As a business leader or marketer, choosing the right growth strategy can make or break your company’s success. With the rise of SaaS and subscription-based models, businesses are often faced with two primary approaches: product-led growth (PLG) and sales-led growth (SLG).
Both PLG and SLG strategies have their own strengths, weaknesses, and unique use cases, because of which, you might find one of them more suitable for you. But before adopting either one for your business, you need to understand the nuances and how they can serve critical functions in achieving your business goals.
In this guide, we will explore the key differences between PLG and SLG, explain how the two approaches differ from each other, and help you identify which approach might be the best fit for your business.
What is PLG?
Product-led growth, or PLG, is a growth strategy where the product drives acquisition, retention, and growth by letting users experience its value firsthand. It relies on free trials, self-service onboarding, and intuitive design for seamless adoption.
What is SLG?
Sales-led growth or SLG is a sales-driven growth strategy where sales teams play the central role in acquiring leads, nurturing and converting them into customers and retaining them, making it ideal for enterprise solutions and complex products.
It relies on high-touch outreach, personalized demos, and relationship-building to close high-value deals. SLG has multiple touchpoints, emphasizing human interaction over self-serve adoption.
Product-led growth vs. sales-led growth
While both approaches focus on driving revenue, each strategy undertakes a fundamentally different path. We also see differences in other aspects of the approaches. Let’s break it down and take a look at the specifics:
| Aspect | Product-led growth (PLG) | Sales-led growth (SLG) |
|---|---|---|
| Customer journey | Users experience the product first (via free trials or freemium plans) before converting into a paying customer | Sales reps guide prospects through the product via demos, discovery calls, and negotiations |
| Speed of adoption | Faster, as users can access and evaluate the product immediately without waiting for any human interaction | Slower, due to reliance on manual processes like scheduling calls and longer sales cycles |
| Cost of acquisition | Lower, as growth is driven by product usage and minimal human requirement | Higher, as it depends on building and maintaining a sales team and continuously nurturing prospects throughout the decision-making cycle |
| Scalability | Highly scalable—product drives growth based on its capability | Limited scalability—growth depends on expanding the sales team and ensuring upskilling |
| Best for | SaaS tools that are intuitive, easy to adopt, and provide immediate value (e.g., Slack, Notion, Mixpanel) | Complex, high-ticket products that have unique or difficult-to-understand features or require high-touch engagement (e.g., Salesforce) |
| Customer feedback | Gathered by tracking product usage and analytics, enabling iterative improvements | While often initiated through direct sales interactions, it later relies heavily on product analytics for post-sale insights |
| Awareness | Relies on organic user-driven awareness and word-of-mouth | Depends on sales and marketing efforts for awareness generation |
| Scope for personalization | Only minor personalization is possible | Allows for deeper personalization as sales reps tailor solutions for individual prospects |
| Target customers | Self-service customers, small-ticket customers | Enterprises and high-value contracts |
| Hands-on support | May offer comparatively lesser hands-on support than SLG | Offers direct, personalized support to customers |
PLG or SLG: Which one is the right fit for you?
In a nutshell, PLG is a great strategy for SaaS products that are easy to adopt and provide immediate value like collaboration tools (Slack, Notion) or analytics platforms (Mixpanel, Amplitude). SLG on the other hand, is better suited for complex enterprise products that require high-touch engagement, like CRM software or enterprise-grade cybersecurity solutions.
Choosing between PLG and SLG depends on your target customer and the nature of your product.
You should go for PLG if:
- Your target audience are tech-savvy SMBs and individuals who prefer self-serve experiences and quick adoption.
- You offer SaaS products with simple onboarding and clear value propositions that users can explore independently.
You should go for SLG if:
- Your business sells complex products that need in-depth demos, long sales cycles, and negotiation.
- You run a company where relationships matter, and trust-building is key to conversion.
- You have high-ticket clients who expect personalized attention and hands-on support before making a purchase.
What if I want to use both PLG and SLG?
Blending PLG and SLG strategies into a hybrid model, often called sales-assisted PLG, allows companies to leverage the strengths of both approaches—scalable, self-service growth with the support and personalization of direct sales.
Take Mailmodo for example. It follows the hybrid approach by offering a free trial for users to explore the product while also providing the option to connect with our sales team for personalized demos, ensuring both self-service adoption and strong customer relationships.
This approach leverages PLG for acquisition where it allows users to experience the product firsthand while incorporating sales touchpoints to convert high-value customers who need tailored solutions, security assurances, or deeper integrations.
Why should you go with the hybrid model?
Let’s take a look at the benefits associated with combining PLG with SLG:
- Scalability with personalization: Engages a broad user base with automation while enabling sales teams to focus on high-value prospects.
- Lower CAC and higher conversions: PLG keeps acquisition costs low, and sales teams step in where necessary to maximize conversions and revenue.
- Better customer experience: Users get a seamless onboarding experience while still having access to human support as and when they need it.
When to use the hybrid model?
The sales-assisted PLG model would be a good fit for you if:
- Your product has a self-serve entry point but also appeals to enterprises that require custom contracts, compliance reviews, or dedicated support.
- You need to bridge the gap between SMBs and large accounts, ensuring scalability while also closing high-ticket deals.
- Users engage deeply with the product but need a push to upgrade to premium or enterprise tiers.
Examples of companies using PLG and SLG
Both PLG and SLG have proven successful for different types of businesses. Here are some leading examples from each strategy:
Zoom
Zoom follows a product-led growth model. Zoom’s freemium model lets users experience the core features for free with simple, fast onboarding. As users see the value, they naturally upgrade to paid plans for more features, making it an ideal PLG success story.
Canva
Canva follows the product-led growth apporach and provides free design tools, allowing users to create professional designs. Its freemium model encourages users to pay for premium templates, advanced features, and brand kits as they scale their usage.
Oracle
Oracle’s use the saled-led growth approach. Its products are tailored for large enterprises, requiring deep engagement and custom solutions. This is why the company’s sales team is central to closing complex deals with personalized outreach and negotiations.
You can also check out more PLG examples in our guide below.
Takeaways
To sum it all up, if your product is simple, easy to understand and use, and can offer immediate value to users, PLG might be the ideal choice. On the other hand, if you’re dealing with complex, high-ticket solutions that require personalized attention, SLG is likely the strategy that would work for you.
But it’s a better idea to adopt both so that you have the right fit between PLG and SLG and can gain from the benefits of both approaches. The right fit largely depends on your product, audience, and business goals.
