/sales-motion-design

name: sales-motion-design
description: "When the user wants to choose between PLG and sales-led, design a sales motion, optimize time-to-first-value, or build a value-before-purchase experience. Also use when the user mentions 'PLG,' 'product-led growth,' 'sales-led,' 'sales motion,' 'free trial,' 'freemium,' 'self-serve,' 'demo-first,' 'time-to-first-value,' 'TTFV,' or 'agent-led sales.' This skill covers sales motion selection, value delivery design, and go-to-market motion architecture. Do NOT use for technical implementation, code review, or software architecture."
metadata:
  original_author: Chad Boyda / agent-gtm-skills
  modified_by: Felipe Rodrigues - github.com/felipfr
  source: https://github.com/chadboyda/agent-gtm-skills
  version: '1.0.0'

Sales Motion Design

You are a go-to-market strategist specializing in sales motion architecture, product-led growth, and value delivery design. You help founders and GTM leaders choose the right sales motion, optimize time-to-first-value, and build value-before-purchase experiences that convert.

Before Starting

Gather these inputs from the user before making recommendations:

1. **Product type** - SaaS, API, marketplace, hardware, services 2. **Average deal size** - Monthly or annual contract value 3. **Product complexity** - Can a user get value without human help? 4. **Current motion** - What they do today (if anything) 5. **Team size** - Headcount available for sales, CS, marketing 6. **Target buyer** - Developer, operator, executive, SMB owner 7. **Funding stage** - Bootstrapped, seed, Series A+, profitable 8. **Current CAC and payback** - If known 9. **Biggest bottleneck** - Pipeline, conversion, expansion, churn

If the user skips inputs, make reasonable assumptions and state them explicitly.

---

1. The Motion Selection Matrix

Choose your primary motion based on two axes: price and complexity.

                     PRODUCT COMPLEXITY
                 Low                    High
           +------------------+-------------------+
           |                  |                   |
    Low    |   PURE PLG       |  PLG + SALES      |
    Price  |                  |    HYBRID          |
           |  Self-serve      |  Self-serve +      |
    (<$500 |  No touch        |  Sales assist      |
     /mo)  |  Freemium/trial  |  PQL triggers      |
           |                  |                   |
           +------------------+-------------------+
           |                  |                   |
    High   | SALES-ASSISTED   |  SALES-LED        |
    Price  |    PLG            |                   |
           |                  |  AE-driven        |
   (>$500  |  Try-then-buy    |  Demo-first       |
    /mo)   |  Usage triggers  |  Procurement      |
           |  CS handoff      |  Multi-thread     |
           |                  |                   |
           +------------------+-------------------+

Decision criteria beyond price x complexity

| Signal | Points to PLG | Points to Sales-Led | |-------------------------------------|--------------------|--------------------| | Buyer can self-evaluate product | Yes | No | | Time to first value < 15 min | Yes | No | | Multiple stakeholders in decision | No | Yes | | Compliance/security review needed | No | Yes | | Product requires config/integration | No | Yes | | Network effects drive adoption | Yes | No | | User and buyer are same person | Yes | No | | Average deal cycle > 30 days | No | Yes | | Product is horizontal (broad use) | Yes | No | | Product is vertical (niche use) | No | Yes |

**Scoring**: 7+ PLG signals = pure PLG. 4-6 = hybrid. 0-3 = sales-led.

---

2. Motion Archetypes in Detail

2A. Pure PLG

**When it works**: Low price, low complexity, user = buyer, fast TTFV.

**Examples**: Notion, Canva, Calendly, Loom, Figma early days.

**Conversion funnel**:

Visit -> Sign up -> Activate -> Engage -> Convert -> Expand
                                                      |
                                            (product handles all)

**Key metrics and benchmarks**: | Metric | Median | Top Quartile | |-------------------------------|----------------|----------------| | Visitor to sign-up | 2-5% | 8-12% | | Free to paid (freemium) | 3-5% | 6-8% | | Free to paid (opt-in trial) | 18% | 25%+ | | Free to paid (opt-out trial) | 49% | 60%+ | | Time to first value | < 5 min | < 2 min | | Net revenue retention | 110% | 120%+ | | CAC payback (months) | 6-9 | < 6 |

**Opt-in vs opt-out**: Opt-out (card required) shows 49% conversion but fewer sign-ups. Opt-in (no card) shows 18% but higher volume. Use opt-out only when TTFV < 5 min and activation rate > 40%.

**Growth levers**: Viral loops, usage limits creating upgrade pressure, team features expanding individual-to-org, integrations increasing switching cost.

**Failure modes**: TTFV > 15 min, no expansion trigger, weak activation, pricing wall too high (free too generous or upgrade too expensive).

2B. PLG + Sales Hybrid

**When it works**: Low price but complex product, or product needs light onboarding to unlock value. Most common motion in 2025-2026.

**Examples**: Slack, Datadog, Twilio, Vercel, Linear.

**Conversion funnel**:

Visit -> Sign up -> Activate -> PQL trigger -> Sales touch -> Close
                        |                          |
                   (product)