Revenue Operations has become a hot topic, and rightfully so. It lays out a strong blueprint for aligning the marketing, sales, and customer operations of an organization. It’s common sense and has an incredible ROI.

HubSpot makes this critical observation:

“Revenue Operations is a fairly new concept, but many companies are catching on fast. According to the LeanData State of Revenue Operations, there was a 55% increase in revenue operations adoption from 2018 to 2019. Additionally, in 2018, Director of Revenue Operations job titles surpassed Director of Sales Operations by 68% on LinkedIn.”

Yes, Revenue Operations is important, but most companies often can’t afford a single individual dedicated to this task - nor do they necessarily need one. Rev Ops is a cross-functional mindset with a singular goal; increasing revenue. It’s really that simple. Goals include: ‍

• increasing the lifetime value of a customer 

• increasing sales conversion at all stages of the sales cycle

• reducing cost of sale 

• improving opportunity qualification 

• shortening the sales cycle 

• decreasing customer churn 

• improving selling margins

It’s pretty straightforward stuff. And with a focused, coordinated effort, it’s attainable.

• Rev Ops can be a gargantuan task with a lot of moving parts. It’s virtually impossible to tackle everything at once. Like any big initiative, there are ‘low-hanging fruit’ opportunities. Once a plan is mapped out, companies should eat the elephant one bite at a time, starting with the options with the highest impact. 

• Any individual capable of strategically managing Revenue Operations must have experience in every facet of the discipline and operate in a company’s C-Suite. A qualified candidate will come with a high price tag (and rightfully so). 

• A consultant must have a similar skillset and intimate knowledge of your company’s inner workings. 

But like anything that seems simple, Revenue Operations requires thorough planning, focused leadership, and skillful execution. It’s vital that the entire team share the same vision and communicate, but hiring one person can be both expensive and time-intensive. 

So what should you do? 

Don’t worry. See above. It’s common sense. A successful Revenue Operations initiative requires a shared vision and alignment. Silos need to be broken down. Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, and the Product and Finance Teams need to agree on a big picture and then work together to create that vision. Strong leadership with cross-functional perspectives and insight can deliver the right outcome. 

• Marketing needs to be informed of the sales goals and work with sales to create the tools required for the best outcomes.

• Any individual capable of strategically managing Revenue Operations must have experience in every facet of the discipline and operate in a company’s C-Suite.  

• A consultant must have a similar skillset and intimate knowledge of your company’s inner workings. 

One individual or one company isn’t necessary to achieve these goals. Instilling your existing team with a clearly defined prospect and customer-centered goal will realize great results.