T2D3 Product-Led Sales Playbook

Design the Usage-Based Scoring Model

Create an additive scoring system that blends product signals, buying intent, and ICP fit into a single prioritization score with decay logic.

Build the ICP Fit and Firmographic Enrichment Pipeline

Enrich product identities with firmographic and persona data so sales effort is focused on accounts with real buying potential.

Build Separate Scoring Models for Conversion, Expansion, and Risk

Create distinct signal definitions and scores for new logo conversion, expansion, and churn risk rather than forcing one PQL score to serve all motions.

Create Account Matching and Deduplication Rules

Prevent duplicate outreach and broken attribution by designing deterministic account matching that reconciles product identities with CRM records.

Define Routing Models and Response SLAs

Choose routing logic per segment and enforce time-to-touch rules that match product intent without creating friction.

Add Suppressions and Anti-Friction Controls

Protect the self-serve experience by defining when sales should not engage and building friction detection into your operating cadence.

Build the Activation Unblock Play

Detect users who are high-fit but not reaching value and offer targeted help to accelerate time-to-value.

Build the Paywall and Limit-Hit Conversion Play

Turn usage limit pressure into a conversion moment with the lightest possible human touch through a three-step escalation ladder.

Build the Premium Feature Discovery Play

Introduce paid features to users who explore advanced capabilities, using contextual in-product entry points that feel like guidance rather than upselling.

Build the Guided Setup Call and Milestone Acceleration Play

Offer short, structured setup sessions that unblock value and return users to self-serve purchasing, distinct from the activation unblock play in its proactive scheduling.

Build the Team Plan Upgrade Play

Target workspace admins showing multi-user adoption and growing collaboration with an upgrade path that feels like enablement.

Build the Enterprise Expansion Play

Detect departmental spread and enterprise feature demand, then convert fragmented usage into a consolidated enterprise agreement.

Build the Procurement and Security Readiness Play

Convert enterprise buying friction into a structured checklist and fast path rather than letting it stall deals.

Build the At-Risk Save Play

Detect downgrade intent, usage decline, and billing failures early, then intervene with targeted remediation that returns users to value.

Design In-Product Sales Entry Points

Create contextual CTAs throughout the product experience that scale hand-raiser volume by surfacing sales assistance at moments of demonstrated need.

Choose the Reference Architecture for Product Data Activation

Design the end-to-end data flow from product events to warehouse to CRM so reps can act on signals without waiting for analysts.

Select and Implement Reverse ETL Tooling

Choose and deploy a reverse ETL solution that syncs warehouse-computed PQL scores, enrichment data, and account context into your CRM and sales tools.

Implement Real-Time Alerting for PQL Triggers

Push key product triggers to reps in near real-time through Slack alerts, CRM notifications, and PLS platform queues.

Build PQL Workspace Views for Sales Reps

Create a unified view in CRM or PLS platform that gives reps complete product context for every PQL without requiring them to log into analytics tools.

Evaluate and Deploy a PLS Platform

Assess dedicated PLS platforms like Pocus against CRM-native solutions to determine the right tool for surfacing PQLs, managing plays, and tracking rep activity.

Design PLS Team Structure by ARR Stage

Map the roles, headcount, and team topology that fit your company's ARR stage, from founder-led sales through scaled PLS operations.

Define the Sales-Assist Role and Hiring Profile

Specify the behavioral attributes, technical skills, and performance metrics for the Sales-Assist / Product Specialist role that is the backbone of PLS.

Build PLS Compensation Models

Design compensation structures that incentivize incremental revenue and expansion without creating channel conflict between self-serve and sales-assisted motions.

Establish Cross-Functional Ownership Boundaries

Define what product, marketing, sales, and CS each own in the PLS motion, with explicit handoff protocols and shared accountability metrics.

Design the Change Management Plan for Adding Sales to PLG

Manage the cultural and operational transition from pure self-serve to a hybrid PLS motion without destroying the PLG flywheel.

Create the PLS Onboarding and Training Program

Build a structured onboarding curriculum for new PLS hires that covers product knowledge, play execution, tool proficiency, and the help-first behavioral framework.

Define Crediting, Attribution, and Incrementality Rules

Establish how you will credit revenue across self-serve, sales-assisted, and sales-originated channels, and commit to measurement designs that prove incremental lift.

Build the PLS Operating Dashboard and Cadence

Create a weekly operating system that ties signals, plays, and outcomes into one feedback loop across executive, operations, and rep-level views.

Design and Run Holdout Tests for PLS

Use randomized or quasi-experimental designs to quantify incremental revenue from PLS rather than relying on influenced revenue claims.

Optimize PQL-to-SQL Conversion by Signal Type

Treat scoring and routing as a product by iterating thresholds, weights, and play matching to raise conversion and reduce wasted effort.

Optimize the Self-Serve to Sales-Assist Handoff

Reduce friction by ensuring sales assist feels like an extension of the product experience, measuring and eliminating every source of handoff degradation.

Separate New Logo, Expansion, and Risk Motions in Reporting

Build distinct reporting views for conversion, expansion, and retention plays so each motion can be optimized independently without aggregate metrics hiding performance issues.

Assess PLS Readiness and Current Maturity Stage

Evaluate your organization against a five-stage PLS maturity model to identify gaps and prioritize investments.

Build the PLS Roadmap by ARR Milestone

Create a phased implementation plan that sequences PLS investments appropriately for your growth stage and the T2D3 trajectory.

Define Scale-Up and Pull-Back Thresholds

Use explicit thresholds tied to incremental impact to determine whether to add headcount, expand segments, or shut down plays.

Prevent PLG Amnesia During Enterprise Scaling

Build organizational safeguards that maintain self-serve investment and flywheel health even as enterprise revenue becomes a larger share of ARR.

Build the PLS Quarterly Business Review Template

Create a structured QBR format that evaluates PLS performance, validates incrementality, and produces scaling or optimization decisions with clear accountability.

Establish PLS as a Competitive Moat Through Continuous Improvement

Build the organizational muscle for iterating PQL models, plays, and tooling faster than competitors, turning PLS execution quality into a durable growth advantage.