Why Sales-Led Growth Could Be Your Company’s Next Big Move

In product-led strategies, the product does the heavy lifting, essentially “selling itself” through a stellar user experience. We’ve discussed it in a bit more detail in our product-led sales article. 

On the flip side, sales-led strategies like Sales-Led Growth (SLG) let the human element take the lead. Instead of letting the product do all the talking, your skilled salespeople step in to guide prospects through the buying journey. They answer questions and address concerns with a personal touch that a product alone can’t provide.

Interested in trying SLG as your primary growth strategy? Read on. 

Key Takeaways

• Your sales team takes the lead, giving the personal touch that turns prospects into huge fans.

• Success in SLG hinges on seamless collaboration between sales, marketing, customer success, and product teams.

• Train your team and use the right tools, like CRM systems and AI, to streamline processes and stay ahead.

• Determine if SLG fits your business by considering your customer needs, sales team strength, and readiness to invest in a personalized, high-touch sales strategy.

What Is Sales-Led Growth, and How Is It Different from Product-Led Growth?

When browsing a website, you’ve likely already seen a call-to-action button that says, “Talk to sales.” Or, a team member has warmly greeted you in a pop-up chat. 

That means you’ve encountered companies relying on their sales efforts to grow. 

Sales-led growth is a go-to-market (GTM) strategy that prioritizes sales teams for growing your business. Instead of relying on the product to do the legwork, your teams take the lead. Their main goal is to guide potential customers through the buying process, ensuring they feel supported and confident in their decision to buy from you. 

Furthermore, SLG strategies often blend both inbound and outbound approaches to bump up lead generation and conversion. Inbound strategies include content marketing, social media, and SEO, while outbound strategies include cold outreach, lead generation tools, and SDR-as-a-service. 

Sales-Led Growth vs. Product-Led Growth

At its core, the difference between SLG and PLG is about who (or what) does the selling. In short:

With SLG, sales teams actively build trust with potential customers, understand their needs, and offer the right solutions. With PLG, users try to experience the product with minimal sales intervention. The product’s value is evident through usage, encouraging organic growth, and referrals.

Who Is Involved?

While the sales team is in the spotlight, they don’t perform alone. Successful SLG involves a cast of supporting characters from various departments. Including…

The Marketing Team generates MQLs through content marketing, SEO, and lead nurturing campaigns. They provide the fuel that powers the sales engine.

The Customer Success Team keeps customers satisfied and engaged once leads are converted. They help with onboarding, support, and upselling.

The Product Team works closely with sales to understand customer feedback and pain points, ensuring the product evolves to meet market demands.

The SLG Process: From Visitor to Fan

SLG works best when it guides prospects through a well-defined process, from the first interaction to becoming advocates (or fans). Here’s a quick blueprint of what that process usually looks like: 

Initial Attraction

While prospects might discover your business through inbound methods during this stage, they can also be engaged through outbound tactics. At this point, they show interest and get on your radar. 

Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

Once visitors show interest by engaging with your content, downloading a resource, or subscribing to a newsletter, they become an MQL. These leads have shown interest, suggesting that they could become potential customers. Marketing teams nurture MQLs through targeted email campaigns, personalized content, and ongoing engagement to build trust and move them further down the funnel.

Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

As MQLs interact more with your content and meet specific criteria (like company size, industry, or readiness to purchase), they’re passed to the sales team and become SQLs. This is where the handoff between marketing and sales happens and why keeping these teams aligned is non-negotiable.

Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) or Account Executives (AEs) contact SQLs to understand their needs and schedule demos or consultations.

Conversion

The sales team works closely with SQLs to address their specific requirements, answer questions, and provide customized proposals. This approach guides the lead toward making a purchase decision. Once the lead agrees to move forward, the sales team closes the deal, converting the SQL into a customer.

Customer

The customer success team works for a smooth onboarding process, providing training and support to help the new customer get the most out of the product or service. Regular check-ins, feedback sessions, and additional support help keep a positive relationship and address any issues.

Advocate/Fan

Satisfied customers become advocates, providing testimonials, referrals, and positive reviews. They may also participate in case studies or become reference clients for new prospects. They’re also more likely to buy additional products or services.

Which Companies Benefit the Most from Sales-Led Growth and Why?

SLG is not suitable for every company. This strategy works best for businesses with complex, high-value offerings that require a consultative sales approach. 

Think of enterprise software companies like Salesforce, Oracle, and SAP. As mentioned earlier, if you go to their websites, you’ll see all kinds of “talk to sales” buttons as you scroll down –  a dead giveaway of SLG. 

SLG works for these companies specifically because it offers an array of solutions that might need tweaking to fit into different businesses. 

If you’ve used Salesforce, you know they’re always coming up with new solutions. Figuring out which one is right for you can be a hassle, so the sales team is there to help. 

It’s also suggested for professional services like consulting firms like McKinsey & Company and high-end B2B services like Palo Alto Networks. Selling high-stakes services like cybersecurity involves long sales cycles and safety concerns. Therefore, sales teams are key to educating and reassuring clients that their business is in good hands.

Benefits and Downsides of Sales-Led Growth

Benefits

• Flexible pricing is a key strength of Sales-Led Growth (SLG) because it allows sales teams to adapt pricing to match the exact requirements of each customer, making the offer more attractive and remaining competitive.
• Similarly, sales teams can create custom packages with additional features, services, or higher-tier plans directly addressing specific pain points. Since customers are willing to pay more for a solution that precisely fits their needs, this could increase the ACV.
• Skilled sales teams can identify opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell products during sales.
• Personalized demos are crafted to highlight the most relevant features and benefits for that particular customer. When expectations match the actual experience, customers are more likely to remain satisfied and less likely to churn.

Downsides

• The cost of hiring and training a skilled sales team and expenses for travel, CRM systems, and other tools can be high. These costs can eat into profit margins, especially for smaller companies.
• Scaling a sales-led approach means hiring more salespeople and potentially expanding support teams, which can be resource-intensive. This makes it challenging to scale operations quickly (compared to product-led growth).
• The complexity of high-touch sales strategies can lead to longer sales cycles, making it harder to keep the pipeline filled with prospects at different stages of readiness. Without a strong pipeline, sales teams may struggle to achieve consistent revenue growth and meet their targets. 

Best Practices for Sales-Led Growth

Invest in Training

Ensure your sales team is well-trained on your product, industry trends, and effective sales techniques. Regular training sessions, role-playing exercises, and even bringing in guest speakers can keep them sharp and motivated.​​​​​​​

Use the Tools at Your Disposal to Improve Efficiency

Put your CRM systems, sales automation tools, and AI tools to good use(just don’t get too carried away with the AI). These tools can make your sales team more efficient without sacrificing the quality of their interactions. Any tool that helps you achieve more and better results in less time is a keeper. 

Align Your Teams

Success in sales-led growth is a company-wide effort. When everyone is on the same page and working together, your customers enjoy a smooth journey from interest to purchase to support. Regular meetings between departments and shared goals can create this alignment.

Measure the Right Metrics

You’ll want to keep an eye on the following metrics:

• MRR gives you a clear view of your steady income stream, helping you gauge your business’s health and growth trajectory.
• CAC tells you how much you’re spending to win each new customer. It’s crucial for budget management and ensuring you’re growing sustainably without burning through cash.
• CLV helps you understand how much a customer is worth over their entire relationship with you. This insight is vital for deciding how much to invest in acquiring and keeping them happy.
• Sales Conversion Rate reveals how good you are at turning potential customers into paying ones. It’s your sales process scorecard.
• Sales Velocity measures how quickly deals move through your pipeline. It’s the speedometer for your sales process, showing how fast you’re generating revenue.
• Average Deal Size helps you understand the value of each sale. It’s key for setting pricing strategies and focusing your sales efforts to maximize revenue from every customer.

Is SLG Right for Your Business?

You’ll never know if you don’t go back to the drawing board. Re-evaluate your business goals, ICPs, and resources by asking yourself the following questions: 

• Do our customers need a high-touch, personalized sales approach, or are they more likely to convert through self-service options?
• Do we have a well-trained sales team or the capacity to build and support one?
• Does our solution require a detailed explanation and personalized demos to convey its value?
• Can we afford the potentially higher CAC associated with a more hands-on sales approach?
• Do we have the patience and resources to support longer, relationship-building sales cycles?
• Are these metrics high enough to justify the investment in a sales-led approach?
• Do we have the right CRM systems, sales automation tools, and analytics to support a sales-led strategy?

If Sales-Led Growth is the right fit for your company, an outbound lead gen partner like RevBoss can be your edge. Delivering targeted, personalized messages to your target prospects via email and ad channels can help you build a consistent lead pipeline and fast-forward your teams to demo calls and proposals. 

Ready to get the most out of outbound sales and get more sales traction? Let RevBoss grind through the gruntwork and build your outbound sales engine. Book time with us today.