The show must go on!

SaaStr is the largest community of founders, execs, and entrepreneurs in the software as a service (SaaS) industry. Each year, the company hosts the SaaStr Annual conference in the San Francisco Bay area, an event that brings together 12,000+ industry leaders for 300+ interactive sessions and countless networking opportunities. 

In this case study, we’ll explore how SaaStr leveraged an outbound SDR program to increase sponsorships at SaaStr Annual.

Outbound becomes a necessity 

SaaStr, like many companies with solid brand, product, and marketing teams, had relied mostly on their content engine and demand gen team to generate sponsorship leads. This was – and still is – the main strategy for SaaStr, but, like any company with ambitious growth goals, they needed to supplement with an outbound funnel.

So, SaaStr decided to bring us in and test outbound for the first time. 

From ideation to launch within weeks, not months

With only four months to go before the SaaStr Annual 2018, SaaStr needed pipeline – and fast! We immediately went to work and implemented an end-to-end process that combined the right mix of tools, messaging, and people to run an effective outbound SDR operation. 

Because SaaStr is a well-known brand and community, it took a little longer than usual to co-create copy with marketing. The project finally went live after 2.5 weeks of collaboration, which is still lightning fast in this industry!

Measurable outbound that pays for itself

SaaStr’s outbound program was a huge success, resulting in more sponsorships than prior conferences. The data doesn’t lie, either:

  • Open rates between 60-80% at scale. 
  • Replies above 15%. 
  • 25+ meetings per month on average. 
  • 100+ meetings in approximately 4 months. 
  • 10 net new sponsorships.
  • 7x ROI. 

And, that’s why CEO Founder Jason Lemkin said:

“InsideScale helped us go outbound for the first time before our 2018 SaaStr Annual. The results were impressive, so we invited them back to help with our 2019 event.”

Message us at hello@insidescale.com to learn more about our pre-team solution.

"InsideScale is the 'Best in the Biz' for kickstarting your outbound program"

Jake Biskar

Advisor

Jake was an original member of the famous SDR Team at Talkdesk Portland. After being hired and trained by Lou, Jake established himself as an elite team member. He went on to build the SDR program at Rainforest QA, which he scaled to 15 people at its height. Jake has also built successful SDR teams at Testim.io and Flurry by Oath. 

Jake is a key contributor to InsideScale’s iterative process. Between he and Lou, they’ve implemented SDR frameworks at over 20 startups. As a modern operator and product of the system, Jake is a pro at pushing things forward.

Sales development aside, Jake is a proud father of two and loves staying active. From biking to golfing and marathons, Jake is dedicated to maintaining optimal health and wellness.

Loretta Jones

Advisor

Loretta Jones is a leading mind in the field of B2B demand gen marketing. She was the first Head of Marketing at EchoSign (acquired by Adobe) and ran teams at Coveo, Insightly, and CodeSignal before joining Mixmax as CMO in 2018.

Loretta also owns a consulting practice and has collaborated with InsideScale on a few gigs before moving into an advisory role. The Loretta Jones / InsideScale partnership is proof that marketing and sales development are better together. 

Loretta resides in San Francisco and enjoys spending time with her husband and dogs. When they’re not both busy with their tech careers, you might spot them scuba diving in Hawaii, Mexico, or the Caribbean.

Colin McGrew

Consultant

Colin started the famous team at GoodData Portland, where he hired and trained Lou for his first SDR gig. Colin grew the team to 20 people at its height and laid the groundwork for the InsideScale process that’s iterated over the years.

Colin held marketing and closing roles at Keboola and Postano and also founded his own consulting practice. As a Sr. Consultant, he helped SaaStr market their Annual Event and Kixie establish it’s outbound process from scratch. 

Colin resides in Portland, Oregon. In addition to his love for consulting and data-driven sales/marketing, Colin enjoys meditation, studying philosophy, spending time at the river, and barbecuing (when it’s actually sunny).

Sean Ericson

Parter

Sean launched his sales career as a foundational SDR on Lou’s original Talkdesk team and has since implemented sales development frameworks at 4-Tell, 500Tech, and Meetup.

Having worked on 10+ projects since joining InsideScale in January 2018, Sean creates awesome sales ops frameworks and shows reps how to execute efficient, end-to-end workflows. Navigating the complicated matrix of sales stacks and data comes second nature for Sean — and clients tend to love him for it.

Sean is currently based in San Francisco but regularly spends time in New York and London. In fact, he just completed his Masters in International Development at the London School of Economics. His passion for investing in people is expressed daily as a consultant and member of the InsideScale community.

Lou Petrossi

Lou Petrossi

Founder, CEO

Lou began his sales development career as an outbound SDR at GoodData. From there, he built Showpad’s early outbound program as their first US-based SDR (US employee #5). He then went on to lead Talkdesk’s first outbound program as Director (US employee #7). Drawing from these success stories, Lou developed a progressive process that enabled him to found InsideScale (f.k.a Petrossi Ventures).

Since launching in 2016, Lou and the InsideScale team have built sales development frameworks and teams for 20+ startups. He loves building processes that help clients achieve greater professional success and enjoy a higher quality of life. Lou’s goal is to bring as many great products and people to market as possible through InsideScale.

Born in the Bay Area, Lou was raised in a big Italian family and has 10 nieces and nephews. He is passionate about living an organic lifestyle, working out, disc golfing, and seeing live music, which suits life in San Francisco perfectly. 

BRENDON CASSIDY

Advisor

Brendon Cassidy, Founder of Cassidy Ventures, is a respected leader in the insides sales community and popular voice on LinkedIn. He was LinkedIn’s first Head of Sales, took EchoSign from zero to acquisition by Adobe, and served successful stints as VP of Sales at Talkdesk and HackerRank.

At Cassidy Ventures, Brendon has worked with over 40 startups to define their go-to-market strategies and implement tactical execution plans to win around product, marketing, and business development. And, from a sales perspective, Brendon can recruit and hire his own team, define your sales strategy, pitch, and pricing, 

Outside of his many accomplishments, Brendon’s top passion and accomplishment is being a husband and father of two. He also enjoys sports, politics, movies, and fly fishing. 

“I’ve worked with InsideScale across several consulting and full time engagements. I’m not sure there are many better for building your outbound strategy.“