Selling B2B SaaS in Spain takes more than finding companies that could use the product.
Before we get to a meeting, we have already made several decisions: what kind of company we want to target, what problem we think it may have, who we think is involved in the purchase and why it would make sense to talk to them now.
This matters especially in SaaS, because the same solution can fit very differently depending on the type of company. The problem may matter more to a fast-growing company than to one with a stable structure. The person using the product may not be the one who controls the budget. And whoever discovers the solution may not be the one who takes part in the final decision.
Prospecting has to start from that reality.
The account first, then who decides
The first step wouldn’t be building a huge list of Spanish companies. I would start by understanding what the accounts that can really benefit from the solution have in common.
Sector and size can help, but we usually need more. The business model, the company structure, its markets and certain growth signals can give enough context to decide where further research is worthwhile.
Then comes finding the right people.
Depending on what the SaaS sells, senior management, finance, operations, IT or the head of the area affected may all be involved. Going only after the CEO can leave out people who know the problem far better and play an important part in the purchase.
So rather than collecting every possible job title, research helps us understand how purchases are decided in that type of company and who can help us move forward.
A market signal can help open that conversation. A new hire, an expansion, a change of leadership or a new initiative can indicate that something is happening, but on their own they don’t prove there is an opportunity.
The call or first contact is what lets us check.
That is where multichannel prospecting can add a lot. A call can help us quickly identify the right person. LinkedIn can provide extra context. An email can develop a specific hypothesis when we have good enough reason to write.
What matters is keeping continuity across the account.
If we find out on a call that the problem belongs to another department, that changes our next move. If someone refers us to a colleague, there is no point carrying on with the first contact as if nothing had happened. And if we find no signal that justifies keeping at it, that is a reason to lower the priority too.
A meeting with just anyone at the company is worth little. What we want are conversations with a real chance of uncovering an opportunity.
The sale really starts when we can test the hypothesis
Research lets us arrive prepared, but it doesn’t replace discovery.
Once we are in front of the prospect, we need to know what is really happening: what the problem is, how they are dealing with it, what impact it has, what they have tried and what would need to happen for them to change things.
In SaaS, the typical mistake from here is showing the whole product too soon. The demo has to focus on what matters to that company, the proposal has to capture what was discussed and the negotiation has to get to what sits behind each objection, without losing what has been learnt since the first contact. I cover this in more detail in the articles on the discovery call and on full-cycle sales.
Selling B2B SaaS in Spain is, above all, a matter of judgement: choosing where to put the effort, understanding who is involved in the purchase and knowing when there is enough context to move forward.
