Accelerating Sales by Combining PLG with SLG

In the evolving B2B SaaS landscape, a significant shift is occurring: the transition from traditional Sales-Led Growth (SLG) to an integrated approach with Product-Led Growth (PLG). This shift has given rise to a hybrid model that synergistically combines the strengths of both strategies, redefining how businesses approach growth. In this blog, I’ll draw from my experiences at Turnitin, Bitrise, and insightsoftware to explore the creation and integration of PLG with SLG, highlighting its benefits, challenges, and strategies for successful implementation.

The Shift to a Hybrid Growth Model

The move towards a hybrid model marks a fundamental change in demand generation strategy. It merges the direct, relationship-driven approach of SLG with the scalable, product-centric nature of PLG. The goal is to create a product-led sales motion that leverages the best of both worlds.

Challenges in Implementing PLG

The journey to implementing PLG is filled with challenges, primarily the need for robust multi-disciplinary collaboration. Successful PLG requires departments like Sales, Marketing, Product, Engineering, and Design to align their strategies and work cohesively towards building a compelling user journey. However, this level of integration sets a high bar, demanding significant investment in time and resources.

Cultural shifts within the organization are also paramount. Traditional SLG models are sales-driven, focusing on customer acquisition and revenue. In contrast, PLG necessitates a product-centric approach, often leading to resistance within sales teams accustomed to the old model. Overcoming this barrier involves a fundamental change in mindset, requiring the entire organization to embrace product-led strategies.

Understanding the User’s PLG Journey

Central to PLG is the user’s journey with the product, from registration and onboarding to interaction and conversion. This journey is different from the SLG approach, where sales teams guide potential customers through a funnel. A key concept in PLG is 'activation,' where certain behaviors within the product indicate the user has realized its value and is likely to buy. Understanding and documenting this journey is crucial for optimizing user engagement and conversion.

Instrumenting and Optimizing the User Journey

Once the user journey is mapped, the next step is to select key metrics that will help in creating a conversion-optimized funnel. It involves monitoring product setup, feature usage, and steps leading to activation and purchase. Analyzing these metrics helps in fine-tuning user experience for conversion and sales strategies.

Optimizing user engagement in PLG is about understanding the drop-off at every stage towards activation and purchase and creating an intuitive and personalized user experience that assists in driving product adoption. This involves a combination of user experience design to nudge the user to valuable interactions, data-driven personalization, and continuous engagement strategies including email sequences with helpful product content.

Product Qualified Leads (PQLs)

In the integrated PLG-SLG model, the transition of Product Qualified Leads (PQLs) from product to sales teams is a pivotal point. PQLs are generated based on user engagement with the product typically when activation is achieved, indicating readiness for a more direct sales approach. The process should be automated and well-coordinated for maximum effectiveness.

Freemium, Trials, and Reverse-Trials

PLG often utilizes different trial models, including Freemium, Trial, and Reverse-Trial, each with strategic applications to attract, engage, and convert users. For instance, at Bitrise, we implemented a limit on the number of mobile app builds to encourage users to upgrade. The key is to provide enough value in the free version while reserving premium features for paying customers.

Growth Loops

A transformative aspect of PLG is the concept of Growth Loops. These are cyclical processes where user actions within the product generate further user actions, leading to organic growth, such as users in Slack inviting more users to collaborate with. Implementing Growth Loops requires understanding the product's value proposition and the user's journey, identifying key actions that trigger further adoption by encouraging other users to participate in the product.

Conclusion

Integrating PLG and SLG in product-led sales is a forward-thinking strategy in the B2B SaaS industry. It effectively combines the scalability and user focus of PLG with the personalized approach of SLG. However, achieving this integration is challenging, requiring cultural shifts, realignment of departmental goals, and strategic resource allocation to build product centered capabilities.

As the industry continues to evolve, I anticipate more use of this hybrid model as it accelerates product adoption and ultimately sales.

For a more comprehensive exploration of this topic and deeper insights into redefining B2B SaaS growth with product-led sales, I encourage you to read the full version of my article on my blog Quantified Product: Redefining B2B SaaS Growth with Product-Led Sales