RevOps FAQ: Building and Scaling Revenue Operations Teams

Q. What does a RevOps team look like and how does it scale with company size? What skills are needed? And how do you get started building a RevOps team? 

A: Different teams are going to need different resources. Start with a leader; get someone in who has experience in this area. Be brave, as no one has all the answers as to what they’re hoping to achieve with RevOps. RevOps is not an admin function, but strategic.

Q. Is the VP of RevOps the same as a CRO?

A: No, CRO should instead be working alongside the VP of Revenue Operations. People in RevOps don’t need to be good at running a sales process themselves. CRO needs to understand the commercial side and drive the business forward. RevOps needs to understand data, processes, and technology that will support GTM teams.

Q. What size of company do you expect to have a separate RevOps team? 

A: Depends on the operation and what you’re trying to achieve. Smaller, more agile companies, for example, may not have the resources to hire multiple roles in a RevOps team framework; however, they can take steps towards overall team alignment by establishing an internal RevOps committee formed by leaders within the different GTM departments. 

This way, conversations and decisions can be focused around overall company goals, and initiatives can be planned and executed based on shared understanding between teams.

Medium to large-sized organisations with more resources available towards growth will want to take steps toward building a dedicated RevOps team, and consider widening the mandate to include ownership of business insights, tools and processes, or training and enablement alongside general operational ownership. 

Typically medium-sized businesses will begin by hiring for roles attached to specific teams (Sales Operations, Marketing Operations, etc.) However, it’s important to ensure that these roles are moving in lockstep with your internal RevOps committee to prevent the silos from forming within the business.

Larger organisations, and organisations with more complex needs or hierarchies, will absolutely want to hire a Revenue Operations leader or executive to sit alongside the executives of other teams to foster alignment, drive strategic conversations, and to own and champion any RevOps-related initiatives across the business. 

This may require some internal restructuring, but it is important to bring staff, process, and knowledge together under one operational umbrella that is fully aligned with the wider company goals.

Q. Most GTM teams have siloed tech stacks. How do you best manage the transition given the level of disruption when it comes to ripping and replacing tech?

A: It doesn’t have to be a rip and replace situation. Start by having one function responsible for all of it. Let the operation be responsible for what they’re good at. So many efficiencies can be brought by first getting everyone on the same page. Tiny changes at each stage of the process have exponential growth. We suggest checking out HubSpot's CRM Platform, which can help you consolidate your tech stack and unify your data to a single source of truth.

Q. How is this different to a modern marketing team with a cross-functional growth team targeting improvements at each stage of the customer lifecycle?

A: Focused RevOps function leads to a consistent message all across the organisation.

Q. Do you think that every scaleup needs to employ this discipline in the start and then avoid siloed conflict at a later stage?

A: Revenue Operations is a framework to aid in the growth of your business, so the earlier this framework is considered, the easier it will be to align your internal resources, which reduces the friction when the time comes to scale in earnest. The earlier you can justify, the quicker you can scale. Get the right people in to help you run faster.

Q. Which parts of the existing organisation show the most resistance to this approach?

A: Sales is usually the first to push back. With strong management, this can be avoided. The whole point is to generate more efficiency for scale, and more revenue for the organisation. Ultimately, sales wants to earn more money. Even if they grumble, stick with being consistent. Imagine the opportunity. Don’t see the shortsighted nature of sales be a deterrent; you want them focused on the next deal.

Q. What skills would a RevOps person need?

A: Think about what they were doing before the term started to gain popularity. It would be people responsible for leading SDR teams, or responsible for GTM tech and getting the word out within an organisation. Maybe they haven’t had the freedom or recognition to flourish. Look forward to a track record of success whilst fighting against a tide. 

Data-minded individuals & strategic or big-picture thinkers who are comfortable working with different technologies and data sets are excellent candidates for RevOps roles. People working within teams in specific functions (e.g. sales development) also make for great candidates as they develop deep knowledge of internal processes and areas for potential improvement.

Q. On average, how long would you expect it to take to implement a RevOps strategy?

A: Every organisation is different. Even when it’s in place, then the cogs need to start moving. Nothing is left to chance in the GTM functions–we have data between our approaches now