Having been a VP of Sales for 5 years with a SaaS company and now a Founder of SaaS company I have found that two things to be true:
1) People still buy from people and want to know who they are working with
2) The line between inside sales and account management has become blurred.
With a SaaS product I have seen that a inside sales person can make @ $10K sale via the phone and webex (I have not seen a higher sale without someone having to jump on a plane) but once that sale is made that same inside sales person then becomes the account manager also.
The customer only wants to “deal” with the same person who sold them the product. As most SaaS sales are a subscription, account management becomes critical. The SaaS model falls apart if the renewal dip below say 85%.
http://blog.bridgegroupinc.com/blog/tabid/47760/bid/10813/SaaS-and-the-Hunter-Farmer-Debate.aspx
Finally once the sales person goes over 50 accounts (my number based on experience) there needs to be a discussion of an account manager stepping in. The sales person will protest because of the thought of losing the recurring commission so be prepared to work that out.
