What does the RevOps function look like at a PLG company? It’s definitely about more than just a free trial experience, analytics, and tracking product usage. One thing is for sure, it doesn’t look anything like traditional sales operations.
“RevOps in a PLG company is about making it super easy for someone to go from evaluation to two year renewal.” - Ryan Milligan
In a PLG company, RevOps focuses on understanding product milestones. Ask yourself, what milestones are important for your product? How do you track them? And how do you build plays that get people from one milestone to the next?
The early hypothesis for building a PLG company was to create a groundswell of user adoption within an organization first. Your company could then reach out to the admin buyer, the person who manages systems, to let them know that they have 40 people already finding value with your product.
Ryan Milligan has built the RevOps function for QuotaPath to include an admin-based approach alongside the user-based approach. That’s because you need to have a path to the most senior leaders who can bring your product on board. After all, “at the end of the day, they’re the person swiping the credit card,” says Ryan.
“So many companies that are trying to roll out a PLG model for the first time think that prioritizing the end user experience will lead to higher sign up volume and more revenue. But it's just as important to focus on the buyer experience. Tying these two things together is the winning combo.” - Stephen Moock
Teaching your sales reps how to operate in a PLG company means changing the way they see their role in the sales cycle. Above all else, they need to understand why their admin buyer would rather go through a free trial process before speaking to a rep and seeing a demo.
“The buyer wants to be autonomous and on their own schedule.” - Ryan Milligan
It’s easier to get a buyer bought into your tool if they can see success for themselves, rather than relying on a sales rep to take them through a series of phone calls to build the case for them. When buyers can tinker around with your product first, your demo can focus on answering clarifying questions and connecting dots. It actually makes the sale easier for the rep as well.
“Sales just need to help a buyer identify if your product is a good fit for their use case–without every step of the process having to be a call.” - Ryan Milligan
Lastly, reps must be clear about what your milestones mean to them and what long term success looks like for someone using your product. Provide them with sales collateral that explains why a buyer might not reach certain milestones and shows the rep how they can help people overcome these common blockages.
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