Article · 5 min read

What is the typical conversion from paid pilot to annual contract in B2B SaaS?

Jason Lemkin · SaaStr Free Intermediate

Gives you the benchmark to judge your own pilots against (roughly 60 to over 90 percent) and explains what drags the number down, which is usually heavy process change at the customer or reps closing pilots they should have walked away from.

  • Paid pilot to annual conversion runs roughly 60 percent to over 90 percent across the companies Lemkin works with.
  • EchoSign cleared 90 percent because pilots always ended fully in production, not just switched on.
  • The 60 percent case was a product needing heavy business process change, which improved as customer success got stronger.
  • Bigger brands switch from opt in pilots to opt outs with a 60 day cancellation window, and often see less churn.
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The question it answers

  1. They want a pilot before they commit. How do I run one that ends in a contract instead of a shrug?

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