Where Does RevOps Belong?

Everyone wants to be cross-functional. Marketing wants to be involved in finance, sales wants to be involved in product strategy and marketing messaging, product wants to be involved in sales and marketing messaging.

And if they don't, they'll try once some content tells them that's how you actually get stuff done. Which isn't true from an organizational perspective, since a team needs different positions and players to be successful. After all, a football team doesn't compete with 11 quarterbacks on the field, a soccer team doesn't play with 11 midfielders, you get the point.

But a team does function at its highest level possible when the midfielder or quarterback unify the entire team on the field and perform at a high level.

How About RevOps?

RevOps isn't any different. Bu it has a better argument for it to be cross-functional. It's by definition a cross-functional team. According to the big, evil (just kidding) Salesforce; RevOps is "all revenue related activities in an organization."

It just so happens that most businesses are about revenue. Some will try to convince you that they're not or it's a smaller priority than other things, but that's just delusion. The main exception is if it's a government or power structure related business play. But that's the exception.

Therefore RevOps is the same definition of business (revenue related activities).

This means RevOps should be the main strategic support and execution wing of the business. The nervous system of the business. And should sit underneath the main executor of strategy and leadership in the business (the CEO).

The CEO is the head coach (we're going to exclude the back-office of sports teams for this metaphor). RevOps is the quarterback or midfielder (the on-field strategic leader).

A great RevOps team ties together the mission and vision of the organization provided by the CEO. They connect the dots from marketing to CS to product/engineering/IT.

Just like a quarterback reads the defense and adjusts the play, RevOps reads market signals and adjusts your go-to-market motion. They ensure your specialists - from demand gen experts to sales engineers to customer success managers - are running the right plays at the right time.

The goal isn't to make everyone cross-functional. It's to build a team of specialists who execute in harmony because they have a quarterback coordinating the game plan.

Sidebar

Before I get marketing, sales, product, and CS at my neck... no, that doesn't mean it's more important than other functions in the business. A football team can't win if everyone's a quarterback or if an offensive lineman lets a defender through every play. A soccer team can't win if everyone's a midfielder. A business can't win if everyone is cross-functional.

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