# PLG Acquisition Motion

> Source: https://docs.trailspark.ai/docs/plg-acquisition

## Overview

The **PLG Acquisition** motion tracks self-serve trial accounts converting to their first paid plan. The buying group lens shifts focus from individual users to the full committee — champion, budget holder, technical reviewer, and security — that must align before a trial converts to revenue.

Use this motion when you want to identify which trial accounts have the right people engaged and are ready for a sales conversation or conversion prompt.

## When to Use This Motion

PLG Acquisition fits accounts that:

- Have signed up for a free trial or self-serve plan from a non-customer company
- Match your self-serve profile (company size and industry aligned to historical closed-won)
- Have at least one active user but no confirmed paid conversion yet

If the account is already a paying customer exploring a larger plan, use the [PLG Expansion](/docs/plg-expansion) motion instead.

## The Role Set

All four roles are **required** for a complete buying group. A buying group with any role unfilled is flagged as incomplete.

| Role | Intent | Required |
|------|--------|----------|
| Champion | Daily active user driving product adoption inside their team. | Yes |
| Economic Buyer | Holds the budget; visited pricing or requested a demo. | Yes |
| Technical Evaluator | Reviews technical fit; engages with docs, API, or integration tooling. | Yes |
| IT / Security | Reviews SOC2, security questionnaires, SSO/SAML setup. | Yes |

### Champion

The Champion is a practitioner who has personally adopted the product and is pulling colleagues in. They may not hold budget but they are the internal energy behind the deal.

**Demographic criteria:**

- Title keywords: Manager, Lead, Head of
- Seniority: IC, Manager, Director
- Functions: Product, Operations, Marketing

### Economic Buyer

The Economic Buyer controls the budget and will ultimately approve or block the purchase. In PLG, they often appear late — triggered by a pricing-page visit or a demo request from the Champion.

**Demographic criteria:**

- Title keywords: CFO, VP Finance, VP, Head of
- Seniority: VP, C-level
- Functions: Finance, Executive

### Technical Evaluator

The Technical Evaluator assesses whether the product fits the company's technical stack. They engage with documentation, the API, and integration guides.

**Demographic criteria:**

- Title keywords: Engineer, Architect, CTO, VP Engineering
- Seniority: IC, Manager, Director, VP
- Functions: Engineering, IT

### IT / Security

The IT / Security stakeholder reviews vendor compliance — SOC2 reports, security questionnaires, and SSO/SAML configuration. In smaller companies this role may overlap with the Technical Evaluator.

**Demographic criteria:**

- Title keywords: CISO, Security, Head of IT, IT
- Seniority: Manager, Director, VP, C-level
- Functions: Security, IT

## Suggested Signals and Role Attribution

Signals tell you which leads should fill each role. Assign signal points in **Signal Mapping** under the lens of this ICP. The table below describes which activity patterns are strongest for each role.

| Signal | Strongest For | Notes |
|--------|--------------|-------|
| Trial signup | Champion | Entry signal for the first active user |
| Activation milestone (3+ sessions) | Champion | Signals genuine adoption, not just curiosity |
| Teammate invitation sent | Champion | Expanding product footprint within the account |
| Feature exploration depth | Champion, Technical Evaluator | Broad feature usage suggests evaluation, not just a one-off task |
| Pricing page visit | Economic Buyer | Strong intent signal; weight heavily |
| Demo request | Economic Buyer, Champion | High-intent; typically triggers outreach |
| Docs or API engagement | Technical Evaluator | Reading integration guides or API reference |
| SSO/SAML setup or inquiry | IT / Security | Indicates infrastructure review is underway |
| Security questionnaire submitted | IT / Security | Late-stage signal; account is moving toward a decision |
| Multiple seats activated (account-wide) | Champion, Economic Buyer | Account-level signal; weight at the account layer |

> [!TIP]
> Account-level signals (multiple seats activated, team-plan threshold reached) are configured in the **Account Signals** section of your ICP, not in Signal Mapping. Signal Mapping is for lead-level activity.

## Common Configuration Patterns

| Setting | Default | Notes |
|---------|---------|-------|
| Score individual leads | On | Each trial user gets a lead-level score based on their activity |
| Buying group construction | On | Leads are grouped into buying groups per account |
| Eligibility emphasis | Account rules (size + industry) | Gate accounts before scoring individuals |
| Qualification emphasis | Lead-level adoption and intent signals | Activation milestones, pricing, demo signals |
| Confidence threshold | Moderate | Start moderate; tighten once you have conversion data |
| Tiebreak order | By signal recency | Most recently active lead fills the role first |

**Eligibility first:** set your account-level rules to exclude accounts that don't fit your self-serve profile (wrong size, wrong industry, already a customer). This keeps your scored pool focused on realistic conversion targets.

**Qualification via adoption:** weight signals that show real product usage — activation milestones, feature depth, teammate invitations — more heavily than passive visits.

## Worked Example

**Account:** Meridian Analytics (85 employees, SaaS, not a customer)

**Active leads:**

| Lead | Activity | Role Assigned |
|------|----------|--------------|
| Priya S. (Senior Data Analyst, IC) | 12 sessions, invited 3 teammates, explored API docs | Champion |
| James L. (VP Finance) | Visited pricing page twice | Economic Buyer |
| Tom K. (Staff Engineer) | Read API reference, reviewed integration guide | Technical Evaluator |
| Dana W. (IT Manager) | Submitted SSO inquiry via in-app form | IT / Security |

**Buying group assessment:**

All four required roles are filled. Priya's activation depth makes her a high-confidence Champion. James's double pricing-page visit is a strong Economic Buyer signal. Tom and Dana's technical and security engagement round out the committee.

**Result:** Meridian Analytics surfaces as a high-priority conversion candidate. Sales or a targeted conversion sequence is appropriate.

## Next Steps

- [PLG Expansion](/docs/plg-expansion) — for existing customers upgrading to enterprise
- [Signal and Role Attribution](/docs/signal-role-attribution) — how to assign signal points to roles in this ICP
- [Creating an ICP](/docs/icp-overview) — general ICP configuration reference