Revenue Operations (RevOps) is a relatively new specialty within B2B go-to-market operations, but it’s quickly becoming mission-critical as companies seek to streamline processes and align their sales, marketing and customer success teams.
But the fast growth of RevOps and its unique mandate to improve efficiency across siloed teams can lead to confusion among leaders. Which corporate lanes does RevOps belong in? How do RevOps leaders adopt a proactive approach to maximize impact?
Tessa Whittaker, ZoomInfo’s VP of revenue operations, has worked through these questions and many more. Whittaker recently shared her experience and advice on developing a RevOps playbook that enables growth and addresses common challenges.
Let’s dive in.
Finding the Right RevOps Talent for Each Growth Stage
For GTM orgs looking to expand their RevOps teams, Whittaker advises balancing generalist and specialist skills, depending on the company’s growth phase.
In early stage growth, Whittaker suggests hiring versatile generalists to manage diverse responsibilities across sales, marketing, and finance. As businesses mature, however, specialization and laser-focused experience are far more important.
“As you go up in the maturity model and your company is growing, you actually need someone who has done this before, specialized in sales operations,” Whittaker says. “However, the person you hire to be the RevOps person when you’re starting out isn’t necessarily going to be the person that you need as you scale up $200 million in ARR and beyond.”
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Proactive, Not Reactive: Strategies to Avoid Burnout
Burnout is a recurring challenge in RevOps, particularly for teams of one or those managing rapid growth. The demands to be continuously flexible and adaptive can take their toll — and RevOps pros aren’t above taking their crucial knowledge elsewhere if their situation fails to improve.
Workloads can be intense, Whittaker admits, with an imperative to balance day-to-day operational needs with long-term planning. And planning is the secret that leads to fewer surprises, fewer avoidable crises, and ultimately, happier stakeholders.
“We try to plan for 80% of the time, knowing that things will change 20% of the time,” Whittaker says. “Are we informed? Are we proactive? Are we predictive and really setting expectations of where our operations team is from a maturity perspective, and how do we get to the next phase?
“When we find that balance,” she continues, “we can do a lot of great things for stakeholders in terms of improving processes and building those frameworks that we need to help make our own team more efficient.”
Aligning RevOps with Go-to-Market Strategy
Understanding the difference between RevOps and Go-to-Market (GTM) Operations is essential for companies that are considering how to structure these roles.
“Rev Ops and GTM are almost used interchangeably,” Whittaker says. “When I think about revenue operations, it’s really bringing in all the different operational pillars all underneath one central organization. It’s about bringing together all the different operational teams — the teams that are supporting your tech stack — all in one place to break down silos and make sure you’re thinking about the revenue engine from end-to-end. From pre-sales to post-sales to your back-office organization.”
GTM Operations, on the other hand, may not necessarily encompass the entire tech stack or provide comprehensive oversight of the revenue funnel, Whittaker says. Though this, too, can vary from one organization to another.
Like many RevOps professionals, Whittaker has noticed significantly different definitions, responsibilities, and technologies across RevOps and GTM Ops job descriptions. This will probably shift over time as the market matures and companies are able to more accurately identify and articulate their needs.
Measuring Success: From Capacity Tracking to Outcome Alignment
A well-functioning RevOps team consistently measures its impact on the organization. Whittaker highlights four key metrics for evaluating RevOps success:
1. Quantity of Work: Track the volume and capacity of the work completed to ensure the team is meeting its commitments and working at an optimal pace.
2. Adoption of Work: Assess if teams are effectively adopting the processes and tools implemented by RevOps, a sign that they are aligned with operational needs.
3. Quality of Work: Gather feedback on the impact of RevOps solutions, which helps gauge whether they are effective and meeting stakeholder expectations.
4. Impact on Company Objectives: Align RevOps initiatives with overarching company goals, such as reducing churn or increasing recurring revenue, to demonstrate the function’s direct influence on business outcomes.
For instance: At ZoomInfo, Whittaker’s team has implemented centralized intake systems, enabling them to prioritize work requests across the company. This ensures they align with top company priorities and offer the necessary capacity to execute efficiently.
“One of our big bets this year that we built out and launched was centralized intake,” Whittaker says. “Everything that comes into the organization is going through a centralized intake, which then is integrated into JIRA. We have everything tracked and that’s been a game-changer, because otherwise you don’t have the ability to prioritize requests that come from all over the business.
“The most empowering thing in the shift is that we’re not saying ‘no’ to the business, but ‘yes.’”
Empowering Stakeholders: Authority Versus Influence
Ideally, the RevOps role should move beyond a support role and become an influential strategic partner within the GTM org, Whittaker says. This requires RevOps leaders to establish trust among other stakeholders by delivering results. This involves a careful blend of strategic foresight and tactical execution.
“We talk a lot about getting a seat at the table, but the seat at the table is earned,” Whittaker says. “I always use a restaurant analogy. Right now, you’re probably getting leftovers. But you want to get to the table, you want to start to set the menu, right?
“That, to me, is when you know you’ve got the right credibility in the organization because you’re getting brought in while they’re trying to figure out the strategy. You want them to have you in the room because they don’t want to make a decision without you.”
Building a Culture of Innovation and Continuous Improvement
At the core of successful RevOps is a culture that encourages innovation, embraces accountability, and operates with strategic foresight, Whittaker says.
She advocates for creating a safe environment where team members are encouraged to experiment and take risks without fear of failure. She emphasizes the importance of understanding each team’s needs through “ride-alongs” with internal teams, gathering real-time feedback to refine processes and identify opportunities for improvement.
“Be a strategic partner,” Whittaker says. “You have to deliver at the end of the day. You have to get things done. You have to execute. Being able to be both a strategic partner and someone who can get things done is how you build trust.”