From sales to SaaS: Todd Handy’s playbook for sustainable local media

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What if local media companies stopped thinking like traditional publishers and started thinking like SaaS platforms? That’s the challenge Todd Handy — a veteran digital revenue strategist — lays out in a fast-moving, acronym-filled conversation that explores how the business of news can borrow growth models from the business of software.

Handy’s not suggesting journalism become productized or depersonalized. But he argues that the proven principles behind software-as-a-service companies — like customer lifetime value, churn mitigation and continuous user engagement — could be the key to sustainability for news outlets struggling with short-term ad buys and subscriber drop-off.

“Too often, we do that in media,” Handy said, “where we sell in the three-month campaign, and we're happy with that. But every time an advertiser churns, it’s that much harder to win them back.” Instead, SaaS models “focus on retaining customers through constant value delivery, product evolution and life cycle engagement.”

For Handy, it’s not just about tweaking the sales pitch. It’s a full mental pivot — from selling slots to building long-term partnerships, bundled services and performance-based results. “A SaaS approach really bundles the services into a monthly — maybe quarterly — package, and it’s tied to client KPIs — awareness, engagement, leads or sales,” he explained. “When you buy a platform like Dropbox or Asana, you don't buy it for a month and then stop. You build it into your workflow.”

From subscriptions to software: Rethinking the reader relationship

Handy argues that this mindset shift can also revolutionize the way newsrooms approach audience revenue. Rather than seeing paywalls as gates, he urges publishers to view them as part of a reader’s journey that needs constant nurturing.

“If we’re thinking through the entire customer journey, this is what SaaS companies do,” he said. “They think everything that goes into preventing churn, from the onboarding emails to the nudges you get in your software, to the value reinforcement and the community building.” Media companies, he believes, must look past content and focus more intentionally on user experience and reader engagement.

One key area where SaaS companies shine is churn analytics — understanding who’s leaving and why. “Media absolutely should be investing in data to understand why subscribers are churning and then build proactive retention campaigns,” Handy said. He pointed to tools like Gainsight or ChurnZero, which are used in software industries to proactively measure user satisfaction and engagement. “These platforms help you to uncover features people aren’t using, spot weak points, and deal with issues before the cancellation email lands.”

Self-service or sales-led? The fine line between automation and abandonment

The conversation also touched on a common aspiration in the news industry: self-serve advertising platforms. With SaaS companies making it look easy — Dropbox, for example, lets users sign up, upgrade and expand plans without ever talking to a human — should news outlets do the same?

Handy’s take is cautious. “We want to think that self-serve platforms are the way to go,” he said. “But twice now, in two different companies, I’ve adopted self-serve platforms… and seen higher churn.” Without guidance, he warned, advertisers often go for the cheapest possible spend and don’t understand what they’re buying. “Self-serve platforms work better as lead gen. But then you still assign a seller to come in and shepherd them.”

That’s not to say automation doesn’t have a place. Handy broke down two growth models used in SaaS: product-led and sales-led. “Product-led growth is where you go to the website, see the pricing, put in your credit card and start using it. But if you suddenly need 50 or 100 licenses? That’s when the sales teams step in.” A layered approach, he suggested, could benefit media companies too — particularly those juggling enterprise accounts and SMBs.

The KPI that matters most: Net revenue retention

As the discussion wrapped up, Handy was asked to name one KPI that today’s sales teams should rally around. Without hesitation, he answered: Net Revenue Retention (NRR).

“NRR simply is going to do this,” he explained. “Say you started at $100,000 of monthly recurring revenue and have $20,000 in expansion, but you’ve lost $10,000 in churn and $5,000 in contraction. That’s $105,000 divided by your starting $100,000, so you’ve got 105% NRR.” The magic, he said, is when existing customers generate more new revenue than you’re losing. “If your advertiser or subscriber base on its own is growing, you already have a business that is doing well.”

Ultimately, Handy challenged publishers to stop thinking of themselves as simply newspapers or broadcasters. “We need to stop seeing ourselves as media companies. We need to think of ourselves as a platform,” he said. “Think renewals before reach. Think retention before acquisition. Every person in the organization should be asking, ‘How are we reducing friction and adding lifetime value?’”

It's not just a slogan. It’s a business model that SaaS companies have used to scale at breathtaking speed. If local media wants to grow in today’s digital ecosystem, Handy argues, the software mindset might be its most underutilized tool.