Enterprise Sales: How Blings Landed McDonald's as Their First Customer | SaaS Club
TL;DR: Yosef Peterseil and co-founder Yonatan built Blings, a personalized video platform using new MP5 format that renders videos in real-time on user's device. Started by interviewing dozens of customer success managers before realizing original ICP had no budget—pivoted from customer success to marketing where money was. Got lucky when someone randomly sent McDonald's CMO phone number. After persistent texts/calls, got meeting. Before call, created custom personalized video for McDonald's loyalty program. CMO loved it, started POC—but took 9 months just to close POC paperwork while bootstrapping with zero revenue. Learned to separate POC from commercial agreements (13-month contracts with first-month exit clause instead of separate negotiations). Always charge for POCs—even $3K-$5K forces enterprise buyers to prioritize you and starts vendor onboarding. Tried events but had no lead scoring or HubSpot sequences—70 leads from $20K-$30K event went cold. Hired salespeople twice before having documented playbook—both times they couldn't close because process wasn't repeatable. Learned not to hire until 'mediocre' rep can follow playbook and close. Scaled via channel partners (people with 10+ years industry experience opening doors for commission). Some partners earn significant recurring income. Hit $1M ARR in 2023, now 19 people serving enterprise brands.
Key Insights
- Always charge for POCs—even $3K-$5K forces enterprise buyers to prioritize you, starts vendor onboarding, and proves they're serious about buying
- Separate POC and commercial agreements waste months—use 13-month contracts with first-month exit clause to skip double negotiation
- Events without lead follow-up systems waste money—70 leads from $20K-$30K event went cold because no lead scoring, no sequences, no capacity
- Don't hire salespeople without documented playbook—hired twice before having repeatable process, both failed to close
- Original ICP (customer success managers) had no budget after dozens of interviews—pivoted to marketing where money was
- Channel partners with recurring commissions scaled enterprise sales—recruited people with 10+ years industry experience to open doors
Actionable Takeaways
- Charge $3K-$5K minimum for POCs to force customer commitment and start vendor onboarding process
- Use 13-month contracts with first-month exit clause instead of separate POC and commercial agreements
- Build lead scoring and HubSpot sequences BEFORE attending expensive events—don't waste leads
- Wait to hire salespeople until a 'mediocre' rep can follow your documented playbook and close deals
- Validate ICP budget through interviews before building—if they have no budget, pivot to where money is
- Recruit channel partners with 10+ years industry experience, offer high first-year commission to incentivize door-opening
Principles Validated (5)
Always charge for POCs to force customer commitment and start vendor onboarding—free puts you bottom of priority list
Yosef Peterseil (Blings)
Build lead scoring and follow-up sequences BEFORE expensive events—70 leads with no system means zero ROI
Yosef Peterseil (Blings)
Don't hire salespeople until a mediocre rep can follow your playbook and close deals
Yosef Peterseil (Blings)
Use 13-month contracts with first-month exit clauses to skip separate POC negotiations
Yosef Peterseil (Blings)