There is a great story many of us have heard before about the Chicken, The Pig, and the breakfast special. Eggs, Bacon, Toast and Home Fries (AKA the hangover special with a Tomato juice and black coffee….) The narrator uses the story to point out the difference between dedication (the chicken, who contributed eggs) and committed (the Pig, who contributed, well, a pound of flesh). When it comes to gaining the benefits promised by the emergence of the Revenue Ops function there is a correlation between the level of dedication and commitment that your team makes and the outcomes you will realize.
In a recent Forbes article Dana Therrien, Practice Leader for Sales Operations Strategies at SiriusDecisions, describes three levels of maturity for this new organizational paradigm: Voluntary collaboration, Formation of a Revenue Ops team, and Executive Integration. (to see the full article click here): https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhorst/2019/05/03/the-new-mandate-in-b2b-for-turbocharging-growth-revenue-operations/#7ee8b5c05017
Historically Sales Ops, Marketing Ops, and Customer Success teams have loosely collaborated on metrics, goals, and outcomes. Research from SiriusDecisions quantifies the impact of tighter alignment at 19% higher growth and 15% higher profitability. It is still common to see many organizations where the three functions are siloed, with unique tech stack components and varying versions of “the truth” in the metrics and analysis they provide. This is the main catalyst behind the emergence of Revenue Ops as a way to improve the customer experience while streamlining and optimizing customer facing teams.
The formation of a Revenue Ops function requires consolidation of disparate teams into one reporting structure. The new organization encompasses common “horizontal” functions shared by Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success, with a mandate to unify and rationalize systems and ensure data integrity within the tech stack in order to define a single source of the truth. The metrics, incentive targets, budgets and calendars for each team are aligned and spending is optimized with this central function. Early adopters of this new structure typically include some mix of the following elements:
Responsibility for administrative and tactical support for each function may still reside in individual departments or be centralized based on the size and complexity of your organization.
So where are you in this journey, and how do you decide whether or not to leap onto the Revenue Ops bandwagon?
There are a number of factors that impact this decision, and their importance will vary by your stage of growth. Answering these questions will help guide you in determining what level of maturity makes sense for your team:
As you evaluate the need for a Revenue Ops function it is important to understand the potential impact the program can have. Why make changes to the existing structure and programs?
I have been fortunate in my career to have held roles that span the functions now coming together under the umbrella of Revenue Operations. I have always focused on tight collaboration with colleagues and peers, and have seen the tangible benefits when this alignment is actually put into practice. It is gratifying to see these roles evolving as they are today, and I would be happy to explore options and support you should your team need help defining your roadmap for this exciting journey. So who are you on the breakfast plate…the dedicated chicken, or the fully committed pig?
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