This article comes from Filip Szymanski’s talk at our #GTM24 online summit. Check out his full presentation and the wealth of OnDemand resources waiting for you.
After two decades in product management, a question I've heard more times than I can count is: Should we go product-led or sales-led? But this traditional battle between product-led growth (PLG) and sales-led growth (SLG) misses a crucial point: the real magic happens when you combine them.
I've seen multiple companies struggle with this as they build their go-to-market strategies. Some start with traditional sales approaches and gradually add self-service options. Others begin with product-led motions before building out their sales teams. But the most successful ones? They've figured out how to make both approaches work together.
In this article, I'll share what I've learned about combining these approaches effectively, including the challenges you'll face, the strategies that work, and how to build a growth engine that capitalizes on both motions.
Whether you're currently all-in on one approach or trying to figure out how to blend both, these insights will help you navigate your way to the best results.
Let’s get started.
How buyers engage with products today
One of the biggest changes I’ve noticed is how customers engage with products before they ever talk to sales.
The idea that sales reps are the first touchpoint is fading. At Bitrise, Turnitin, and insightsoftware, we consistently saw users start by engaging with the product directly. In fact, according to Gartner, in 57% of deals today, the product itself is leading the sales process.
Companies like Slack, Datadog, and ThoughtSpot have seen massive success with PLG. ThoughtSpot, for example, introduced PLG into their traditional sales-led approach and saw a huge increase in closed deals while also reducing their sales cycles.
Even Atlassian, which famously claimed they didn’t need a sales team, eventually built one to close larger accounts. The key takeaway? Even if you start PLG, you may eventually need sales to scale.
Jessica Box
