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.
What Is Revenue Operations (RevOps)?
RevOps unifies sales, marketing, and customer success operations under shared data infrastructure and processes to drive predictable revenue. The function breaks down silos between teams that historically operated with different definitions, metrics, and priorities.
"When I think about revenue operations, it's really bringing in all the different operational pillars all underneath one central organization," Whittaker says. "It's about thinking about the revenue engine from end-to-end, from pre-sales to post-sales to your back-office organization."
RevOps brings together three core operational pillars:
Sales Operations: Manages sales processes, territory planning, quota setting, and sales technology.
Marketing Operations: Owns campaign execution, lead management, marketing automation, and attribution.
Customer Success Operations: Handles onboarding processes, renewal workflows, expansion tracking, and customer health scoring.
Core RevOps Functions and Activities
RevOps teams own the operational backbone that keeps revenue teams running. The primary activities include:
Process design and standardization: Creating consistent workflows for lead management, opportunity progression, and customer handoffs across teams.
Technology stack management: Selecting, implementing, and maintaining the tools that power go-to-market activities.
Data governance: Establishing field definitions, ownership models, and data quality standards that teams can trust.
Reporting and analytics: Building dashboards and delivering insights that inform strategic decisions.
Cross-functional alignment: Breaking down silos through shared definitions, goals, and accountability structures.
Strategic planning support: Partnering with leadership on territory design, capacity planning, and go-to-market strategy.
Why RevOps Matters: Key Benefits for Revenue Teams
RevOps addresses the fundamental problem that sales, marketing, and customer success teams often work against each other rather than together. When these teams operate in silos, companies experience handoff friction, conflicting metrics, and missed revenue opportunities.
Aligns Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success
RevOps eliminates handoff friction by creating shared definitions, processes, and accountability across revenue teams. When sales, marketing, and customer success agree on what qualifies a lead, when handoffs occur, and how success is measured, deals move faster and fewer opportunities fall through the cracks.
As Whittaker notes, RevOps breaks down silos to ensure teams think about the revenue engine from end-to-end.
Creates a Single Source of Truth
Centralized data infrastructure eliminates the conflicting metrics and reporting that plague siloed organizations. When all teams pull from the same enriched, governed dataset, there's no debate about pipeline coverage, conversion rates, or forecast accuracy. Everyone works from the same revenue picture.
Drives Predictable, Scalable Growth
Operational consistency translates directly to revenue predictability. When processes are standardized and data is clean, forecasting improves and growth becomes repeatable. RevOps creates the operational foundation that allows companies to scale without breaking their go-to-market motion.
Accelerates Revenue Execution
RevOps removes operational friction that slows revenue teams down through:
Faster lead routing: Opportunities reach the right rep immediately
Quicker handoffs: Less time wasted between teams
Reduced manual work: More time selling instead of administrating
Streamlined processes: Shorter cycle times across the funnel
Common RevOps Challenges
Building an effective RevOps function isn't straightforward. Teams face obstacles that can derail even well-intentioned efforts.
Misalignment Between Revenue Teams
Sales, marketing, and customer success often operate with different definitions, goals, and metrics. Marketing might define a qualified lead one way while sales uses completely different criteria. This creates friction at handoff points and conflicting priorities that waste time and resources.
Poor Data Quality and Visibility
CRM data decays rapidly. Incomplete records, outdated contact information, and missing firmographic details undermine targeting and reporting. Without visibility into the full funnel, teams make decisions based on incomplete information. Data quality is foundational to RevOps success.
Fragmented Tech Stacks
Disconnected tools that don't share data or workflows create integration overhead and data gaps. Too many point solutions mean teams spend more time managing technology than using it. When systems don't talk to each other, automation breaks and manual work fills the gaps.
Lack of Executive Buy-In
RevOps leaders must earn credibility to become strategic partners rather than support functions. Without executive buy-in, RevOps teams struggle to drive change and align resources.
"The seat at the table is earned," Whittaker says. "You want to get to the point where they're bringing you in while they're figuring out the strategy. That's when you know you've got the right credibility, because they don't want to make a decision without you."
How RevOps Works in Practice
A functioning RevOps organization operates as the connective tissue between revenue teams. The function brings together operational pillars under one organization to eliminate silos and create end-to-end accountability.
Centralized Data Infrastructure
RevOps establishes a unified data layer across CRM, marketing automation, and customer success platforms. This creates the single source of truth that enables alignment through:
Standardized field definitions: Consistent data structure across systems
Clear data ownership: Accountability for data quality
Enforced deduplication rules: Clean, trustworthy records
Governed datasets: All teams pull from the same enriched data
Standardized Processes Across GTM Functions
RevOps creates consistent processes for lead management, opportunity progression, and customer handoffs. As Whittaker describes, RevOps thinks about the revenue engine from pre-sales to post-sales to back-office organization. Standardization means leads don't get lost, opportunities progress predictably, and customers experience consistent engagement.
Shared Revenue Accountability
RevOps shifts ownership from departmental metrics to shared revenue outcomes. Cross-functional accountability replaces siloed targets. When sales, marketing, and customer success are measured on the same goals, collaboration replaces finger-pointing.
How to Structure a RevOps Team
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, hire versatile generalists to manage diverse responsibilities across sales, marketing, and finance. As businesses mature, specialization and laser-focused experience become 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. "The person you hire when you're starting out isn't necessarily who you need as you scale beyond $200 million in ARR."
Key RevOps Roles and Responsibilities
A mature RevOps function includes specialized roles that own different aspects of the revenue engine:
RevOps Leader: Sets strategy, aligns cross-functional priorities, and partners with executive leadership on go-to-market decisions.
Sales Operations Manager: Owns sales processes, territory planning, quota management, and sales technology.
Marketing Operations Manager: Manages campaign execution, lead management, marketing automation, and attribution.
Customer Success Operations Manager: Handles onboarding workflows, renewal processes, expansion tracking, and health scoring.
Revenue Technology/Systems Admin: Maintains CRM, integrations, and the broader tech stack that powers revenue teams.
Data Analyst: Builds reports, analyzes funnel performance, and surfaces insights that inform strategy.
Team Structure by Company Stage
Team composition evolves as companies scale. Early stage companies need generalists who can wear multiple hats. Growth stage companies require functional specialists. Scale stage companies build specialized sub-teams with dedicated leadership.
Company Stage | Typical Team Size | Key Roles | Focus Areas |
|---|---|---|---|
Early Stage | 1-2 | RevOps Generalist, Fractional Leader | CRM setup, basic reporting, process documentation |
Growth Stage | 3-8 | Sales Ops, Marketing Ops, Systems Admin | Process standardization, tech stack integration, data governance |
Scale Stage | 9+ | Specialized sub-teams, dedicated leadership, analysts | Advanced analytics, orchestration, strategic planning |
"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. The RevOps person who works at early stage isn't necessarily the person you need as you scale beyond $200 million in ARR.
8 RevOps Best Practices for Revenue Growth
Building an effective RevOps function requires deliberate choices about data, processes, and technology. These eight practices form the operational foundation for predictable revenue growth.
1. Centralize Revenue Data Across the Funnel
A unified data foundation is non-negotiable. CRM hygiene, data enrichment strategy, and governance determine whether teams trust the data they use to make decisions.
Implementation requires:
Audit existing data sources: Identify gaps and quality issues
Establish data ownership: Clear accountability for each field and object
Implement enrichment strategy: Use firmographic, technographic, and intent data from platforms like ZoomInfo
Set refresh cadence: Maintain data accuracy over time
Create governance documentation: Define field standards and deduplication rules
Smartsheet demonstrates the impact of data centralization and enrichment on pipeline outcomes. By implementing a comprehensive data enrichment strategy, the company increased form fills, improved MQL quality, boosted opportunity rates, and increased win rates across their revenue funnel.
2. Define and Standardize the Customer Lifecycle
Shared lifecycle stage definitions eliminate the confusion that causes handoff friction. Teams must agree on what qualifies a lead, when handoffs occur, and how stages progress through the funnel.
This requires:
Define MQL and SQL criteria: Both marketing and sales accept the same standards
Document stage progression: Specific entry and exit criteria for each stage
Align on handoff SLAs: Response times and follow-up expectations
Create shared glossary: Consistent term definitions across teams
3. Implement Intelligent Lead Routing
Routing logic determines how fast leads reach the right rep. Territory rules, round-robin distribution, capacity-based routing, and signal-based prioritization all play a role.
Key routing considerations include:
Territory alignment: Match accounts to the right coverage model
Rep capacity: Prevent overload and ensure timely follow-up
Account ownership rules: Respect existing relationships
Buying signals: Use firmographics, technographics, and intent data to prioritize high-value opportunities
4. Standardize Metrics and Dashboards Across Teams
Shared KPIs and unified reporting eliminate the conflicting metrics that undermine alignment. When all teams trust the same dashboards, conversations shift from debating numbers to improving outcomes.
Whittaker highlights four key metrics for evaluating RevOps success:
Quantity: Work completed to ensure teams meet commitments
Adoption: How widely teams use implemented processes and tools
Quality: Stakeholder feedback on solutions delivered
Impact: Influence on company objectives like churn reduction or recurring revenue growth
Implementation steps include:
Define shared KPIs: Metrics like CAC, LTV, and pipeline velocity that measure end-to-end performance
Create unified dashboards: All teams access the same reporting
Establish reporting cadence: Regular reviews that drive accountability
Align on data definitions: Eliminate confusion about how metrics are calculated
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.'"
5. Automate Repetitive Operational Tasks
High-impact automation opportunities exist throughout the revenue funnel. The key is balancing automation with human oversight.
Common automation candidates include:
Lead assignment rules: Route opportunities immediately to the right rep
Data enrichment workflows: Maintain CRM quality automatically
Follow-up reminders: Prevent opportunities from going cold
Report distribution: Deliver insights on schedule
6. Align Your GTM Tech Stack
Integrated tools that share data and workflows eliminate the overhead of point solution sprawl. Native integrations and clear data flow between CRM, marketing automation, enrichment, and engagement tools are essential.
Tech stack alignment requires:
Audit current stack: Identify redundant or underutilized tools
Identify integration gaps: Find where data doesn't flow between systems
Prioritize native connections: Reduce maintenance overhead
Document data flow: Map how information moves through the stack
7. Run Regular Cross-Functional QBRs
Quarterly business reviews bring sales, marketing, and customer success together to review performance, identify bottlenecks, and align on priorities. The operating cadence creates accountability and prevents surprises.
"We try to plan for 80% of the time, knowing that things will change 20% of the time," Whittaker says. "When we find that balance, we can do a lot of great things for stakeholders in terms of improving processes and building those frameworks that help make our own team more efficient."
Effective QBR agendas include:
Pipeline health review: Examine all stages of the funnel
Conversion analysis: Identify drop-off points by stage
Process improvement: Surface opportunities based on team feedback
Upcoming quarter priorities: Align resources and set goals
8. Use Revenue Insights to Continuously Refine Strategy
The feedback loop between data insights and strategic decisions separates high-performing RevOps teams from the rest. RevOps should surface patterns in conversion trends, channel performance, and segment analysis that inform go-to-market adjustments.
"Be a strategic partner," Whittaker says. "You have to deliver, execute, and get things done. Being able to be both a strategic partner and someone who can execute is how you build trust."
Continuous refinement requires:
Regular funnel analysis: Identify trends and anomalies
Segment performance reviews: Inform targeting decisions
Channel attribution: Optimize marketing spend
Win/loss analysis: Reveal competitive dynamics
How to Implement RevOps: A Step-by-Step Framework
Building a RevOps function requires a deliberate implementation roadmap. Organizations that skip assessment and jump straight to execution often struggle with adoption and impact.
Step 1: Audit Current Processes and Data Quality
Start with assessment. Map existing processes across sales, marketing, and customer success to identify gaps and friction that slow the revenue engine.
The audit should include:
Process documentation: Capture how work actually gets done
Data quality assessment: Measure completeness and accuracy
Tech stack audit: Identify integration gaps and redundancies
Stakeholder interviews: Surface pain points and priorities
Step 2: Align Teams on Shared Goals and Metrics
Get cross-functional agreement on definitions, KPIs, and priorities before making operational changes. Establish the shared language and goals that enable collaboration.
Alignment requires:
Define shared KPIs: Measure end-to-end revenue performance
Document stage definitions: Ensure all teams accept the same standards
Get leadership alignment: Agree on priorities and resource allocation
Communicate the vision: Build buy-in across the organization
Step 3: Integrate Technology and Automate Workflows
Execute on tech stack rationalization and automation. Prioritize integrations that enable data flow. Implement automations identified during audit.
Technology integration includes:
Prioritize integration projects: Focus on impact and effort
Implement data enrichment: Maintain CRM quality with platforms like ZoomInfo
Build automation workflows: Eliminate manual work
Test and validate: Ensure changes work as intended
Step 4: Measure, Optimize, and Iterate
Establish the ongoing operating cadence. RevOps is continuous improvement, not a one-time project.
"We try to plan for 80% of the time, knowing that things will change 20% of the time," Whittaker says. The key is being informed and proactive about where the operations team is from a maturity perspective and how to get to the next phase.
Ongoing optimization requires:
Establish reporting cadence: Drive accountability with regular metrics reviews
Schedule regular reviews: Assess progress and adjust priorities
Create feedback loops: Capture team input systematically
Iterate on processes: Refine based on what's working
Key RevOps Metrics to Track
Organizing metrics by category provides a complete view of revenue performance. Track leading indicators, efficiency metrics, and outcome measures across the entire revenue funnel.
Revenue and Pipeline Metrics
Top-of-funnel through closed-won metrics measure the health and velocity of the revenue engine:
Pipeline coverage: Ratio of pipeline to quota that indicates whether there's enough opportunity to hit targets
Pipeline velocity: Speed at which opportunities move through stages
Win rate: Percentage of opportunities that close successfully
Average deal size: Typical contract value that informs capacity planning
Forecast accuracy: How closely actual results match predictions
Customer Acquisition Metrics
Efficiency metrics measure how effectively the go-to-market engine converts investment into revenue:
CAC (customer acquisition cost): Total cost to acquire a new customer
CAC payback period: Time required to recover acquisition costs
Conversion rates by stage: Percentage of leads that progress through each funnel stage
Sales cycle length: Average time from first touch to closed-won
Retention and Expansion Metrics
Post-sale metrics complete the picture by measuring customer lifetime value:
NRR (net revenue retention): Revenue retained and expanded from existing customers
Churn rate: Percentage of customers lost over time
Expansion revenue: Additional revenue from upsells and cross-sells
Customer health scores: Leading indicators of renewal likelihood
Building an Effective RevOps Tech Stack
Technology infrastructure determines whether RevOps can execute on its mandate. The modern RevOps stack operates in four layers that work together to power the revenue engine.
CRM and Data Foundation
CRM serves as the system of record for all revenue data. Clean, complete data is the foundation everything else builds on. CRM hygiene, field standardization, and integration with other systems determine data quality. Without this foundation, reporting breaks and teams lose trust in the data.
Data Enrichment and Intelligence
Data enrichment maintains CRM quality by automatically filling gaps and updating records. Firmographic data provides company details. Technographic data reveals the tools prospects use. Intent data signals when accounts are actively researching solutions. Data accuracy is critical to RevOps outcomes. Enrichment turns incomplete records into actionable intelligence that revenue teams can trust.
Orchestration and Automation
Workflow automation and orchestration capabilities enable automated routing, sequencing, and cross-system actions. Tools like GTM Studio and GTM Workspace provide the environment to build, orchestrate, and scale go-to-market motions. Orchestration eliminates manual handoffs and ensures consistent execution across the revenue funnel.
Revenue Analytics and AI
Reporting, analytics, and AI-powered insights close the loop. Dashboards provide visibility into funnel performance. Forecasting tools predict future outcomes. Intelligent recommendations from AI capabilities like CoPilot surface insights and guide seller actions in real time. Analytics turns data into decisions.
Talk to our team to learn how ZoomInfo can support your RevOps tech stack.
Frequently Asked Questions About RevOps
What Is the Difference Between RevOps and Sales Ops?
Sales Ops focuses specifically on sales team efficiency and process. RevOps encompasses sales, marketing, and customer success operations under unified leadership with shared data and goals.
What Are the Four Pillars of Revenue Operations?
The four pillars are typically defined as Operations Management, Enablement, Insights/Analytics, and Tools/Technology. Some frameworks use Process, Data, Technology, and People.
How Does RevOps Improve Sales and Marketing Alignment?
RevOps creates shared definitions, unified data, common KPIs, and coordinated processes that eliminate friction between sales and marketing handoffs.
What Skills Should a RevOps Leader Have?
Strong RevOps leaders combine analytical skills like data analysis and systems thinking with soft skills like cross-functional communication, stakeholder management, and change management.