In a lively discussion, three voices in the SaaS world came together to talk about the future of product-led growth (PLG): Wes Bush, the bestselling author of Product-Led Growth and the creator of the PLG system; Vincent Young, VP at Dealfront and author of Product-Led Sales; and Peter Wheeler, a product growth expert. With Wes Bush preparing to release his new book- The Product-Led Playbook, the session explored the complexities and challenges that come with adopting a PLG approach. The conversation was a reality check for many—a closer look into why PLG isn't just a buzzword, but a strategic shift that comes with its own hurdles. The speakers tackled everything from onboarding pains and pricing transparency to navigating the fine line between product-led and sales-led approaches. If you’ve ever wondered why only a small percentage of PLG companies achieve significant self-serve revenue or why onboarding can make or break your product, you’ve come to the right podcast! Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Castbox, Google and YouTube. Understanding PLG Challenges Wes Bush brought an honest perspective to the session, highlighting the reality of implementing a product-led growth (PLG) strategy. Despite the buzz, PLG isn't an easy path. Wes noted that only around 5% of PLG companies break through to reach more than $10 million in self-serve revenue. The reason? It’s not a lack of demand. 97% of buyers want to try before they buy. But while the market clearly favors self-serve models, many SaaS builders struggle to deliver on this effectively. A key issue is distinguishing between the buyer and the user. Buyers seek to understand the product before purchasing, while users are the ones interacting with it daily. This distinction often leads to what Wes calls "cross-wiring trends," where the market clamors for self-serve, but the experience falls short for both buyers and users. Wes’s upcoming book explores these challenges—whether it’s onboarding, retaining users, or scaling effectively. For him, this is about more than a framework; it’s about pinpointing why so many PLG businesses struggle to balance market demand and product execution. The Importance of Onboarding Onboarding is often a make-or-break moment in a product-led growth (PLG) strategy. It starts right from the first brand interaction—be it an ad, landing page, or blog post. But onboarding isn't just an initial experience; it's a continuous journey where users are guided to understand and find value as more features are added. One striking point from the discussion was that most companies lose around 40-60% of users after their first experience. This shows how critical it is to make a strong first impression. The focus should be on guiding users quickly and effectively to ensure they stick around. The panel also discussed the differences between sales-led and product-led onboarding. In sales-led models, the process relies on manual guidance from a sales team. However, in PLG, the product must stand on its own—the user needs to intuitively find value without hand-holding. Pricing and Packaging in PLG Transparent pricing can be both an asset and a challenge for product-led growth (PLG). While clear pricing helps users quickly grasp a product's value, it can become tricky as monthly fees increase. How transparent should you be when prices rise to $1,000 or more? Is there a point where transparency stops being helpful? The discussion touched on the land and expand strategy—a core part of PLG. Users start with one use case, then gradually explore more features. This sounds simple, but planning for such expansions can be difficult. Pricing progression needs to feel natural, allowing users to upgrade without facing overwhelming costs. A crucial aspect of this is identifying value metrics—the elements that users value most, such as per contact or overall usage. When pricing aligns with these metrics, users are more likely to move from free to paid plans. T