What is Revenue Operations?

Written By Kevin Brown

Revenue Operations, or RevOps, is is a term used frequently in the tech world (think Software As A Service, or SAAS, companies). However, it’s not widely used in other industries. Why is that? And what is Revenue Operations anyway?

RevOps is the operational framework that aligns the Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success (Customer Support) functions into a holistic strategy. In non-tech industries we typically divide up the functions among Sales (the sellers and their management), Sales Operations, Sales Support, Sales Enablement, Marketing, and Customer Support. In addition, most of the time these functions are siloed with different leadership hierarchies, technology platforms, SOPs, processes, training, etc.

RevOps is different in that it eliminates the silos between the functions, and aligns them with a common technology platform (e.g., Salesforce), language, training, mission, objectives, performance metrics, and more. Under a well-run RevOps-focused organization, we are not solely looking to Sales to bring home the bacon, we are relying on the entire Go-To-Market Team (Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success) to develop, build, retain, and grow a revenue factory that is scalable, sustainable, and durable.

Consider the advancements made in manufacturing over the last century with the development and adoption of Lean, Kaizen, and Six Sigma - the continuous improvement models that focus on eliminating waste and achieving optimal results. Sales has definitely not kept pace with manufacturing. Instead, we’ve run Sales like it’s the Wild West, allowing sellers to do whatever they want to do as long as they are hitting quota. It’s pretty obvious, when we think about it, that’s now how things should be.

When considering making the switch to Revenue Operations, you’re most likely going to look at the following:

Go-To-Market Strategy

  • Sales org culture and its alignment with company goals and objectives

  • 5-10-15-year plans for revenue growth

  • GTM Motions - outbound lead generation via Sales Development Reps, inbound lead generation via Marketing, etc.

  • Organization chart structure built for scalability and durability

  • Hiring plans for expansion

  • Territory planning

Technology

  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform and how it integrates across all revenue functions

  • Customer outreach platforms that assist Sales Development with finding and and automating engagement with leads

  • Marketing platforms that automate inbound lead management, social engagement, and brand awareness

  • Training tools that utilize AI to coach sellers on outbound calls and messaging

  • Performance metrics that are leading indicators to achieving sales goals

  • Mobile technology that allows sellers to do their work in the field or at a customer site

Recruitment, Retainment, Advancement

  • Getting the Ideal Candidate Profile aligned with growth objectives

  • Recruiting top talent that fits the company culture and has long-term prospects for advancement

  • Compensation plans that align with company objectives

  • Coaching cadence programs

  • Onboarding and training documentation and optimization

  • Use of KPIs in objective performance measurement

And much, much more.

RevOps can be quite the broad topic, because it covers all the revenue-generation functions. One could argue implementing a full Revenue Operations program is the most important thing any company could do. It’s literally the difference between a successfully scaling business and one that just kind of crawls along.

-Kevin

Kevin Brown
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