Build an Effective Revenue Operations Strategy
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Describe the characteristics of a successful Revenue Operations strategy.
- List ways to build an effective Revenue Operations strategy.
Revenue Operations (RevOps)
So far, you’ve learned that Xactly Forecasting uses intelligent forecasting—the combination of automation with AI—to provide a centralized source of complete, accurate, and visible revenue data. This helps sales teams solve forecasting challenges and gain more control over their revenue predictions. Intelligent forecasting also serves as the foundation of a successful RevOps strategy.
RevOps is a business function that allows marketing, sales, service, customer success, and finance teams to align through shared technology and data and effectively work together toward revenue goals.
With a strong RevOps strategy, departments across an organization share insights and align on tactics, objectives, and metrics. In turn, this:
- Increases accountability and efficiency.
- Accelerates decision-making.
- Contains costs.
- Reduces risks.
- Grows revenue.
RevOps extends through the entire revenue lifecycle (from initial strategy development to execution) and analyzes the entire pipeline. This provides each department with the information it needs to remove operational roadblocks and enhance customer engagement.
RevOps Processes in Practice
With a RevOps strategy—and the people, platforms, and processes to support it—everyone in an organization can view business decisions through a lens of revenue growth. A McKinsey & Company study shows that businesses that implement this kind of data-driven approach are up to 6% more profitable than their competitors.
RevOps is pretty awesome, but it’s not an instant solution to every revenue challenge; rather, it’s a mindset and an ongoing strategy. So, where does a company even start when it wants to get the RevOps ball rolling? Here are a few more steps businesses can take to rev up RevOps and improve forecasting accuracy in the process.
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Analyze past performance. Document past rates of forecast accuracy to identify trends. By consistently analyzing opportunity data, companies can personalize coaching and get the entire team closer to crushing sales targets.
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Formalize the sales process. Having a defined and structured forecasting process can increase win rates by nearly 12.6%, according to a CSO Insights study. Companies that clearly outline and communicate sales-process rules and steps to all team members stay organized and consistent.
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Identify metrics and set a benchmark. Determine which metrics matter in forecasts (for example, new business, renewals, specific product bookings, and channel revenues), and establish forecasting accuracy goals, taking into account variability in the business.
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Be flexible. Build agile and adaptable tactics into processes to stay nimble. Also factor in external events and conditions that will impact sales performance (for example, changes in economic conditions, legislation or policy, market, product, and personnel).
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Capture the “right” signals. CRM is a fantastic source for deal information, but it’s not the only source. Emails from prospects or meetings from team calendars can play a pivotal role in helping determine the true health of an opportunity. Companies should use automated and AI-backed techniques to effortlessly gather these valuable insights.
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Enforce pipeline hygiene. Ensure information is accurate and up to date by removing deals that don’t belong in the pipeline. This cuts through the noise and greatly improves sales and revenue analytics, while also helping sellers focus on the deals that matter most to the business.
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Revisit, revise, and optimize. Use real-time data to adjust targets, allocate resources, prioritize business, and incentivize behaviors across go-to-market (GTM) teams to match performance with corporate goals. After each forecast period, businesses should take a close look at results and processes, identify areas where they've improved and areas that still need a little work, and adjust planning and strategy to make sure GTM teams are aligned throughout the selling process.
Accurate sales forecasts are tremendously valuable for companies of all sizes and across all industries. They provide a foundation for revenue predictability and sustained growth, even in the face of marketplace uncertainty and increasingly complicated buying and selling processes. Xactly Forecasting provides data-driven solutions so that forecasting data is more accurate and RevOps systems are more efficient and effective.
Resources