Create Value: Show Your Prospects Realized Value Before the Sale

For SaaS and other as-a-service businesses, converting prospects into paying customers is all about demonstrating value upfront. Before committing, potential buyers need to see how a product fits within their workflows and delivers ROI. This is why offering a free trial or freemium experience isn’t just an incentive—it’s a necessity.

At this stage, we have the opportunity to accelerate our revenue engine by strategically guiding freemium users toward seeing and realizing value. If left to their own devices, some users may organically recognize the benefits and convert, but many won’t. The key to success in a freemium sales model is ensuring that prospects don’t just try the product but experience its potential impact firsthand.

The Two Critical Goals of a Freemium Model

A short freemium period should be used to:

1. Demonstrate the product's effectiveness in the prospect’s real-world environment, proving it can enhance their processes and deliver future ROI.

2. Integrate the product into their workflows deeply enough that removing it would be disruptive for their team, making the transition to a paid plan a seamless decision.

The Evolution of Sales: Customer Success +

The traditional sales approach isn’t enough in a freemium model. Instead, the best-performing teams blend Customer Success (CS) with sales expertise to ensure adoption and conversion. Let’s break this down:

• Customer Success (CS): CS ensures that prospects use the product effectively, helping them achieve their goals and see a tangible return on investment.

• Sales Closing Skills: While CS focuses on adoption, sales professionals must also build consensus and secure budget commitments, ensuring decision-makers see the freemium experience as a "no-brainer" investment.

Presenting CS+: The New Hybrid Approach

CS+ is the fusion of customer success and sales. A CS+ professional doesn’t just ensure a great user experience; they also drive revenue by:

• Building relationships across the organization.

• Identifying and engaging key decision-makers.

• Communicating clear ROI to justify the transition to a paid plan.

• Navigating budget discussions and procurement processes.

By combining these skills, CS+ professionals transform freemium users into long-term, high-value customers.

Turning Freemium into a Revenue Engine

The freemium model isn’t just about giving away free trials—it’s about demonstrating realized value as early as possible. By ensuring prospects experience real ROI within their own environment and embedding the product into their workflows, businesses create an easy, logical path to conversion.

When sales and customer success work together as CS+, the transition from free to paid becomes a natural step rather than a hard sell. The result? A more predictable, scalable, and efficient revenue engine.