ProductLed Podcast

The podcast discusses the importance of demand generation in software businesses and strategies to scale from $1 million to $10 million in revenue. Topics include marketing maturity in software companies, prioritizing leads, improving free trial conversion rates, targeting different customer segments, and building the right team for a product-led business.

Sara Stojanovski, an expert in leading engineering and design teams, shares insights on finding product-market fit, including conducting customer interviews, prioritizing assumptions, and leveraging frameworks like the Product-Market Fit cycle.

Positioning expert and bestselling author April Dunford shares insights on building a winning sales pitch. She emphasizes the importance of a compelling narrative and distinct differentiation. April provides an example of Help Scout's sales pitch and shares her eight-step process for crafting an effective pitch, including solid positioning, emotional starting points, API value, and addressing objections.

Dan Olsen, author of 'Lean Product Playbook,' joins host Wes Bush to discuss customer-centric approaches, perfecting value proposition, prioritizing problem exploration before solutions, and the importance of tackling customer problems before jumping into solutions. Dan offers invaluable insights on measuring product-market fit and emphasizes the practicality and real-world application of his book's concepts.

Ben Williams, former executive turned PLG strategic advisor, shares insights on optimizing go-to-market strategies for developers. Topics include developer marketing strategies, building community, addressing privacy concerns, transitioning to enterprise sales, prioritizing experiments, leveraging engagement states, and qualitative research methods.

Tatiana Morozova, the Head of Growth Strategy & Operations at ClickUp, joins host Mario Araujo to shed light on the untold stories behind product-led growth (PLG) implementation and the enduring value of persistence in achieving success.  In conversation, they emphasize making iteration and failure an integral part of the product-led implementation journey. Tatiana draws from her experiences at MongoDB and ServiceNow, highlighting key learnings about experimentation at scale, the significance of testing before rebranding, and layering PLG on an enterprise service.    Key Takeaways:  [2:15] Tatiana's background and accidental entry into growth [4:05] MongoDB and launching an experimentation program [5:15] Challenges of autonomy and silos in experimentation [8:15] Using qualitative feedback tools for validation [9:05] Importance of defining secondary metrics for experiments [9:25] Activation and adjacent user experiences [12:10] Friction and confusion in the rearranged product placement [12:55] Recommendation of having secondary metrics for validation [13:25] Exploring adjacent user experiences and educational paths [15:25] Doubling of conversion window to paid customers for the same cohort [16:10] Balancing learning and pivoting [16:25] Decision-making in teams [16:50] Factors influencing pivoting decisions [17:15] Cultural impact on decision-making [19:05] Lessons from the failed brand awareness campaign [22:15] Building PLG in an enterprise context [23:55] The role of sales in PLG [25:10] Creating a feedback loop with sales [25:35] Recommendations for companies exploring PLG [31:00] Final remarks  About Tatiana Morozova:  Tatiana Morozova is an accomplished leader in Growth Marketing and Strategy, presently holding the position of Head of Growth Strategy & Operations at ClickUp. With a wealth of experience, including roles at ServiceNow and MongoDB, she has excelled in the realm of product-led growth (PLG). Tatiana's career journey reflects her expertise in scaling businesses and driving marketing strategies that make an impact. Links:  Tatiana Morozova | LinkedIn

Tony Ulwick, innovation leader and bestselling author of 'Jobs to Be Done: Theory to Practice,' discusses Outcome-Driven Innovation as a framework for market success. Topics include understanding customer needs, defining customer groups, targeting underserved segments, step-by-step process for understanding customer needs, mapping out desired outcomes, collaborative approach, categorizing desired outcomes, segmentation based on unmet needs, and an example in dentistry where patient segments are identified based on their unmet needs.

Step into the world of product-led growth (PLG) with Wes Bush, the author of the popular book "Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself." In this episode, Wes talks about common misunderstandings about the product-led model and shares insights about its promising future. Dr. Else van der Berg, the founder of Sonderhouse, is also part of the conversation as a guest host. Together with Wes, they have a fascinating discussion, exploring the important idea of focusing on providing value before making money. They also talk about using product free trials, the need for organizations to change their thinking, and the complex task of making sure users find value in what's offered. Key Takeaways:  [1:00] How Wes Bush got into the product-led field [4:10] Four components of business [4:55} Comparing sales-led and product-led companies [6:00] Organizational and cultural shift to move to PLG [9:00] Balancing broad AI tools and targeting specific user profiles [11:50] Utilizing BJ Fogg’s behavior model for identifying ideal users [14:15] Potential for PLF targeting enterprise clients [17:15] Importance of value creation before value capture [17:50] Changing landscape of freemium [18:40] Future of PLG [22:00] Differentiation play, freemium in niche markets, and expanding target audiences [24:45] Mindset shift required for PLG success [27:00] Wes shares his biggest mistake in growth [30:30] Challenge of designing a core value proposition [35:15] Role and leadership skills for driving PLG initiatives [38:00] User success becomes the company’s success About Wes Bush:  Wes Bush is an author and expert in PLG and founder of the all-in-one educational platform ProductLed. With a passion for helping companies shift their focus from sales-led to product-led strategies, he believes that delivering value to users before monetization is key to success.  Links:  Wes Bush | LinkedIn Dr. Else van der Berg | LinkedIn  Free Product-Led Growth Book

The pressures of leadership can be tiring and steer you toward a version of yourself you don’t recognize. In today’s episode, we’re joined by Jason Silver, Growth expert and author of the upcoming book "Quietly Crushing It," who shares his insights on how to achieve success without burning out.  Jason highlights the importance of aligning your actions with your intentions and making room in your workday to prioritize tasks that bring you joy. He shares practical tips and introduces his “Crushing It” approach to enhance communication and productivity at work. This three-step framework involves creating space, aligning experiences, and progressing faster.  Key Takeaways:  [1:10] Jason Silver introduction  [2:30]  Importance of leadership and managing in a quieter, more fulfilling way [5:30] Technical skills in the product-led space  [9:00] Jason's interest in business and building teams  [12:00] The concept of "quietly crushing it" and finding joy in the hard things  [16:00] Work-life balance and the future of leadership  [20:00] Three-step “Quietly Crushing It” framework [24:00] Clear communication and the impact of miscommunications in the workplace  [30:00] How to implement a brief back to avoid miscommunications  [34:00] Jason’s “Quietly Crushing It” book About Jason Silver:  Jason likes to help people embrace life's challenges. He worked at Airbnb during the early days and helped build an AI company before AI became the cool thing to do. Currently, he advises leaders on how to build great, lasting companies with fulfilling workplaces.  Every Tuesday Jason shares a new article, always readable in under two minutes, that includes a tangible tactic you can use to help you do or feel better at work each week. Subscribe for free here.  Links:  Jason Silver | LinkedIn  “Quietly Crushing It” by Jason Silver

Enhancing customer value and boosting revenue can be achieved by integrating a sales assist motion into your PLG strategy. However, as we discover in today's episode of the False Starts series, this process requires navigating trial and error and overcoming challenges. Carrie McMahon, the Head of Scaled Business at Coda, talks about how her team navigated three iterations to find the right approach to adding sales to their successful self-serve motion. They started with a heavy focus on human interaction, then shifted to a success-led motion, and finally reoriented the team towards high-potential enterprise customers.  Throughout the episode, Carrie elaborates on challenges her team faced like overwhelming users with sales interactions. Among many nuggets of advice, she emphasizes the importance of pinpointing success milestones, strategically segmenting your customer base, and maintaining a continuous cycle of validation and automation. Key Takeaways: [1:15] Carrie’s background and work experience [3:30] Mission and ideal customer profile at Coda [6:20] Coda’s first attempt to layer sales on top of Coda’s PLG approach [7:15] Challenges of overwhelming the Sales Team with customer interactions and misaligned customer needs [8:10] Recognizing the mismatch between customer expectations and the sales-led motion [8:52] Ineffective segmentation of customers  [9:36] Pivoting towards a success-led motion [11:10] Discussion about the user experience during the initial attempt [12:50] Listening to customer feedback to understand challenges and missed opportunities [16:00] Transitioning from the first iteration to the second [16:15] Shifting the team’s focus from sales to success [19:50] Segmenting and finding the right users to engage with  [21:30] Examples of customer success stories and expansions [25:10] Creating transparency and celebrating quick wins [26:15] Focusing on potential growth for enterprise sales [28:15] Third iteration: reorienting towards high-potential customers [29:15] Product market fit discussion [29:45] Playbook recommendations for layering sales on self-serve [30:35] Evolution of product-led stack of tools [36:30] Team structure and objectives About Carrie McMahon:  Carrie is a collaborative leader and innovator with proven success at building and enabling teams and developing programs at scale to drive revenue growth and ensure operational efficiency. Prior to her role at Coda, she spent nearly 6 years working at Zendesk. Links:  Carrie McMahon | LinkedIn  Carrie McMahon | Coda