In this article, we’ll explain what RevOps is, the difference between RevOps and Sales Ops, why RevOps is necessary, and how to activate RevOps for your company.
Let’s dive in!
What is RevOps?
Revenue Operations, better known as RevOps, is a holistic approach to revenue generation that unites marketing, sales, and customer success teams in order to improve efficiency.
As companies grow, departments naturally become more siloed. Each one has its own objectives, processes, and tools, which can make it difficult to share information and ensure a top-level customer experience. RevOps is the solution to this problem.
Once you’ve activated RevOps for your company, your marketing, sales, and customer success teams will work together, leading to happier customers and increased revenue.
RevOps vs. Sales Ops
The terms “RevOps” and “Sales Ops” are sometimes used interchangeably. While the two share a similar goal—namely, more revenue for their organizations—they’re different in one key way.
As we discussed above, RevOps unites marketing, sales, and customer success teams. The goal of this effort is to improve efficiency across an organization, generate happier customers, and boost the amount of revenue said organization generates.
Sales Ops, on the other hand, aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the sales department specifically, enabling an organization’s sellers to close more deals and generate more revenue in less time.
Both RevOps and Sales Ops are concerned with operational efficiency and revenue. But RevOps takes a company-wide approach to this issue, whereas Sales Ops does not.
Why is RevOps Necessary?
RevOps is relatively new. In fact, 10+ years ago, nobody knew what RevOps was.
So, it’s natural to ask, “Is RevOps really necessary? I mean, people built businesses for thousands of years before the term was even invented. It can’t be that important, can it?”
RevOps is necessarybecause the sales and marketing funnel used to be linear:
Marketing would generate leads
Sales would talk to leads and close deals
Customer Success would engage with customers
These days, potential customers have access to an incredible amount of information. As such, buyers rarely progress through the funnel in a straight line, which means marketing, sales, and customer success teams must work together to ensure sales.
Unfortunately, getting marketing, sales, and customer success teams out of their respective siloes is easier said than done—unless you activate RevOps, of course.
How to Set Up RevOps For Your Company
Now that we know what RevOps is, how it differs from Sales Ops, and why it’s becoming a necessity for many companies, let’s talk about how to implement a RevOps strategy at your company.
Just follow this simple, five-step process:
1. Adopt the Right Mindset
Marketers are often concerned with their own specific departmental objectives.The same goes for the Sales and Customer Success teams.
RevOps is about the entire company.
To activate RevOps for your organization, you have to adopt this mindset. You can’t be so concerned with marketing metrics that you neglect sales metrics, or so attached to certain pieces of software that you force other departments to adopt new, less efficient tools.
This can be hard for some people. They’ve spent so much time in their silos that changing their frames of mind may seem impossible. But it must be done to implement RevOps effectively.
2. Bring in the Right People
Do you have the right mindset? Good, now you can build your RevOps team.
If you’re hiring internally, try to enlist members from Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success. That way you have access to a collection of perspectives and ideas.
In addition, only enlist professionals who are team players. We’ll say it again: RevOps is about the company as a whole. There’s no room for glory seekers. Make sure the people you hire have a “team first” mentality and will work for the greater good of your entire organization.
3. Invest in the Right Tools
Technology is a critical component of every successful RevOps team.
Common tools in a RevOps team’s tech stack include CRM software, marketing automation apps, customer tracking and communication solutions, and website analytics.
Each of these tools is important. But most experts agree that the CRM you choose will have the most impact on your new RevOps team and its ability to succeed. This is because your CRM is where the bulk of your organizational data will reside. Make sure your CRM of choice is:
Intuitive and easy to use: Do your employees need a degree in rocket science to operate your CRM? If your team can’t easily input and access information, they’ll waste time. They might even stop using the tool. Consider an alternative solution.
Has the features you need: Does your CRM software have the features you need to run a RevOps team effectively? At the very least, make sure it offers detailed reports and analytics and can integrate with the other tools your team uses.
Affordable for your company: Can your company afford its CRM? Popular tools like Salesforce and HubSpot may have a lot of features, but they can be really expensive. The goal of RevOps is to generate more money, not burn it.
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The next thing you’ll want to do is build out processes that strengthen the relationship between your company’s marketing, sales, and customer success teams. These processes should empower each division and enable them to work together more effectively.
Many of your processes will likely revolve around data collection and sharing. As mentioned above, the right technology, including a quality CRM software, will help with this.
Remember, every process you create should improve the customer experience. Once this is achieved, revenue will naturally increase.
Also, make sure the members of your RevOps team—and the various departments they serve—can provide feedback. Are the processes you’ve created working? Do they make it easier for employees to do their jobs? Have they boosted company efficiency?
Create a continuous feedback loop so that you can always improve your RevOps processes.
5. Track the Right Metrics
Finally, start tracking the right metrics.
Some of the most important KPIs for RevOps purposes are:
Annual Recurring Revenue: Often abbreviated to ARR, annual recurring revenue is the money your company generates from its annual contracts.
Customer Acquisition Cost: Often abbreviated to CAC, customer acquisition costs refer to the amount of money your company spends to acquire a new customer.
Lifetime Value: Often abbreviated to LTV, lifetime value is the amount of money each customer generates for your business during their lifetime with your organization.
Customer Satisfaction Score: Often abbreviated to CSAT, customer satisfaction score measures a customer’s happiness with your company’s products/ services.
These aren’t the only metrics worth tracking. But they’ll probably be the ones your RevOps team focuses on—and works to improve—the most.
Is Your Company Ready For RevOps?
Building a RevOps team will grow your company’s revenue by uniting your marketing, sales, and customer success teams, boosting operational efficiency, and creating happier customers who spend more with your brand.
To activate RevOps, follow the five steps above: adopt the right mindset, bring in the right people, invest in the right tools, build the right processes, and track the right metrics.
Our industry-leading CRM will give your RevOps team the tools it needs to increase revenue to new heights—without tearing your hair out in frustration. Win!
