Historically, sales and product teams have operated in silos, with sales focused on acquiring and closing deals. The traditional sales-led growth (SLG) model often prioritized outbound prospecting and lead generation.
However, in recent years, product-led growth (PLG) has grown in popularity. PLG shifts focus onto the product as the primary driver of customer acquisition and expansion. Rather than solely relying on sales efforts, PLG empowers customers to explore and experience the product’s value first-hand, driving growth.
Research has shown how companies that adopt PLG strategies in their sales efforts grow revenue faster and enjoy a larger market share. In fact, 91% of companies that are already using PLG plan to continue and increase investment in the strategy.
But as an Emerging Enterprise Account Executive at Amplitude, I know adopting a PLG strategy doesn’t negate the importance of sales. Instead, it offers a complementary approach to nurture leads and expand customer relationships. Yet, many organizations hesitate to implement PLG—particularly those organizations that have been sales-focused for many years. Some of the typical questions and concerns I hear from organizations in this situation include:
- Is the PLG motion going to cannibalize our sales efforts?
- Who’s going to get credit for the sales leads?
- How can we ensure seamless collaboration between sales and marketing teams?
Once you overcome these hesitations, it’s easy to see that you can introduce PLG into your sales motions, find a happy balance, and get the best of both worlds. In this article, I’ll take you through six ways PLG can perfectly complement your sales motions.
1. Generate qualified leads
PLG is great for identifying and nurturing high-quality leads who have already experienced the product’s value through something like a free trial or freemium product. Unlike traditional sales-qualified leads (SQLs), these “product-qualified leads” (PQLs) have demonstrated their interest and fit through product usage. Tracking PQLs has been found to increase the possibility of faster growth by 61%.
It shifts sales strategies away from top-down approaches and toward a more gradual process of getting leads and power users to grow their business with you over time. I focus my efforts on groups of customers who are most ready to convert, increasing efficiency and deal size.
2. Increase conversion rates
And that product-qualified approach improves conversion. Many companies have embraced product-led motions because it helps them to convert more customers without needing corresponding investments in marketing and sales. But for companies that adopt a product-led approach in tandem with sales, data from a product-led motion enables sales and go-to-market teams to be more effective. They have access to product usage signals like usage spikes, changes in user behavior, or advanced feature usage. With this information, they can identify the best times to engage with customers, increasing the chance of conversion.
Companies that use PQLs as part of their free trials see better conversion rates than those that don’t—customers convert 25% of the time compared with 9%.
I use this tactic as a standard part of the sales cycle by leveraging free trial customer usage data as well as a product-qualified account (PQA) score. This helps me identify the ideal users to target. From Amplitude’s own research, I have found that we’re three times more likely to convert these PQAs than standard accounts.
3. Shorten sales cycles
Users and prospects who have already experienced the product through PLG motions will go through a faster sales cycle. They’ve already had the chance to acclimate themselves to the ins and outs of your product, which helps them convert more quickly.
By analyzing product usage data, we also have more context on leads. As a result, they spend less time on discovery calls and more time focusing on closing deals with qualified leads.
I see this at Amplitude. Whether a team is using our free plan or Amplitude Plus, they get to experience what Amplitude enables them to do firsthand. That means I don’t have to go through lengthy technical conversations before getting customers to upgrade, making the sales cycle a lot shorter.
4. Facilitate cross-sell and upsell
When I’m equipped with product usage data, I understand how customers interact with the product and can tailor my upsell or cross-sell pitches to specific value drivers. Free access or trials also enable your organization to showcase additional features and functionality, encouraging users to upgrade or expand their usage on their own.
For example, I consult usage data to identify customers who are using third-party data sources and bringing them into their Amplitude accounts. This gives me an opportunity to discuss the benefits of having more integrations through a higher-tier plan.
5. Provide data-driven insights
When your customers and leads are engaging with your product through free tiers or trials, you get access to first-party data on user behavior, preferences, and usage patterns.
For your sales team, these insights are a gold mine. The sales team gets an understanding of prospect behavior, meaning they can identify any pain points that need to be addressed, and adjust their sales pitches accordingly.
I’ve already discussed how these insights help with converting leads, improving the sales cycle, boosting conversion, and facilitating cross-sell and upsell. But truly understanding your customer is invaluable beyond things like acquisition and monetization. These insights help your sales team to connect with and engage your customers throughout the entire customer journey rather than stopping at conversion.
6. Build credibility and trust
Customers naturally question a product’s value proposition and its ability to deliver promised benefits. Free trials enable the customer to try the product and learn about its value first-hand and risk-free.
As a customer nears the end of their free trial period, your sales team can approach them knowing that trust and credibility have already been established. Sales conversations can start at a much more advanced stage without the need to establish too much basic information about the product. Sales teams can use product data as a jumping-off point to dig deeper and understand any challenges the user is facing.
At Amplitude, I use these insights to have more personalized conversations. For instance, I have a better idea about whether free plan users would be better served by our Plus or Growth plans. By showcasing this level of understanding with our customers, they’re more likely to trust that we know what we’re talking about and that our recommendations are in their best interest.
Drive product-led growth with Amplitude
Amplitude’s own success with PLG highlights the strategy’s potential to transform your sales journey. To learn more about how you can unlock the power of product-led growth, check out our guides on How to Get Started with PLG.
