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?

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.

Plenty of marketing professionals will tell you that their team is often misaligned, misunderstood, or competing against the sales team at their organization. Unsurprisingly, many sales professionals echo this same sentiment. In fact, a 2019 survey commissioned by LeanData and Sales Hacker uncovered that more than a third of those surveyed (37%) do not believe that sales and marketing are properly aligned.

Recent events have significantly affected the economic climate over the past month. That’s undeniable.

Social distancing measures and stay home orders have been implemented for everyone’s wellbeing, which means that in-person functions like tradeshows, conferences, and networking events have been canceled. For B2B companies that rely on these face-to-face events to drive revenue, this creates an indisputable barrier.

So, what does that mean? Has a portion of your future business been permanently lost? Are there still deals out there to be made right now? How do you adopt a revenue growth management mindset during these unpredictable times? Are your organizational objectives for the year still attainable?

The world has changed, but the goal has not.

When the economy is strong and business is booming, it is easy to focus on present success and delay planning for future challenges. Newer business owners and entrepreneurs often prefer to delight in their own accomplishments rather than engage in long-term strategic planning. However, no boom lasts forever, which means that this naïve approach can be quite costly.

Contrary to popular belief, it does not take a severe recession to hinder business operations. Even small changes in the overall economy or an individual vertical can negatively affect revenue growth. Economists and experienced business owners understand that waiting to plan until an economic downturn has occurred can be a catastrophic mistake.

Even with great leadership, as your business grows you may notice the increasing tension between working “in the business” – your day-to-day operations – and working “on the business” – developing future revenue strategy, creating policies to support business performance and dealing with compliance issues.

Eventually, your company will benefit from ‘outside’ executives and/or ‘independent’ directors whose experience will help you work “on the business”. They can bring valuable experience to guide your organization through different revenue growth stages.

WTIA's (Washington Technology Industry Association) theme in May is DisruptiveTECH. Consider revenue growth opportunities from disruptive technologies in the past, and those projected in the future. This article is a reminder that your company may soon be disrupted or become a disruptor and lead you to a decline in revenue - or amazing revenue growth.

As you look at the disruptive technology examples below, many will be familiar to you. I want to challenge you to pause for a moment and consider how your customers and employees are changing habits in the new world. Buying habits are changing and “sales” has new challenges where the world comes to the buyer and they don’t want to be interrupted. I am hoping a few of the examples will have you scratching your head with amazement and wonder.

Profits increase when you have engaged, passionate people on your team. Having the wrong people in those seats can be a barrier to growing sales and increasing the overall profit of your organization.

With the level of the talent available today in the marketplace, you can always replace someone if you don’t find the right fit the first time. After a quick hire, a simple plan of “wait and see for 90 days” seems logical with so many available. If the new person on the team does not perform in the first 90 days, terminate and hire the next. However, it's much better if you hire the right candidate from the start.

Much of the conversation focuses on how people can find a job.  “How to get hired” is a question answered again and again. Employers still need to do their part, to hire the right people.  Hiring doesn't have to be gamble. The right recruiting and selection process is one of the most important strategic plans your company needs to improve revenue and profits results exponentially.

Les McKeown, President and CEO, Predictable Success puts the responsibility of success on the employer in this Inc. Magazine article: