Understanding Revenue Operations

The term “Revenue Operations” is soaring in popularity these days. In fact, Chief Revenue Officer, VP of Revenue Operations, and Director of Revenue Operations are among the fastest growing job titles right now on LinkedIn.

But what is Revenue Operations?

Does your business need it?

And, if you do, how do you establish a Revenue Operations framework?

Revenue Operations (or RevOps for short) is an approach that aims to align sales, marketing, and customer service teams to give them the tools and resources needed to drive predictable revenue. As Bhaskar Roy explains in an article on the rise of Revenue Operations, “RevOps treats revenue not as a fortunate outcome of a quality product, but like a mirror of the supply chain — a pipeline that needs to be powered by optimized business processes.”

Topics: Revenue Growth Profitability Profit Sales Leadership B2B Sales Strategy Strategic Revenue Growth Chief Revenue Officer Revenue Generation KPI Business Development Planning Revenue Development Action Plan

The Revenue Implications of Women Leaving Your Company

The pandemic hit many industries and demographics hard, but some shouldered the burden more than others. Women, especially working mothers, were overwhelmingly negatively affected.

In fact, the 2020 Women in the Workplace report revealed that 25% of working women and over 30% of mothers with young children were “contemplating downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce” with mothers citing increased domestic and child-care responsibilities as their primary motivation for doing so. The study summarized,

“Women in particular have been negatively impacted. Women—especially women of color—are more likely to have been laid off or furloughed during the COVID-19 crisis, stalling their careers and jeopardizing their financial security. The pandemic has intensified challenges that women already faced. Working mothers have always worked a ‘double shift’—a full day of work, followed by hours spent caring for children and doing household labor. Now the supports that made this possible—including school and childcare—have been upended. Meanwhile, Black women already faced more barriers to advancement than most other employees. Today they’re also coping with the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the Black community.”

While these challenges impact women individually, the cumulative effect of women leaving the workforce significantly affects the companies they work for as well.

So, how can B2B companies keep women among their ranks and on their leadership teams?

Topics: Revenue Growth Profit Leadership Strategic Revenue Growth B2B SMART Revenue Revenue Generation Sales Training Excellence Business Culture Business Development Brand Integrity Revenue Development Action Plan Change Management

Rebounding after a Downturn: How to Restart and Move Forward

“Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it.” – William Durant

During a downturn unemployment can rise and economic uncertainty can abound in both B2B and B2C arenas. Consumers and businesses will continue to spend, although what they consume will likely change. Businesses will make purchasing changes based on supply chain availability and selling changes based on necessity. In some instances, these changes can be temporary, but more than likely they will be further magnified as things start to pick back up again.

While an economic recovery will almost certainly happen slowly, your business needs to be poised for revenue growth ahead of time to quickly seize opportunities as they arise. So, how will your business capitalize when the economy starts swinging upward again?

Do you know how to move forward in a restart? Ask yourself these questions:

  • Do you know how to control your spending without thwarting growth?
  • What will you do to preserve essential customer relationships?
  • Are you equipped to find revenue in new ways?
  • Do you understand where new revenue opportunities exist?
  • Can you change your way of thinking to adapt?
Topics: Profitability Leadership Strategy Strategic Revenue Growth Planning Forecasting Revenue Development Action Plan Change Management

How to Transition from Remote Work to In-Person Sales

In 2020, B2B sales abruptly transitioned from a face-to-face game of relationship-building to a digital game that aimed to do the same. Sales representatives traded long drives and flights for their home offices as companies nationwide closed themselves off to non-essential personnel. Video conferencing and email became the new standard as processes and systems shifted. However, the need to develop and build relationships never faltered.

Now, as companies look toward the future, they need to make difficult decisions about when to move employees back into the office, while considering the needs of both their employees and their clients. The other big issue facing employers is the variety of protocols that will need to continue and be enhanced to bring people back in safely while accounting for the fact that not everyone is planning on getting the vaccine. Ultimately, control of COVID-19 and the rate of vaccination is going to affect the speed with which we return to the workplace.

The timeframe on this decision will be heavily influenced by industry segment. Companies that have an internal focus and can work in a bubble likely have not stopped going into the office, at least to some degree. For example, manufacturers never stopped going into the plant, instead they implemented strict protocols to keep their workforce safe and on the job. However, externally focused companies, like professional services firms, started going back into the office since the first of the year, but are not interacting with clients yet. Meeting with clients and partners is still being done virtually in these settings. Most other companies will likely be back by this fall, all things equal, but not in the same way as before.

Topics: Revenue Growth Profitability Profit Sales Leadership Networking Strategic Revenue Growth Action Plan B2B SMART Revenue CRO Chief Revenue Officer Revenue Generation Commissions Referrals Business Culture Professional Development Revenue Development Action Plan Change Management

Leveraging Top Revenue Drivers in a Post-Pandemic World

In a Harvard Business Review article on how the global economy is recovering in the wake of COVID-19 economists explain,

“In times of crisis it’s tempting to be pessimistic and fearful, in particular if the drivers are unfamiliar or the risks pose credible systemic threats. However, this inclination to pessimism and retreat also carries risks itself and we should remind ourselves that 14% of firms across all sectors typically grow both revenues and margins during downturns. This is not just idiosyncratic luck — i.e. being in the right sector and seeing a demand boost because of the nature of the crisis — it’s driven by a firm’s ability to see beyond the acute phase of a crisis and exploit its idiosyncrasies to drive differential growth in new areas. While monitoring the overall macro landscape remains important, leaders should not underestimate the importance of measuring, interpreting, and exploiting the dynamics of their own sectors and markets in order to be able to invest and flourish during the recovery and the post-crisis period.”

While organizations have already pivoted to withstand this year-long disruption, there is still work to be done. The goal now is to ride the growth curve as the economy swings upward up to avoid being left behind.

Topics: Revenue Growth Profit Strategic Revenue Growth Revenue Generation Business Development Revenue Development Action Plan

Surprise! New Leadership Challenges in the Workplace

Did you notice the traditional year-end business predictions for 2021 never happened at the end of 2020? This seasonal staple was thrown out the window, like many of our routine practices last year.

Everyone seemed more focused on making it through the year than trying to anticipate what might be coming next. (With everything that January threw at us, perhaps that was a wise decision!)

However, now that we are firmly into 2021, it seems a little safer to look forward. With that comes an increased focus on tackling difficult leadership challenges to move organizations forward.

To succeed in 2021, business leaders must steer teams away from an unhealthy focus on the past, reconcile employee desires with business needs, establish new revenue models, acquire new customers using different methods, and amend strategic planning initiatives.

Topics: Revenue Growth Leadership Strategy Strategic Revenue Growth Management Excellence Professional Development Revenue Development Action Plan

Who is the CRO? Finding a Chief Revenue Officer at Your Company

Does your company have a CRO?

If you answered “no” or “not yet” that likely means your organization simply does not have someone with the title of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) right now. You see, asking whether you have a CRO is a trick question because even if a company does not have a formal CRO role, someone is acting in the capacity of a CRO.

Every for-profit company has someone overseeing sales and marketing functions at a high-level to control the overarching revenue strategy. So, let me rephrase: Who is the CRO at your company?

Topics: Revenue Growth Profitability Leadership Strategic Revenue Growth CRO Chief Revenue Officer Revenue Generation Revenue Development Action Plan

How to Make a Profitable Revenue Generation Plan

Executive leaders know there is always a push to generate more profitable revenue. However, the end of a fiscal year creates added pressure as companies strategize and plan for the coming year.

Your company’s success next year depends on the planning you are doing now.

So, what does your strategic revenue plan look like for next year? Ask yourself:

  • Where will revenue come from?
  • How will you prune your client base and modify offerings to increase profitability?
  • Can you trust your forecasts and existing sales processes, or do they need to be updated?
  • How will you encourage cross-functional efficiencies between sales and marketing?
  • Who will provide unbiased advice to leadership when big decisions must be made?

An effective revenue plan answers these questions and more.

Topics: Revenue Growth Profitability Profit Strategy Strategic Revenue Growth Revenue Generation Planning Revenue Development Action Plan