SaaS & B2B Subscriptions

B2B subscriptions look like consumer subscriptions from the outside: recurring payments, monthly or annual billing, churn to manage. Under the surface, everything is different. The buyer is not the user. The decision involves multiple stakeholders. Contracts are negotiated. And the relationship between customer success and revenue is direct and measurable.

This chapter is the B2B-specific playbook within Subscribe & Conquer. Ross Williams addresses the distinct dynamics of selling subscriptions to businesses, drawing on experience across SaaS products, B2B platforms, and enterprise sales cycles.

The pricing section covers the three dominant B2B models in detail: seat-based (charging per user), usage-based (charging by consumption), and hybrid models that combine elements of both. Ross walks through the revenue dynamics, expansion potential, and forecasting challenges of each model, with specific guidance on which model suits which type of B2B product.

The buyer journey section addresses the multi-stakeholder reality of B2B purchasing. Ross maps the typical decision process from champion identification through procurement approval, and explains how your subscription offering needs to serve different needs at each stage.

Customer success gets repositioned as a revenue function rather than a support function. Ross argues that in B2B subscriptions, the customer success team is the primary driver of retention, expansion, and renewal. The chapter provides a framework for proactive customer success, including health scoring, intervention triggers, and the 90-day renewal playbook that starts preparing for renewal three months before the contract comes up.