Bottom-up Selling

A bottom-up sales strategy is a go-to-market approach. In it, a salesperson focuses on building relationships at the individual or department level. This is instead of targeting high-level decision makers. This approach is often used in B2B selling, particularly in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), where multiple users and influencers are involved in the buying process.

This strategy typically involves a longer sales cycle, but it can be effective in building a strong and dedicated customer base. Furthermore, the many relationships and touch points allow for products to become “stickier” within an organization. Such products & services are less prone to customer churn.

This approach to sales often begins by identifying and prospecting to individual users or groups at a department level. Once these smaller groups are using the product or service, they can act as advocates and help drive adoption within the larger organization.

It can also help facilitate a product-led growth strategy. In this case, usage and satisfaction at the user level can generate momentum and expand at an organic level throughout a company. As usage grows, leadership often becomes more receptive to expanding their contract with you.

Famous examples of successful bottom-up GTM strategies include:

• Figma
• Okta
• Calendly
• Zoom
• Slack