The customer acquisition model is easily explained with a horse and water analogy.

Your main goal for your SaaS product is to be able to get qualified prospects (based on Product Positioning / Benefits / Value Proposition) to your website to signup and try your product. Think of it this way, ­ you are bringing a horse to drink water.

Your product then should "engage" these qualified prospects and honor the marketing's promise. Think of providing drinkable clear water to the horse. Not salty and not muddy. Just clear water.

The Sale's Job is to "convert" engaged customers into paying customers. Basically, you should be charging for the water that the horse is going to be drinking beyond the sample. Here, you can either have a "Self­ Purchase" option or have a sales person "Push to Pay".

Lastly, the Customer Success function is to help customers "succeed" and show "clear water" for the horse as sometimes the water is muddied. :-( !

Your marketing machine should impress upon the horse that this is "the place" (your website and product) she will come to every time she thinks about "water".