Salesforce: PLG+SLG Lead Framework

The Wrong Question

While the debate "PLG vs. SLG" rages on, I think there's a lot of experience in the room that suggests regardless of your starting point - PLG will be part of your story at some point. Unit economics and customers are demanding it. There's a lot of wasted cycles on debating these false dilemmas. If there's a dilemma that's worth discussing is how you operationalize them together; hence why I believe we're seeing renewed emphasis on RevOps.

Organizations are appreciating that a holistic growth strategy needs a holistic architecture to support it.

While I don't have the mix, it's safe to say that there are two (2) starting points for organizations.

1. Nailed one growth model (predictable/repeatable) now adding the other.
2. Getting started and selecting which to start from before adding the other.

** If you don't fit in one of these categories, we should discuss further the implications of adding another. That's a pivot in my book and it's going to be disruptive and costly. Just be deliberate and have a change agent in the room.**

Guidance: At some point PLG + SLG will be introduced as flywheels to the organization. Building and instrumenting a framework now will save you enormous headaches and spend. (Start-ups: This is your unfair advantage)

The Right Architecture

If we know these two growth models will co-exist, we need a framework to work them programmatically for the highest possible conversion rate while also not suboptimizing or cannibalizing the other. I worked with a very strong mid-market SaaS client recently who was looking to add PLG to the mix. They had satisfied key requirements for success in PLG including:

1. The current inbound/outbound motions we're predictable and repeatable.
2. The users were also the buyers; no larger "committee" required.
3. Their free trial was seamless. No friction as they moved to a Freemium.
4. Product value was understood. No sales explanation needed.

So now we had to address "the sales team".

1. We communicated clearly what we were attempting to do: Vision
2. We sought out pockets of resistance and listened.
3. We remained in the moment, but one step ahead.
4. We worked on operationalizing it from the top down - "Leads".
5. We aligned compensation to the larger goals & objectives of the org.

Now it was time to build the right framework to handle the different growth models we wanted to support.

Go to Salesforce Right? Wrong

There's no shortage of articles discussing "Best Practices" for setting up Lead Statuses in Salesforce and most of the partners deploying "their framework". In short, they're dated and questionable as to whether they were really ever best practices. I'm going to walk you through how we addressed countless discussions/problems/opportunities and offer insights so you might pattern match your PLG + SLG frameworks. A "short-cut" if you will.

As the header suggested: This framework is where conversion rates rose, experiences were better, efficiencies were gained, and ultimately friction was removed. A similar model will save you weeks/months of rewiring and millions of dollars in poorly handled leads (MQL/SQL/PQL/PQA) or better said - improved conversion rates.

Lead Status in Salesforce?may seem straightforward or intuitive at first glance—but it’s not that simple. It’s one of those seemingly unimportant corners of Salesforce administration that can quickly get you in a lot of trouble if you do it wrong. What does it sound like? It's usually a mix of Sales & Marketing pointing at one another placing blame here, there, and everywhere. To the CFO, it looks like wasted dollars. Most companies do it wrong. True since 2000. Millions lost in poor frameworks, process, instrumentation ... and with PLG, the stakes get higher.

Framework

Frameworks should be viewed a series of connected moments. As we looked to operationalize even "lead status" and flow, it was important to keep both customer, seller, and organization in mind - optimizing accordingly. The moments all have numbers beside them. I won't walk through them all but address just lead statuses and flow here.

1. We used the "Lead Status" to communicate only one thing:

Lead Status should tell you what is happening between the assigned owner and the prospect. Here are the?Salesforce lead status options?we used the following:

• OPEN PLG or OPEN SLG.?Defines how this will be handled, and that nothing has occurred beyond a reg form fill. *Critical to separate these immediately or you're going to have sellers grabbing PLG leads and engaging before they're ready. This is fatal to PLG. Don't let this happen.
• "Working P" or "Working S".?Outreach efforts are being made by sales for "Working S" meaning calls/emails are occurring and a task is set to 'work' the lead. "Working P" to suggest that the product was activated, and the 'product' is doing its job. Again, both workstreams are independent. Different paths, different engagement, etc. Product or Sales owns in while in Working. No marketing outreach.
• "OPEN PLG".?We outlined this specifically for the PLG path so we could report in cohorts where we might have the wrong users/spend, etc. and messaging was specific to get them to activation (in product & outside of product).
• "Remarket".?Means the sales rep or product-led efforts didn't result in the outcome we were looking for, pass back to Marketing.
• "Nurture".?This was reserved for ONLY marketing. Programs that were not intended or the user didn't take a qualified action were left here. Neither product nor sales would engage.

2. Required an explanation why a prospect is in "Remarket".

For example, we used the following as a drop-down for better reporting:

• Unresponsive.?The prospect didn’t respond to outreach efforts (both Product and Sales Led)
• Too Small.?The prospect doesn’t have the resources to be a fit.
• Wrong Use Case.?Our product isn’t the right solution for the prospect.
• Wrong Persona. Student or seller trying to sell the firm something.
• Trash. First Name: Batman Last Name: Robin
• Unaware they took action. You want to know about these. $$ wasted.

You get the point. Don't create too many or the signal gets diluted, and marketing can't figure out how to speak to them.

3. Built reports to track progress, friction, and test hypothesis on how to gain more efficiency.

This was the part we did first, while implementing last. We thought about what we wanted to report on, and how to build this out in our reporting.

Guidance: Problems you Must Address

Strategic:

1. Alignment of PLG + SLG in Distribution of Leads and Lead Handling: How do we ensure the right leads go to the right people and handled the right way at the right time? We often see sellers stepping on the toes of the PLG process and cannibalizing the efficiency that we'd otherwise see. It's works against the organization and against the seller. It's unnatural given the SLAs we've always asked sellers to work under. Huge issue we needed to address.
2. Proper Segmentation for Operational Improvements, Efficacy of Data: How do we ensure that we're able to report on every stage/step of the process to eliminate friction, improve experience, and mitigate unnecessary campaign spend (marketing).
3. Customer Experience: The center of the Universe. How do we ensure we're providing maximum impact at the right time, way, person, etc. ensuring that feedback loops are ever present.
4. Make whatever the decision-points are "objective". This is not lead scoring. This is your playbook on how leads should be prosecuted by Sales & Product. Your framework is how it should be operating. Misalignment = Cost.

Tactical:

1. Often forgotten but we should see a seller dedupe for Opportunity on domain @moneyball365.com for example. This is the ONLY way to ensure there's no overlap. Make the domain part of every Opportunity Name. Example: Product XYZ - @moneyball365 (this fixes issues with SFDC search problems)
2. Your cadences (follow-up) should be prescriptive and measurable.
3. Tasks Mandatory to follow up.

Small Steps. Giant Leaps.

Regardless of where you are in your journey, "lead status" is a killer when trying to build a capital efficient organization. PLG or SLG or both. Understanding that every lead is executed in a way that you understand your levers so you can tune, in desperation or inspiration. Experimentation is the key to breakthroughs, but you need a framework to do it. Unsure if there's "Hidden Revenue" in your flywheel, contact us at [email protected] or www.moneyball365.com

Lacking reliable lead statuses?

If you’re struggling with untrustworthy lead statuses, we can help. Our experienced operators have worked in some of the most highly transactional environments in B2B. Don’t let another qualified lead slip through the cracks or another PQL get interrupted on their way to success.