Land and Expand
A GTM strategy where you win a small initial deal ('land') then grow the account over time through upsells and broader adoption ('expand'). Works when your product has a natural expansion path and you invest in customer success — not just close and move on.
Land and expand sounds like a strategy but it's often an excuse for closing small deals.
Done right: deliberately land in one team, prove value fast, then expand to other teams and use cases. Each expansion is planned, not hoped for.
Done wrong: close whatever deal you can, call it 'land,' hope they expand later, move on to the next prospect. No expansion playbook, no CS investment, no visibility into account potential.
The RevOps angle: land and expand only works with expansion pipeline visibility, customer health tracking, and CS/Sales alignment on who owns expansion. Otherwise it's just small deals with no follow-through.
Define ItOther Definitions
“Land and expand is a go-to-market motion where companies win initial contracts and systematically grow accounts through added users, products, or use cases. It drives net negative churn when executed well.”
“The land and expand strategy focuses on fast initial deployment with a clear path to growth. Products must deliver quick time-to-value and have natural expansion vectors.”
“Land and expand works when products have usage-based or seat-based pricing models that naturally grow with adoption. It requires deliberate expansion motions, not just hoping customers buy more.”
Land and expand is a GTM strategy prioritizing initial wins with planned account growth. Bessemer connects it to net negative churn. OpenView emphasizes quick value realization and expansion vectors. Point Nine stresses deliberate expansion motions over passive hope.
Key components: (1) Defined landing criteria — right department, use case, or team; (2) Quick time-to-value — proving ROI fast to unlock expansion; (3) Expansion triggers — when and why to propose expansion; (4) Account potential scoring — knowing what 'full deployment' looks like; (5) CS/Sales alignment — who owns expansion, when it hands off.
Works best with products that have natural network effects, seat-based pricing, or multiple use cases.
MistakesCommon Mistakes
No expansion playbook — hoping customers figure it out
Landing in dead-end teams with no expansion path
CS not incentivized or equipped to drive expansion
No visibility into account potential or whitespace
Treating land-and-expand as excuse for small initial deals
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