Counterintuitive CRO Advice for B2B SaaS Websites, the Decision to Sell a Business, and Mental Health for Business Executives with Sahil Patel

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Sahil Patel, CEO of Spiralyze, shares his journey to becoming CEO and introduces Spiralyze, a conversion rate optimization company. Spiralyze offers a unique tech-enabled service that combines an agency component with a SaaS product. They scrape data from 34,000 websites that run A/B tests to identify proven winners, which are tests that have been validated by multiple companies. Spiralyze uses this data to design, build, and run tests for their clients, offering performance-based pricing where clients only pay if they achieve a significant lift in conversions. Sahil also addresses concerns about statistical significance and the challenges of running tests with limited traffic in the B2B SaaS space. In this conversation, Sahil Patel discusses the differences in B2B marketing and the challenges of achieving statistical significance in experiments. He emphasizes the importance of taking big swing tests and killing losing and neutral tests early. Sahil also shares insights on the perishability of learnings and the pragmatic approach to testing in the B2B SaaS world. Additionally, he provides advice on managing mental health as a CEO and finding fulfillment in work. The conversation concludes with a book recommendation: Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson.

Key Takeaways

• Spiralyze is a conversion rate optimization company that combines an agency component with a SaaS product.
• They scrape data from 34,000 websites to identify proven winners, tests that have been validated by multiple companies.
• Spiralyze offers performance-based pricing, where clients only pay if they achieve a significant lift in conversions.
• Addressing statistical significance and limited traffic in the B2B SaaS space can be challenging but can be overcome with data-driven approaches. B2B marketing has meaningful differences compared to other types of marketing, such as lower traffic and different desired actions.
• Taking big swing tests, rather than meek tests, can lead to quicker statistical significance and more impactful results.
• In the B2B SaaS world, it is important to kill losing and neutral tests early to optimize resources and time.
• Learnings from experiments are highly perishable and specific to the test conducted, making them less valuable in the long term.
• Managing mental health as a CEO requires having a peer group, confidants, and seeking therapy when needed.
• Personalization and customization are often overrated, and companies should focus on showing relevance and solving customer problems.
• Finding fulfillment in work involves aligning your strengths with the rewards and characteristics of the environment.
• The book Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson is recommended for its engaging story and futuristic concepts.

Show Links

• Visit Spiralyze
• Connect with Sahil Patel on LinkedIn and check his Bio 
• Connect with David Khim on LinkedIn and Twitter
• Connect with Omniscient Digital on LinkedIn or Twitter

Time Stamps

• [00:00] Introduction
• [01:31] Sahil’s Journey to Becoming CEO of Spiralyze
• [17:18] Introduction to Spiralyze and Performance-Based Pricing
• [27:47] Addressing Statistical Significance and Traffic Concerns
• [28:30] Understanding Statistical Significance
• [33:50] Taking Big Swing Tests
• [36:02] Killing Losing and Neutral Tests Early 
• [37:26] The Pragmatic Approach to Testing
• [39:45] The Perishability of Learnings
• [44:54] Managing Mental Health as a CEO
• [53:23] The Overratedness of Personalization
• [57:26] Finding Fulfillment in Work
• [59:04] Book Recommendation: Snow Crash
• [01:00:36] Where to Find Sahil Patel

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