Your product actually works. Users tell you it saves them time. They use it regularly. Some even send you thank-you emails about how helpful it is. Your NPS is 45+. Engagement metrics are solid. But when you ask them to pay, the conversation changes. "We love it, but we don't have budget for this right now." "Can we stay on the free tier a bit longer?" "This is great, but it's not a priority for our team this quarter." You've tried multiple pricing models. You've offered discounts. You've created annual plans. Conversion to paid hovers around 2-3%, and those who do convert rarely upgrade. You're solving a real problem that people appreciate, but somehow that's not translating into a real business. This is one of the most frustrating positions in B2B SaaS, and it requires a nuanced decision framework because you're not failing - you're just failing to monetize. Here's how to think through it: **First, diagnose WHY people won't pay:** There are four common root causes, and each requires a different response: **1. You're solving the wrong person's problem** The people using your product love it, but they're not the people with budget authority. You've built an end-user tool in a world where managers hold the purse strings. *Example:* Your project management tool makes individual contributors more productive, but their VP of Engineering doesn't see enough organizational value to justify the cost. The IC loves it, the VP doesn't care. *Signal:* Users engage heavily but say things like "I'd have to ask my boss" or "We'd need to go through procurement." You're talking to users, not buyers. *Decision:* Pivot your positioning and GTM to sell to the economic buyer, even if they're not the end user. This might mean completely reframing your value prop from individual productivity to team visibility, compliance, or executive reporting. If you can't create value for the buyer, pivot to a different problem space. **2. You're creating "nice to have" value in a "must have" world** Your product makes something easier or better, but it doesn't make something possible that was impossible before. It's a vitamin, not a painkiller. When budgets tighten or priorities shift, you're the first thing to get cut. *Example:* Your tool automates a task that takes someone 30 minutes a week. It's convenient, but they can still do it manually. There's no urgency, no crisis you're preventing, no revenue you're protecting. *Signal:* Customers say they "love" it but can never quite justify the expense. They'll use a free tier forever but won't cross the payment threshold. No one is urgently trying to find budget for your solution. *Decision:* Hard pivot. Find a problem where the status quo is genuinely unacceptable - where doing nothing means losing money, failing compliance, missing revenue, or breaking something critical. "Nice to have" products can work at massive scale with consumer monetization, but rarely in B2B SaaS without huge distribution advantages. **3. Your pricing doesn't match perceived value** The problem you solve is worth $50/month to users, but you're charging $500/month because that's what you need to build a business. Or you're charging $50/month, but the perceived value is so low that even that feels expensive. *Example:* You're solving a problem that happens once a month, but you're charging a monthly subscription. Or you're pricing based on seats when the value is in usage. Or you're priced at "enterprise" level but delivering "startup tool" functionality. *Signal:* Prospects go silent when they see pricing. Conversion rates spike dramatically when you offer discounts. Customers constantly ask for cheaper plans or usage-based alternatives. You hear "it's not worth $X" more than "we don't have budget." *Decision:* This one's tricky. If the math fundamentally doesn't work (the maximum value you can deliver is less than your required price to be sustainable), you need to pivot to a higher-value problem. But if it's a packaging/positioning issue, persist and experiment with value metrics, pricing tiers, or business model changes (annual vs monthly, usage-based vs seat-based, etc). **4. You have product-market fit with the wrong market** Your users are startups, freelancers, students, or small teams - segments that genuinely value your product but have limited ability to pay. You've accidentally built for a market with love but no money. *Example:* Your tool is perfect for early-stage startups trying to save money, but that's exactly why they can't afford to pay you. Or you've built for educators who have need but no procurement budget. *Signal:* Users are extremely engaged and loyal, but cluster in low-ACV segments. When you try to move upmarket, the product doesn't resonate. The people who need you most can afford you least. *Decision:* This is a fork-in-the-road moment. Either accept you're building a volume play (massive user base, low ARPU, requires different funding/growth strategy) or pivot your product to serve a higher-value adjacent market. Both are valid, but they're completely different businesses. **Specific pivot strategies based on diagnosis:** **If it's a buyer/user mismatch:** * Repackage your product for the economic buyer's language (ROI, risk reduction, compliance, visibility) * Add features that buyers care about even if users don't (admin controls, reporting, integrations with systems buyers use) * Change your sales motion to target managers/executives, use bottom-up adoption as proof, not primary GTM * Consider a freemium model where users bring you in, but you monetize at the team/org level **If it's a "nice to have" problem:** * Don't try to convince people your vitamin is a painkiller - find an actual painkiller problem * Look for adjacent problems where stakes are higher (same customer, different pain point) * Interview your engaged users about their biggest frustrations - the ones keeping them up at night * Pivot to solving the urgent problem, potentially sunset the original product **If it's pricing/value mismatch:** * Experiment aggressively with pricing models (usage-based, outcome-based, annual-only, à la carte) * Consider if you can add enough value to justify current pricing (enterprise features, integrations, guarantees) * Run the math: can you make economics work at a price people will pay? If not, pivot to higher-value problem * Test radically different price points ($10/mo vs $1000/mo) to find where willingness to pay lives **If it's wrong market segment:** * Be honest about whether you want to build a volume/consumer-style business vs traditional B2B SaaS * If staying in low-ARPU market: need viral growth, extremely low CAC, plan for 10M+ users to make economics work * If pivoting upmarket: may need to add complexity, change positioning, rebuild for enterprise needs * Consider a dual-product strategy: free/low-cost for current users, new premium product for higher-value segment The most dangerous move is continuing to optimize a GTM or pricing strategy when the fundamental issue is that you're solving a problem that doesn't support a sustainable B2B SaaS business. Love from users is wonderful, but without willingness to pay, it's a hobby project with really good engagement metrics.