Growth Machines: Combining Product-Led Growth and Sales Vincent Jong

In the seventh episode of the Growth Machines podcast, I speak with Japna Sethi, Product and Growth leader at Calendly. Previously she has been a lead for Product and Growth at Dropbox and she built and led the Growth team at Productboard from the ground up. 
Each of these companies dealt with a large flow of incoming users and Japna shares how they built support and sales motions on top of this to identify and convert accounts with larger potential. In one company experiments to involve the support team at key moments led to the creation of an entirely separate team and organization that drove conversion for the business.
She describes the challenges of applying the scientific method in a B2B context, which often leads to long timelines to see results for Product-Led Growth. Listen to the full episode to hear how she recommends to create a portfolio of experiments and what teams can do to make sure they don’t circle back to the same ideas without properly validating or invalidating them.
[00:00] Introducing Japna Sethi
 [00:45] Success patterns in companies doing Product-Led Growth
 [04:14] Setting the right expectations in terms of timeline
 [07:08] Creating a Portfolio of Experiments
 [09:51] The API between Product-Led Growth and Sales
 [13:42] Common Pitfalls and Challenges
 [17:02] Involving Support and Customer Success
 [21:27] Dealing with Large User Volumes
 [25:28] 3 Things to Look at When Assessing a PLG strategy
 [29:44] Final thoughts
This interview is part of my book about Product-Led Sales. Go to www.PLGandSales.com for more info.

In the sixth episode of the Growth Machines podcast, I speak with Todd Olson, the co-founder and CEO of Pendo, about leveraging in-app messaging for tailored user experiences and the impactful role of Product-Led Growth (PLG) in sales operations. 

We discuss robust PLG strategies employed by companies ranging from startups to large enterprises, including personalized onboarding flows, efficient go-to-market approaches, and AI-driven campaign suggestions for improved user engagement and retention. 

Todd also highlights the broad application of PLG beyond software companies, with examples from banking and other sectors for driving growth and personalization at scale.

[00:00] Introducing Todd Olson: The Journey to Pendo
[01:02] The Power of Pendo: Transforming User Experience and Business Growth
[02:21] Exploring Product-Led Growth Strategies with In-App Messaging
[04:25] Efficient Growth and Expansion
[10:36] Advanced Implementations
[14:36] The Future of Growth: AI-Driven Strategies and Personalization

This interview is part of my book about Product-Led Sales. For more info, go to  www.PLGandSales.com

In the fifth episode of the Growth Machines podcast, I sit down with Leah Tharin. Leah is a leading Product-Led Growth (PLG) advisor for scaling B2B companies and Interim CPGO of GotPhoto. She led products like Jua and Smallpdf and is portfolio growth advisor to VC funds like Notion Capital. She writes about her experiences and hosts a podcast on Leah’s ProducTea.

In our talk, Leah emphasizes the merging of PLG and traditional sales approaches, advocating for data-driven sales strategies. She warns against common mistakes such as misinterpreting user engagement as buying signals and stresses the need for iterative processes to identify genuine buying signals effectively.

She also discusses successful implementations of Product-Led Sales, citing examples where expansion revenue and leveraging trials or low-cost offerings have been used to penetrate larger accounts. Leah underlines the importance of adaptation to meet market demands, particularly in maximizing efficiency and capitalizing on changing customer expectations.

[00:22] Introducing Leah Tharin
[00:56] The Evolution and Impact of Product-Led Sales
[02:21] Combining PLG and Sales: Strategies and Challenges
[03:51] Identifying and Leveraging Buying Signals
[12:14] Navigating Sales Concerns
[16:42] Expanding into Enterprise with PLG
[23:42] Common Approaches when Introducing PLG

This interview is part of my book about Product-Led Sales which recently came out on Amazon. More info on www.PLGandSales.com.

In the fourth episode of the Growth Machines podcast, I sit down with Ben Williams, a product and growth executive with over 20 years of experience at companies like Snyk and Cloudbees, and the author of The Product-Led Geek. 

We talk about how to combine Product-Led Growth (PLG) with sales strategies to drive company growth. Ben shares insights from his experiences, including his time at Snyk, on how companies can blend PLG with traditional sales methods. He highlights common challenges and suggests how to deal with them.

We discuss bottom-up adoption, the role of PLG in improving lead qualification and Go-to-Market efficiency, and how PLG can help with contract expansion. Ben emphasizes the significance of developing a growth model for the business and the necessity to focus on driving specific impact instead of trying to boil the ocean.

[00:22] Introducing Ben Williams
[00:53] Combining PLG and Sales: Insights from Snyk
[06:21] Key Metrics for PLG Success
[08:39] Beyond Acquisition: PLG's Role in Retention and Expansion
[11:30] Integrating PLG into Sales-Led Organizations
[18:19] Deciding Where to Start with PLG
[20:13] Closing Remarks
This interview is part of my book about Product-Led Sales.
More info on www.PLGandSales.com

In the third episode of the Growth Machines podcast, I talk with Pekka Koskinen, Co-Founder of Leadfeeder (nowadays part of Dealfront). He explains how they developed a successful Product-Led Sales model long before PLG became a buzzword.

Leadfeeder was founded in 2012 when Pekka and his co-founders hit a wall with traditional sales methods in their previous company. Right out of the gate, they embraced a Product-Led Growth model for Leadfeeder, drawing inspiration from successful American companies like HubSpot.

They offered a free trial, focused on making users happy, and went the unconventional way of prioritizing product usage over immediate profits. Pekka stresses the importance of nailing the basics and staying focused on the product metrics, which paved the way for Leadfeeder's success.

[00:00] Introduction
[02:49] The Power of Free Trials and Feedback
[03:52] The Role of Analytics and Support
[06:55] An Unconventional Approach to Outbound
[13:24] Knowing When to Give Up on a Sale
[15:44] Key Roles in the Growth Journey
[17:33] Advice When Building a Business
[18:12] Conclusion and Upcoming Book Announcement
This interview is part of my book about Product-Led Sales.
More info on www.PLGandSales.com

In the second episode of the Growth Machines podcast, I talk with Kyle Poyar, Operating Partner at Openview and writer of the Growth Unhinged newsletter. We talk about what to do when you have a pricing model in place for a sales motion and are considering to introduce PLG.

Pricing and packaging can be an enabler or blocker when thinking about product-led approaches. Kyle talks about the different challenges this can present. He includes suggestions how to gradually introduce the product-led elements and points out common pitfalls to watch out for. At the end, we cover some trends and other observations of what’s happening in the market.

[02:32] Barriers to adopting Product-Led Growth
[06:31] Strategies for transitioning to Product-Led Growth
[11:07] Using PLG to create shared incentives across Go-to-Market teams
[13:07] Which companies aren’t the best fit for Product-Led Growth?
[17:10] Current market developments around Product-Led Growth
[22:32] A common mistake when going from PLG to enterprise
[25:02] Moving beyond user journey automation in PLG

This interview is part of a series from my book about Product-Led Sales. More info on that on www.PLGandSales.com.