You can successfully run both product-led growth and top-down sales strategies simultaneously, maximizing growth opportunities in both market segments.

Top Down sales work well for products that help executives achieve strategic goals, but they can be expensive to implement and require significant support.

Bottom Up sales start with the user, focusing on building a self-serve product that can be adopted without direct interaction with the company. This approach works well for startups that solve pain points for individuals or small teams, as products need to be easy to adopt and can spread virally within an organization.

Top Down sales begin with a decision maker high in an organization, focusing on identifying leads and validating their problems before navigating bureaucratic processes to secure contracts.

Startups that sell using a Top Down approach often see better early retention metrics compared to those using Bottom Up sales.

Startups typically use a top-down sales motion to sell expensive products to executives at large companies and a Bottoms Up motion to acquire individual users, which can lead to sales to those executives.

The most successful way to implement growth strategies is through a bottoms-up and organic approach, often starting with small teams that optimize specific parts of the product.

When building a sales strategy, decide whether to pursue a top-down or bottom-up approach, as this will influence hiring and sales tactics significantly. I focused on having our sales representatives call every lead five times and schedule 15 demos each week, regardless of how they achieved that activity level.

The advantage of Top Down selling is that it follows a proven playbook, making it easier to find customers who will pay for solutions if you understand their problems.