Integrating sales into a PLG company can feel like trying to mix oil and water. The two don’t immediately seem compatible. PLG organizations tend to have a very specific kind of culture, one that is, at best, reservedly cautious about sales and, at worst, aggressively suspicious. When searching for a sales leader, it’s important that PLG organizations think about sales as an extension of the company’s brand.
You spent hours, days, months (maybe even years) creating something awesome. Something you’re beyond proud of and excited to share with the world. Something that could completely change (or kickstart) your business. And finally… You hit publish—it’s go time! But you’re met with… 🦗🦗🦗🦗🦗 (crickets… if you couldn’t tell.) No downloads. No sales. No clicks. No visits. No comments. Nothing at all. What’s the deal with that?
It’s no secret that the podcast industry has been exploding over the last decade, with plenty of us tuning into podcasts for news, advice and entertainment. Brands are following consumers into the space, figuring out how best to leverage this relatively new platform. Typically, they enter the space as an advertiser — think, “This episode is brought to you by... some brand.” What if instead of a 60-second scripted ad read that costs $10,000, you did a 60-minute ad read that deeply educates your target audience on the problem you’re solving, that costs $0?
The team has a clear roadmap with well-defined projects and deadlines. Maybe you even have OKRs, and the team has enough folks to do the work. But despite knowing what needs to get done, something isn’t clicking. It’s time to get clearer on what everyone’s role is. You can define that together, through a more empowering approach, or you take a more directive angle. You’ve already identified the destination. Now it’s time to clarify what people are supposed to be doing to get us there.
Moving from free trial to freemium can feel daunting, with many wondering, “is it worth it?”. For those of you not familiar with Tettra, it’s a B2B Knowledge Management software. The reality is with many knowledge-based products; a free trial requires a lot of setup and time. For many Tettra users, a trial from 15-30 days isn’t long enough. Tettra found users were scared to start a 15-day trial because it felt too short to pick a knowledge management system.
I published a compilation of mental models that entrepreneurs and investors leverage to develop new startup ideas & venture theses. At the heart of these models were a range of input insights, which I also refer to as ‘inputs’, that fuel the presented models and drive new ideas. As I’ve used these models further, I’ve found that the inputs I laid out in the initial post can be grouped into a few key buckets. The frameworks below should be helpful to both entrepreneurs ideating as well as investors who take a thesis-driven approach.
Many product-led companies hit a bumpy spot in their growth path when they start selling to larger companies and enterprises. What used to work well — monetizing through the product and marketing to active product users — becomes less effective as they try to scale. To understand how to get around this and keep scaling upmarket, you need to know your hand-raisers, which at large companies tend to be different people than your product users.