Not all B2B sales are created equal. Some categories print money with shocking ease.

Others claw for scraps, fighting for whatever’s left after finance has finished sharpening the axe. After a decade in growth and buying an unhealthy amount of SaaS across multiple companies here’s the clearest way I’ve learned to see the B2B landscape.

A simple hierarchy. A cheat code.

A diagnostic tool for whether your product will glide through procurement…
or die in a 5-month pilot with no renewal because “budget got cut.”

Let’s begin.

Tier 1: Growth Software

“Can you help us make more money?”

This is the holy grail. If your pitch includes the words revenue, pipeline, CAC, conversion, margin, throughput, efficiency, or savings - congratulations.

You have walked into a department where budget magically materialises. Because nobody wants to be the executive who said no to money.

Buyers: CROs, CMOs, Founders
Sales Cycle: Fast
Resistance Level: Low
Price Tolerance: Extremely High
Internal Story: “If it works, who cares what it costs?”

Examples: Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, Klaviyo

Tier 2: Satisfaction Software

“Can you help us deliver our product better?”

This is where companies pay to reduce friction.
Not to accelerate revenue, but to make the existing system less painful.

Buyers justify these tools not with hype, but with relief.

Buyers: CPO, CTO, COO
Sales Cycle: Medium
Resistance: Moderate
Price Tolerance: Depends on how much pain disappears

Examples: Linear, Jira, Posthog, Zapier

Tier 3: Keep-the-Lights-On Software

“Accounting, legal, compliance, HR… someone has to buy this.”

This category is inevitable spend. It’s not sexy. No one brags about buying it. But companies must have it. These tools compete on price and checkboxes.

Buyers: CFO, Legal, HR
Sales Cycle: Long
Resistance: High
Price Tolerance: Low

Examples: Ramp, Workday, Docusign

Tier 4: Keep-the-Team-Happy Software

“This makes the office slightly less miserable.”

L&D, culture tools, perks, wellness stipends, “team fun”. Nice to have, but first to get cut in a downturn.

• Buyers: HR, People Ops

• Sales cycle: Emotional

• Resistance: Very high

• Price tolerance: Low (“We’ll revisit this next quarter”)

Examples: Udemy for Business, CultureAMP, Office Games

Closing Thoughts

If you are building in B2B, your success is determined by the tier you inhabit.

Tier 1 is budget created on demand.
Tier 4 is budget cut on sight.

The smartest founders work to elevate their category.
They reframe their product in terms of either:

• Growth

• Savings

• Performance

• Clear financial outcomes

That is how you climb the tiers. That is how you win B2B.

🧠 Ajay’s Resource Bank

A few tools and collections I’ve built (or obsessively curated) over the years:

• 100+ Mental Models
  Mental shortcuts and thinking tools I’ve refined over the past decade. These have evolved as I’ve gained experience — pruned, updated, and battle-tested.

• 100+ Questions
  If you want better answers, ask better questions. These are the ones I keep returning to — for strategy, reflection, and unlocking stuck conversations.

• Startup OS
  A lightweight operating system I built for running startups. I’m currently adapting it for growth teams as I scale Superpower — thinking about publishing it soon.

• Remote Games & Activities
  Fun team-building exercises and games (many made in Canva) that actually work. Good for offsites, Zoom fatigue, or breaking the ice with distributed teams.

✅ Ajay’s “would recommend” List

These are tools and services I use personally and professionally — and recommend without hesitation:

• Athyna – Offshore Hiring Done Right
  I personally have worked with assistants overseas and built offshore teams. Most people get this wrong by assuming you have to go the lowest cost for automated work. Try hiring high quality, strategic people for a fraction of the cost instead.

• Superpower – It starts with a 100+ lab tests
  I joined Superpower as Head of Growth, but I originally came on to fix my health. In return, I got a full diagnostic panel, a tailored action plan, and ongoing support that finally gave me clarity after years of flying blind.