Sales-led growth

Win customers through direct sales conversations where reps guide prospects from discovery to close with personalised solutions and relationship building.

Sales-led growth

Sales-led growth

definition

Introduction

Why it matters

How to apply it

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Growth orchestration

The cockpit that sits above your four growth engines. Individual teams can excel at their own metrics, but without orchestration they're musicians playing different songs. This is where everything comes together and where improvements in one engine amplify gains in another.

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Growth team tools

Growth team tools

The wrong tools create friction. The right ones multiply your output without adding complexity. These are the tools I recommend for growth teams that move fast.

Compound growth

Compound growth

Small improvements multiply. A 10% gain across twelve metrics doesn't add up to 120% - it compounds to 3x growth. This is the mathematical engine behind systematic growth.

Growth strategy

Growth strategy

Four decisions that shape everything else. When growth feels harder than it should, the problem is usually here. Get these right and execution becomes much easier.

Growth rhythms

Growth rhythms

Without rhythm, effort becomes scattered and progress invisible. A consistent operating cadence keeps your team aligned and your growth system continuously improving.

Related books

Startup growth engines

Sean Ellis

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Startup growth engines

A tour of growth case studies. Identify engines, spot patterns and design experiments that fit your context.

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Wiki

Event tracking

Capture specific user actions in your product or website to understand behaviour patterns and measure whether changes improve outcomes or create friction.

Lead velocity rate

Measure the month-over-month growth in qualified leads to predict future revenue and catch pipeline problems before they impact revenue three months later.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

Track predictable yearly revenue from subscriptions to measure business scale and growth trajectory in B2B SaaS and recurring revenue models.

Activity tracking

Log emails, calls, and meetings automatically to understand what drives deals forward and coach reps based on actual behaviour rather than guesswork.

API

Enable tools to exchange data programmatically so you can build custom integrations and automate processes that vendor-built integrations don't support.

Minimum viable test

Design experiments that answer specific questions with minimum time and resources to maximise learning velocity without over-investing in unproven ideas.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Calculate the total cost of winning a new customer to evaluate marketing efficiency and ensure sustainable unit economics across all channels.

Buyer persona

Document your ideal customer's role, goals, and challenges to tailor messaging and prioritise features that solve real problems they actually pay for.

Growth marketing

Apply disciplined experimentation across the entire customer lifecycle, optimising every stage through rapid testing and data-driven iteration.

Customer data platform

Unify customer data from every touchpoint to create complete profiles that power personalised experiences across marketing, sales, and product.

A/B testing

Compare two versions of a page, email, or feature to determine which performs better using statistical methods that isolate the impact of specific changes.

Attribution model

Assign credit to marketing touchpoints that influence conversions to understand which channels work together and deserve budget in multi-touch journeys.

Churn rate

Measure the percentage of customers who stop paying to identify retention problems and calculate the true cost of growth in subscription businesses.

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

Document your repeatable processes in clear, step-by-step instructions that ensure consistency, enable delegation, and capture institutional knowledge.

Partner-led growth

Scale through partner relationships where other companies distribute your product to their customers in exchange for commissions or reciprocal value.

Growth lever

Focus resources on high-impact business mechanisms where small improvements generate disproportionate results across the entire customer journey.

Cookie

Store information in browsers to track user behaviour across visits and enable personalised experiences without requiring login for every interaction.

Deal stage

Define pipeline progression steps to standardise how reps advance opportunities and give managers visibility into where deals stall or convert unexpectedly.

Product-led growth

Drive acquisition and expansion through product experience where users discover value before sales conversations and upgrade based on usage.

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

Track predictable monthly subscription revenue to monitor short-term growth trends and make faster decisions than waiting for annual revenue reports.