Here's a question I get often from Heads of Marketing:

“What do I actually do with my MQL tracking once we start implementing a hybrid motion?”

Marketing teams don't flip a switch. They can't. They can't stop MQL tracking on Friday night and start tracking Product Qualified Leads (PQLs) on Monday morning. Because the whole org runs on MQLs. They can't just abandon it.

But there is a smoother way.

And I've found it's one most in the industry never talk about. Because everyone is focused on what to build. Few talk about how to transition without breaking what's already working.

That's what this issue is about.

So how do you actually transition?

Here's what I do when I build it for B2B SaaS teams running a pure SLG motion:

Right now, your website has one CTA. Something like: 'Book a Demo.'

I don't replace this. I add alongside it. Which means your 'Book a Demo' stays. And next to it, a second CTA: 'Start Free Trial.'

I'm not replacing your existing SLG motion. I'm adding a lane. And I run both until the PQL lane produces enough data to tell us when to shift the weight.

GitLab, Datadog, Notion, Linear, Figma, Loom and dozens more B2B SaaS companies run both CTAs side by side. A self-serve entry point for those ready to explore. A sales path for those who need more.

As the numbers become defined, I scale the PQL lane. Small accounts convert on their own. Mid-market gets a warm call when they hit the activation moment. Enterprise still gets ABM, but now the ABM is informed by product signals. And CS reads expansion signals.

The whole motion evolves without breaking what was already working.

The biggest mistake? Stopping one thing and starting another. Especially when that one thing has been working.

This is where I often hear:

“But Portia, running these two together is expensive!”

The honest answer? Running two CTAs in parallel isn't expensive when they feed one integrated pipeline.

The 'Start Free Trial' prospect and the 'Book a Demo' prospect arrive in the same CRM, meet the same sales team, and are served by the same CS motion. What changes is the signal they arrive with. And how warm that first conversation is.

What's expensive is running two completely separate motions with two separate teams and no integration. That's not what this is.

This is one motion with two entry points. And it gets less expensive — not more — as the PQL lane matures and self-serve conversions reduce the load on your sales team.

So the question isn't “how much does it cost to add a PQL motion?” A much better question is:

“How much is it costing you to not have one?”

Every prospect who would have self-served but didn't. Because they had to go through a full sales cycle instead. That’s a sales rep's time, a discovery call, a demo, weeks of follow-up. For an account that could have converted in 14 to 30 days on their own.

The incremental cost of adding that second CTA? A landing page. A time-limited product experience. Some tracking infrastructure. And someone to design the activation moment, build it with your team, and align the whole org around the signal it creates.

The cost of not adding it? Every prospect — from small to mid-market to enterprise — who needed to feel it before they could buy and left because they didn't have the chance.

Your existing motion got you here. The new lane gets you further.

Portia

P.S. If you're ready to add the second lane and want my help getting the activation moment right, hit reply 'READY' and I'll take it forward.

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