How to fix SaaS deal pipeline issues: Ken Jisser's insights

The discovery-to-proposal gap is where way too many deals go to die. This article nails why — and how to stop it from happening.

60% of SaaS pipeline dies between discovery and proposal. Not at the top of funnel. Not at close. Right in the middle. Why? 💊 Weak discovery (no quantified pain) 🪡Single-threaded deals 📑ICP fit that looks good on paper but not in practice ⏰Timing misalignment 🐌Slow or sloppy handoffs Top teams treat discovery → proposal as a control point, not a checkbox. They enforce qualification scorecards, pre-proposal alignment calls, and proposal-readiness checklists. Small improvements here = massive pipeline leverage. 👉 Full breakdown: https://hubs.la/Q03QJN8T0

Have you ever wondered how much revenue your SaaS brand can generate based on current operations? Well, there is a way to find out. All you need to know is: • New Customers per Month • Monthly Churn Rate (%) • MRR (ARPA)/Customer Click the link to use a calculator to determine what your maximum ARR is if you don't change your current situation, as well as when you will hit that glass ceiling. https://lnkd.in/eMV7E7pq

"A 5 percent reduction in churn can increase lifetime value by 25–30 percent. Combine that with expansion revenue from happy customers, and your net retention can move from 90 percent to 120 percent. That’s where SaaS companies explode." https://lnkd.in/e5syCTzX

Most SaaS companies are stuck. - Churn eats up your growth - Expansion barely covers the loss - Valuation stays flat, or worse, drops But a few break out. They hit Net Revenue Retention (NRR) above 120%. That’s the magic number. New data shows: SaaS firms with 120%+ NRR get a 63% higher valuation than the rest. This is not hype. It’s the new standard. Here’s why it matters. The median NRR in SaaS is now just 101%. That means most companies are only treading water. They lose as much as they gain. No real growth. No real leverage. But 120% NRR is different. It means for every $100 you start with, you end the year with $120—after churn, before new sales. That’s a 20% net gain, compounding every year. Pure, sticky, high-margin growth. - It proves your product is essential. - It proves your customers pay more, not less. - It proves you have pricing power and a self-funding engine. In a market that punishes high burn and high CAC, 120%+ NRR is the ultimate proof of a strong, durable business. Want to see the math, the models, and the 4-pillar system to get there? I wrote the full breakdown. Link in the comments.

📈 Struggling with conversions? High-performing SaaS brands don’t just rely on luck; it starts with a strong foundation. CEO Abhi Jadhav breaks down the essential steps to boosting conversions in this month's SaaS Marketing Minute. ⏰ #bayleafdigital #b2bsaas #saasmarketing #marketingstrategy

Most SaaS companies track the obvious metrics: MRR, CAC, churn. But the vendors dominating their categories are tracking something different. At Software Finder, we analyze performance data across 500+ SaaS categories. The pattern is clear: companies focused on hidden leading indicators outperform those chasing lagging metrics. Time-to-Value under 30 days. Champion Retention Rates above 90%. Integration Depth Scores of 15+. Compliance Velocity. Expansion Revenue Predictability at 89% accuracy. These are predictive indicators of market winners. We break down all five in detail below, including why they matter and what benchmarks separate leaders from the rest. If you're building or buying SaaS, these are the numbers that actually tell you who's winning and why.

Channel sales in SaaS is shifting—fast. 65% of MSPs added new vendors last quarter. Yet only 1 in 5 SaaS firms track partner ROI beyond basic revenue splits. What does this mean for your 2026 roadmap? The data is clear: channel partners drive stickier customers and faster CAC payback, but most teams underinvest in enablement and analytics. The result? Missed revenue, higher churn, and wasted incentives. Curious how your channel program stacks up? Get a free, data-driven consultation—powered by Channel Sales Navigator GPT. See your gaps—and your next best move—in minutes. Try it now. Your 2026 strategy starts today.

"Services prevent churn." Jon Mead said this to me this morning as we were geeking out over SaaS GTM, partnerships, and all the usual suspects. As a services guy running a SaaS-supporting services agency, I can bring receipts on this one. Sometimes a services partner prevents churn simply by solving a problem the SaaS customer can't (or won't) fix themselves. Sometimes it's by making the product stickier through customization, integration, or just helping the tool fit more neatly into the customer's world. And sometimes, it's purely relational. The customer stays because they trust the service provider. They like working with them. They feel supported. In a world obsessed with product-led growth, maybe it's worth remembering that service-led retention is just as powerful. What’s your take? Are services undervalued in SaaS retention?

Love seeing this conversation take shape Kyle! Kyle and I were chatting about how SaaS companies actually sell when I mentioned, "Services prevent churn." We talk a lot about product-led growth, but what keeps customers isn’t just the product, it's all the things that surround it. It’s the enablement, integrations, and real-world fit that services partners drive. The best SaaS companies know that retention isn’t only about usage; it’s about outcomes. And services are what turn great products into measurable outcomes. #ProductLedGrowth #ServiceLedGrowth #CustomerSuccess #RetentionStrategy #SaaSLeadership #Partnerships #SaaSCommunity #CXStrategy