Product-led growth vs sales-led growth: which one wins?
PLG gets the startup press, but many B2B companies quietly outperform with a sales-led motion. The real answer depends on your deal size and buyer.
Brooklyn Simmons
Customer Success
The product-led growth playbook — free trials, self-serve onboarding, usage-based pricing — works beautifully when the buyer and the user are the same person. It breaks down when you're selling to a procurement committee.
Choose based on ACV, not ideology
If your average contract value is below $5k annually, PLG almost always wins on unit economics. Above $50k, a consultative sales motion typically outperforms because the deal requires education, security reviews, and executive sponsorship that no free trial can shortcut.
"The best-performing SaaS companies don't choose between PLG and SLG — they use PLG to qualify and SLG to close."
Brooklyn Simmons
Customer Success at ASoc
Brooklyn Simmons works on the data strategy team at ASoc, helping customers turn messy event streams into decision-ready reporting.
