EP79: SaaS and agency pricing is broken and no one wants to say it

In this episode of the ASOM Pod, hosts Jimmy Kim (CEO of eCom Email Marketer, formally Founder of Sendlane), John Roman (CEO of BattlBox) and Amer Grozdanic (CEO of Praella) go straight at one of the most uncomfortable questions in eCommerce:

Should SaaS companies and agencies really be taking a percentage of your revenue?

This conversation gets opinionated fast. Here’s what they dig into:

• Why percentage-based SaaS pricing feels great early and painful later
• Whether agencies should earn upside or stick to flat fees
• When “we grow when you grow” turns into misaligned incentives
• The hidden costs of SaaS taking a cut without taking any downside
• Why cancel threats, discounts, and churn games are becoming normalized
• How brands should actually think about value, pricing, and long-term sustainability
  

If you’ve ever looked at your SaaS stack or agency invoices and thought “this doesn’t feel right anymore”, this episode puts words to that feeling.

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Big shoutout to our sponsor who makes this podcast possible!

Omnisend — With 125,000+ eCommerce merchants, Omnisend is the all-in-one email & SMS marketing platform built to deliver seamless, personalized experiences via email and sms with ease. Learn more at https://www.omnisend.com/

Subscribe at https://asompod.com

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00:00 Teaser Trailer

03:15 Debate on Agency Pricing Models

16:32 Discussion on SaaS Platforms and Pricing

32:17 A True Story from the SaaS World

32:43 Debating Gross Margins in SaaS

33:12 The Cost of Processing and Technology

34:36 The Reality of SaaS Market

35:26 Examples from the Reviews and Loyalty World

36:24 Challenges in SaaS Implementation

37:39 Pricing, Positioning, and Product

47:47 The SaaS Subscription Hack

54:06 The Financial Reality of SaaS Companies

01:00:32 Concluding Thoughts and Final Remarks

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