propositions and onboarding prepared for them.
When you map these four types, you see not just who is involved, but how their needs connect, what is most compelling to lead with, and how to best match your messaging and talent to meet each group where they are.
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For plays 2, 4, and the recap conclusion - you can view it on the Webflow blog here.
And, for the complete report from the Society of Digital Agencies and Webflow, visit the microsite here (< it’s filled with insights from do leaders who have long been and are in the thick of it).
