The PLG Pivot: Why Hybrid SaaS Motions Are Quietly Outperforming Pure PLG

Read time: 3 minutes.

Welcome to the 138th edition of The Growth Elements Newsletter. Every Monday and sometimes on Thursday, I write an essay on growth metrics & experiments and business case studies.

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Pure PLG promised everything:

• Lower CAC

• Frictionless signups

• Scalable acquisition without sales teams

But by 2025, even the strongest PLG startups are quietly layering sales and hybrid GTM motions. Why?

Because pure PLG rarely scales profitably beyond initial traction.

Why Pure PLG Hits a Wall

PLG sounds great, until you realise:

• High-quality enterprise leads rarely self-close

• Product usage alone doesn’t guarantee expansion

• Users need human intervention at critical moments (activation, upsell, retention)

Even companies like Slack, Notion, and Airtable eventually incorporated a human touch into their PLG strategies to unlock enterprise growth.

What Hybrid GTM Actually Looks Like

Here’s how to operationalise hybrid GTM:

This model unlocks:

• Shorter sales cycles

• Higher deal sizes

• Better CAC payback (faster upgrades & expansions)

Real-World Proof: Salesflow Case

At Salesflow, pure PLG initially gained traction but stalled in seat expansions.

Switching to hybrid:

• AE outreach based on product signals increased seat count per account by 30%

• Sales-assist onboarding cut activation times by half

• CAC payback period dropped significantly

Hybrid didn’t kill PLG, it optimised it.

Operator Takeaway

Pure PLG is great at bringing in users. But scaling SaaS revenue in 2025 requires strategic sales layering.

Your CAC might rise slightly, but your payback, ACV, and NRR metrics will thank you.

PLG alone doesn’t scale. Hybrid does.

That's it for today's article! I hope you found this essay insightful.

Wishing you a productive week ahead!

I always appreciate you reading.

Thanks,
Chintankumar Maisuria