Traditional Go-To-Market relied on a siloed approach. Marketing generated leads, sales chased them down, and customer success cleaned up the mess. But the truth is, most businesses are overwhelmed by data. A staggering 87% of senior marketing leaders struggle with effectively leveraging customer data, according to Gartner research. (Source: Gartner, The State of Marketing Data and Analytics, 2023) This data overload often leads to a focus on vanity metrics like the number of "Marketing Qualified Leads" (MQLs). But here's the problem: MQLs don't tell the whole story.

False Indicators Don't Sell. Agree?  Many companies fall into the trap of prioritizing freemium models and high free user counts. While freemium can be a good initial user acquisition strategy, a Gartner study revealed a harsh truth: only 3% of freemium users actually convert to paying customers. (Source: Gartner, Freemium: A Misunderstood Customer Acquisition Strategy, 2022) These vanity metrics become false indicators for product teams, leading them to build features that don't resonate with real customers.

Here's where Product-Led-Growth flips the script. We shift the focus from generic MQLs to Product Qualified Leads (PQLs). These are users actively engaging with your product, demonstrating a genuine need for its value. This data-driven approach ensures sales efforts are targeted towards high-conversion opportunities, not chasing cold leads.

The bridge between Product-led-growth, product qualified leads, and sales is that Salespeople can finally act as trusted advisors by building strategic relationships with real time business applications. PLG sales reps ditch the "closer" mentality. They become trusted advisors, guiding users towards product success even before a sale happens. This builds trust, fosters long-term relationships, and increases conversion rates by an average of 20%, according to a McKinsey & Company study. (Source: McKinsey & Company, The B2B Sales Revolution in the Digital Age, 2022)