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3 Product-Led Strategies I Used to Generate $1B In Self-Serve Revenue For My Clients

Why founders got 80% of PLG results: a clear market position, an intentional free model, and the Bowling Alley framework

Wes Bush · ProductLed

Published September 6, 2024
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What you’ll learn

Topics covered: It's warmer now so thanks everybody today I'm going…; Participating Liars you're one of them so just think…; Golden standard this is what we want we want….

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It's warmer now so thanks everybody today I'm going…

“it's warmer now so uh thanks everybody today I'm going to be talking about three product L strategies that I use to generate over a billion dollars in self-served revenue for our clients and so I am going to try and blast through everything but I want to give you a little hints yes if you know me I wrote the book on product Le growth this is going to involve a little bit of product Le growth in order to get that amount of Self Serve Revenue but here's the thing product growth it's only half of t”

Participating Liars you're one of them so just think…

“participating Liars you're one of them so just think about what that looks like for you because the goal here with the winning strategies you have to be in the position where you're like okay we are the obvious choice in one part of the market so this I kind of ripped off of the book essentialism which if anybody's read it fantastic book you can take a lot away from just the cover of the book because it it is this actually and a bad strategy is a lot like this one where it's like okay we're goin”

Golden standard this is what we want we want…

“golden standard this is what we want we want people to actually pick up that flower and actually level up they're able to do something that they weren't able to do before they can actually attribute like a a meaningful difference in their life between your product signing up that free product and actually doing something now if you're like uh usually this happens to VC back companies there's the other alternative where it's like you go way too far on the spectrum of what you give away for free y”

Product he was like I don't quite know so…

“product he was like I don't quite know so then he uh went into mix panel he tried to like rumage through numbers he came back to me was like Wes um yeah we have this one step that they have to do before they go into the product it's the the email verification step and 27% of people don't ever even do this step and go into the product I was like interesting I mean I've seen this before but like that's a that's a lot of people you're missing out on and so we decided”

Experience across PLG clients

“Why I’m here?👋 Wrote the bestselling book on Product-Led Growth Helped 400+ SaaS companies generate $1B+ in self-serve revenue Consulted for Boomi, Keap, Microsoft and other Fortune 500 companies on PLG 9 years JUST working on PLG”

PLG is a company strategy

“They treated PLG as a “product” thing and not a “company” thing”

Becoming the obvious choice

“How clearly are you the obvious choice for customers in your market? 🔥 Barely Noticeable Fairly Apparent Universally Recognized”

Making the free model intentional

“How intentional is your free model? 🤔 We Guessed Mediocre Model Perfect Free”

Making signup and upgrades effortless

“How easy is it to sign up, get to value, and upgrade? ❤️‍🔥 Difficult Smooth Effortless”

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About the speaker
Wes Bush

Wes Bush

CEO · ProductLed

Company revenue
$1M

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Each slide with a short explanation of what it shows. Open the slide text for its exact wording.

56 passages

Product-led growth beyond the product

  1. Slide text

    $1B In Self-Serve Revenue For My Clients 3 Product-Led Strategies I Used to Generate

  2. The hint: product-led growth

    Product-led growth is introduced with a brief hint. The card gives no further definition or examples.

    Slide text

    Hint: Product-led growth😉

  3. Product-led growth is only half the story

    Product-led growth is presented as only half of the story. The statement challenges treating PLG alone as the complete approach.

    Slide text

    Yet, PLG is only half of the story. 😔

What founder-led PLG gets right

  1. Speaker credentials in product-led growth

    The speaker presents experience to back up the advice: author of a bestselling book on Product-Led Growth, 400+ SaaS companies helped to generate $1B+ in self-serve revenue, consulting for Boomi, Keap, Microsoft and other Fortune 500 firms, and 9 years focused only on PLG.

    Slide text

    Why I’m here?👋 Wrote the bestselling book on Product-Led Growth Helped 400+ SaaS companies generate $1B+ in self-serve revenue Consulted for Boomi, Keap, Microsoft and other Fortune 500 companies on PLG 9 years JUST working on PLG

  2. A sample of 324 customers

    The speaker opens a comparison using a group of 324 customers. The slide gives only the number and a grimacing emoji.

    Slide text

    324 customers… 😖

  3. 80% of the customers were senior product people

    Senior product people made up 80% of the customer group. The card identifies their role without describing results.

    Slide text

    80% were senior product folks…

  4. 20% of the customers were founders

    Founders made up 20% of the customer group. The card identifies them without explaining their results.

    Slide text

    20% were founders…

  5. Which group generated 80% of the results?

    A quiz question: which of the two groups produced 80% of the results. Results are defined on the slide as self-serve revenue and success launching a PLG motion.

    Slide text

    Which group do you think generated 80% of the results? (measured by self-serve revenue and success launching a PLG motion)

  6. Founders generated the results

    The answer is founders, the smaller group, which is the surprising part of the reveal. The slide gives the answer only, without the reason.

    Slide text

    Founders

  7. Why did founders get better results?

    A single question asks why the result occurred. No explanation is given on this card.

    Slide text

    Why?

  8. Surface level PLG

    A section card introduces surface-level PLG. The card contains no further framework details.

    Slide text

    Surface Level PLG 🤔

  9. Surface PLG is the visible peak

    The visible part of PLG is a small peak made of four elements: model, pricing, offer and experience. Only these four are shown at this stage.

  10. Product folks forgot what supports PLG

    The slide says the product-led customers overlooked everything that supports PLG. The point is that the visible product work depends on other things.

    Slide text

    The product folks forgot everything that supports PLG 😶

  11. Treat PLG as a company responsibility

    The failure the speaker describes is treating PLG as a product responsibility rather than a company-wide one.

    Slide text

    They treated PLG as a “product” thing and not a “company” thing

  12. Visible and hidden parts of PLG

    PLG's four visible elements (model, pricing, offer, experience) sit above the waterline. Below it are five hidden ones: team, data, user, process and strategy, with strategy at the deepest point.

  13. PLG on top, product-led organization below

    The same iceberg is labeled: PLG is the visible tip and PLO, a product-led organization, is the larger submerged base. The base holds team, data, user, process and strategy.

  14. Nine areas around being the obvious choice

    Strategy is the first named segment in a nine-part wheel centered on The Obvious Choice. The other segments remain unlabeled in this step.

Becoming the obvious choice

  1. Rate how obvious a choice you are

    A self-assessment on a 1 to 10 scale: how clearly you are the obvious choice for customers in your market. The anchors are barely noticeable, fairly apparent and universally recognized.

    Slide text

    How clearly are you the obvious choice for customers in your market? 🔥 Barely Noticeable Fairly Apparent Universally Recognized

  2. Scattered energy versus focused energy

    Two shapes labeled Energy are compared. The gray one sends arrows in every direction, while the yellow one sends a single long arrow upward.

  3. The obvious choice as a target

    The Obvious Choice sits at the center of a target divided into four quadrants. The quadrants are not yet labeled in this step.

  4. Where to play is the first quadrant

    The first of four parts of the strategy target is highlighted: where to play. It starts a build across four quadrants.

  5. How to win is the second quadrant

    The build adds the second part of the target, how to win, next to where to play.

  6. Winning picture is the third quadrant

    The build adds the third part of the target, winning picture, completing three of the four quadrants.

  7. Strategic choices complete the four parts

    The final quadrant, strategic choices, is highlighted. Together the four parts are where to play, how to win, winning picture and strategic choices around The Obvious Choice.

  8. The wheel names strategy, user and model

    Back on the nine-segment wheel, three segments are now labeled: strategy, user and model. The remaining segments are still unnamed.

Designing the free model

  1. Rate how intentional your free model is

    A second 1 to 10 self-assessment, this time about your free model. The anchors run from we guessed, through mediocre model, to perfect free.

    Slide text

    How intentional is your free model? 🤔 We Guessed Mediocre Model Perfect Free

  2. Video game analogy: base plus power-up

    An equation in pixel-art style: a small character plus a fire flower equals a larger character shooting a fireball. It illustrates a free model gaining a power-up.

    Slide text

    + =

  3. The same equation, with a twist

    This step of the build repeats the character plus flower, but the result is the same small character as before. The power-up produced no visible change.

    Slide text

    + =

  4. The power-up faces a first enemy

    The build returns to the powered-up character shooting a fireball and adds a small enemy on the right, so the power-up now has something to act against.

    Slide text

    + =

  5. A tougher enemy appears

    The build swaps the small enemy for a much larger boss-type character, suggesting a bigger challenge ahead of the powered-up character.

    Slide text

    + =

  6. Case study: Tettra

    The slide shows the logo of Tettra, a company introduced as an example. It carries no other text.

  7. Chart: growth around a freemium switch

    The quarterly bars rise around the freemium switch, then flatten and ease back after their peak. The switch is marked at Q3-18. The vertical axis has numbers but does not identify the metric being counted.

  8. Dollar chart after the freemium switch

    The dollar-denominated quarterly bars generally rise after the freemium switch at Q3-18, with several dips along the way. The vertical axis gives currency amounts without naming the metric.

  9. Will upgrades increase?

    The same dollar chart now carries a question: will upgrades increase after the freemium switch? The bars rise over time, with a dip in Q2-20.

    Slide text

    Will upgrades increase?

  10. A user at the edge of a gap

    A confused figure stands on one platform with a gap to another. Three levels (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3) are marked above the gap, setting up a crossing metaphor.

  11. Challenges break the path across the gap

    The gap is spanned by broken, cracked segments labeled Challenges under each of the three levels. The figure is leaning over the edge, so the path looks hard to cross.

  12. Solutions replace the challenges

    A suspension bridge now spans the gap, with a Solutions section under each of the three levels. The figure walks across.

  13. A polished free model carries users across

    The three solutions merge into a single bridge labeled Your Polished Free Model. The figure reaches the far side with arms raised.

  14. Wheel adds offer and onboarding

    The nine-segment wheel now names five areas: strategy, user, model, offer and onboarding. The remaining segments are still blank.

Creating frictionless onboarding

  1. Rate signup, time to value and upgrades

    A third 1 to 10 self-assessment: how easy it is to sign up, get to value and upgrade. The anchors are difficult, smooth and effortless.

    Slide text

    How easy is it to sign up, get to value, and upgrade? ❤️‍🔥 Difficult Smooth Effortless

  2. Snappa example: a landing page

    The example is the homepage of Snappa, an online graphics tool, shown on a laptop. It features a headline about creating graphics in a snap, a demo video and a free get-started button.

    Slide text

    Snappa.com Example.

  3. Snappa example: email confirmation step

    Email confirmation adds a separate step to the signup flow. The screenshot shows a Snappa account-confirmation email with a prominent confirmation button.

    Slide text

    Snappa.com Example.

  4. The chart rises after removing email confirmation

    A line chart from Nov 1 to Dec 1 marks the point where email confirmations were removed. The line trends upward after that point. The y-axis is not labeled.

    Slide text

    Snappa.com Example.

  5. Why did more users upgrade?

    A question asks why more users upgraded. The card gives no explanation or numerical result.

    Slide text

    Why did more users upgrade? 🙃

  6. Bowling Alley Framework: a straight line

    The framework is drawn as a bowling lane with a ball rolling in a straight line toward the pins. The straight line is the path to the goal.

    Slide text

    The Bowling Alley Framework

  7. Bowling Alley: the product bumper

    This step of the build adds a left-side bumper labeled Product Bumper. It keeps the ball on the lane.

    Slide text

    The Bowling Alley Framework

  8. Bowling Alley: the conversational bumper

    The build adds a right-side bumper labeled Conversational Bumper. The lane now has a product bumper and a conversational bumper on either side of the straight line to the pins.

    Slide text

    The Bowling Alley Framework

  9. Where to go from here

    A closing section asks where to go from here. The card contains no action steps of its own.

    Slide text

    Where to go from here?

Five steps forward

  1. Step 1: PLG is only half the story

    The first step is to recognize that PLG alone is incomplete, which restates the talk's central point.

    Slide text

    Step 1 Recognize that PLG is only half of the story

  2. Step 2: Build a winning strategy

    The second step is to build a winning strategy. This ties back to the strategy target shown earlier.

    Slide text

    Step 2 Build a Winning Strategy

  3. Step 3: Design an intentional model

    The third step is to design an intentional model, matching the free-model self-assessment earlier in the talk.

    Slide text

    Step 3 Design an Intentional Model

  4. Step 4: Craft frictionless onboarding

    The fourth step is to craft frictionless onboarding, echoing the signup-to-upgrade ease rating and the Snappa example.

    Slide text

    Step 4 Craft Frictionless Onboarding

  5. Step 5: Build a product-led organization

    The fifth step is to build a product-led organization, the company-wide base beneath the PLG tip of the iceberg.

    Slide text

    Step 5 Build a Product-Led Organization

  6. Full wheel of nine product-led areas

    The completed wheel around The Obvious Choice names all nine areas: strategy, user, model, offer, onboarding, pricing, data, process and team.

  7. A free playbook for the first scanners

    The speaker offers the first five people to scan a QR code a free copy of his new Product-Led Playbook. The offer emphasizes acting quickly.

    Slide text

    First 5 people to scan the QR code on the next page will get my new Product-Led Playbook completely for free. Ready? 🙋

  8. QR code for the Product-Led Playbook

    A scannable QR code sits beside mockups of playbook materials on a laptop, phone and tablet. It includes frameworks such as the Bowling Alley Framework and a benchmark of nine product-led success indicators.