This is Product-led GTM
Hello World
I’ll never forget the first time I used the phrase: “Product-led GTM.”
“Of course!”
I used it in my next meeting
“That makes a ton of sense!”
And my next, and my next, and my next….
Why does this one phrase: “Product-led GTM” evoke such ascent?
Because we are tired of the either-or. It’s not either PLG or sales. Product wants to be part of the revenue team, and sales wants to be part of the “next big thing.”
Cool, so Product-led Sales, right?
Of course, Product-led Sales is a thing. But so are Product-led Renewals and Product-led Expansion. Product is and should be involved in all aspects of GTM.
Product-Led GTM is a growth model where self-service product usage generates revenue and opportunities for human-assisted sales, renewals and expansion.
I spent the first half of my career in definitively sales-led companies. I had titles like:
VP Alliances
VP Marketing
VP Product
VP Solution Sales
At companies like:
ProfitLogic
Oracle
InsideSales
When I took the title of CEO and moved to Silicon Valley, I learned in a very real way what it means to be product-led. I ran a company called Fundly and then a company called ZenPrint, both of which had full self-service GTM motions that we optimized for unit economics and growth.
Now I’m Executive Chairman of Winning by Design, the leading SaaS consulting and training company for Revenue Architecture. I also sit on the board of Forrester (NASDAQ: FORR) and invest in SaaS companies through Formative Ventures. With the benefit of these perspectives, I am convinced more than ever that we can and must do both PLG and sales-driven GTMs, and they must be connected. The bulk of our GTMs in the future will therefore be product-led, meaning the product will do the work to tee up opportunities, and where necessary, humans will provide assistance.
This SubStack is dedicated to all things Product-led GTM. Follow, comment, share, contribute!
The future belongs to the courageous. Come be courageous.
XOXO,
-db