Revenue Operations, or RevOps in short, is the fastest growing job in the United States and LinkedIn’s Top Job of 2023! RevOps is one of my passions and so I am happy to see that this community is growing. 

I interviewed 9 RevOps leaders and asked them the questions: “What advice would you give someone starting a career in RevOps?”.  

These revenue leaders collectively have over 50 years of RevOps experience. They've worked at companies such as HubSpot, Salesforce, and Clari, and have advised numerous organizations with their RevOps expertise. I hope you can learn as much from them about RevOps as I have.

RevOps is more than Sales

Despite this being (typically) the start of your journey, Sales is not everything. Sales is "just" the last touch before it hits revenue.

Toni Hohlbein, CEO at Growblocks.

Many people start their career in RevOps coming from Sales Operations. It is easy to only focus on sales. But like Toni said, RevOps takes a holistic view on Revenue. He concludes by saying that

If you know & understand the full engine from "traffic to churn", you will likely be the only one in your company. This is a massive superpower that will get you promoted.

Start with a Data Foundation

In RevOps we work with many tools, data and analytics. This is powerful but to make this work you need to have a good understanding of database design.

I wish I knew that I would spend more time on database design than anything else. When the database model is right everything else (reporting, analytical projects, forecasting, GTM motion changes, process changes) requires a lot less effort.

Anastasiia Binns, Head of RevOps at N.Rich

You can read more about this topic in my blog The Role of CRM Database Design for for Revenue Growth Strategies.

The best Intention are not always Enough

We often try to come with a better way of doing things. Generally, in RevOps we are innovators. However, the right solution is only one part of it. 

The emotional attachment people have to the technologies and processes they know, even if they are not the best for the business or revenue operations. The majority of people resist change. Going in all guns blazing and forcing change fast is rarely the best way to approach revenue operations - even if you know the change will be for the best.

Natalie Furness - Revenue Operations , CRO at RevOps Automated

Change is not easy and sometimes the job can be quite frustrating or as Christian Freese 🏒🎣, CEO & Founder at RevPal puts it:

Being in RevOps is the equivalent to being a nurse” you keep the lights on and do everything you can, but ultimately you’re still shat on. 👀

You can't do RevOps without Change Management and Excellent Communication Skills

Change management and communication are two of the most important skills needed for success in RevOps leadership. There's no point producing a best in class tool or process if it's not going to be properly adopted due to poor internal communication or change management. This applies to communication upwards to leadership as well as to the GTM teams

Kirsty Charlton, Co-Founder at UK Revenue Operations Network

We in RevOps tend to have a more technical background which is very helpful for our line of work. At the same time, we have to work with stakeholders across the whole revenue organization. We need to be good communicators or else we can’t be effective. My tip would be to invest your learning budget in communication classes and change management classes.

It will pay off. Leore Spira, Adv. Head of RevOps at Buildots echoes similarly:

The intricacies of change management present both challenging and empowering experiences, sometimes leading to frustration, yet at other times fostering growth and resilience.

RevOps is Strategic, so be Proactive

"Focus on the 5 Whys and ask yourself "So what?" to get to the heart of the issue. RevOps is far too reactive today. Dig deep to understand what is really driving revenue and what could drive revenue. Ask why your CRO, CMO, CEO should care. Your impact and exposure to the leadership team will grow exponentially."

Eddie Reynolds, CEO at Union Square Consulting

The key here is really to connect the operational details to business outcomes. Here your soft skills are becoming more important.

It’s strong people skills, ability to listen and emotional intelligence. Effective, frequent and clear communication will help you find alignment among various stakeholders. Focusing on understanding the deeper needs and drivers of your stakeholders is what truly advances you in this career track.

Yauheni (Eugene) Bankouski, Co-Founder Revenue Wizards

Making RevOps Strategic will Boost your Career

Effectively asserting dissent with management or leadership can be arduous, but when executed strategically and tactfully, it garners admiration and respect for RevOps.

Leore Spira, Adv.

In RevOps you will often struggle with technical details that might take days of work. The thing is nobody really cares about these technical details. Don’t get me wrong, your work is important but you have to communicate the impact in terms of business metrics. That is what will make you a revenue leader. 

I wish I knew earlier that we need to highlight our impact and value to the business. Oftentimes, as Ops professionals,  we work diligently and incorrectly believe that our efforts will show for themselves. The reality is that we need to be intentional about communicating the value we bring.

Rosalyn Santa Elena, Founder at The RevOps Collective

—