RevOps Rockstars

RevOps Rockstars

Welcome to Opfocus’s podcast RevOps Rockstars. Join hosts David Carnes and Jarin Chu as they interview RevOps professionals and explore the challenges they face today. Throughout the show, we dive into how guests got started with their careers, their best tips and tricks, and what excites them about the future of the industry. read less
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Episodes

Starting And Ending With RevOps - Doug Landis - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 36
Nov 3 2023
Starting And Ending With RevOps - Doug Landis - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 36
Joining us for our season finale is a GTM genius who helped grow some of the biggest SaaS companies on the planet. With experience at Box, Salesforce, and Google, he has developed a well rounded expertise in all things RevOps. This week’s RevOps Rockstar is Growth Partner at Emergence Capital, Doug Landis!Doug sits down with David and Jarin for a potentially controversial conversation on the right time to implement RevOps teams. Doug dives into the importance of having a strong data plan, the areas of most impact for an early stage RevOps team, and why now is the time to double down on understanding your ICP.Takeaways:While it may seem controversial, many early stage companies should hire for RevOps before sales. While CEO’s need to focus on leading the growth of the first million before bringing on more sales people, RevOps can enable the CEO to sell better.As companies focus on scaling, they need to ensure they have strong data practices in place. Without knowing what data and metrics drive the success of your company, you will fail to grow efficiently. In today’s market companies need to be focusing on one thing, ICP. Building a pipeline is hard, and you need to ensure that you are targeting the right people, in the right ways, at the right times. At early stage companies, the best thing a RevOps leader can help with is building an overview dashboard. This helps senior leadership not only understand the business better, but communicate more effectively with the board of directorsIf your sales team doesn’t understand what a RevOps team should do, that RevOps team becomes a catch all team. When sales is more aligned with RevOps, they can advocate for better support for RevOps teams as work loads fluctuate during the year.Pipeline is the heartbeat of any company, and companies need to be focusing on tracking the right metrics to understand it. Identify your company goals and their corresponding metrics to track, rather than solving with technology. When planning ahead on strategy, you need to also incorporate the ramp up time of your reps into your timeline. If you only start hiring by the time you start implementing, you are already behind on hitting your goals. Quote of the Show:“The right rev ops leader who is really strategic in the business understands what fundamentally we're trying to do from the top down.” - Doug LandisShoutouts:Amy Volas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyvolas/ Samantha McKenna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samsalesli/ John Barrows: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Ian Koniak: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iankoniak/ Kevin "KD" Dorsey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kddorsey3/Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglandis/ Website: https://www.emcap.com/ Ways to Tune In:Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh
A Mighty Team Of One - Chris Hudson - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 35
Oct 27 2023
A Mighty Team Of One - Chris Hudson - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 35
When you operate a small ops team, you need to have your processes down. Joining the show this week is a professional who excels at all aspects of operations. Please welcome to the show, Director of Revenue Operations at Otter.ai, Chris Hudson!Chris sits down with David Carnes and Jarin Chu for a thoughtful discussion on the role of RevOps. Chris explores how Otter is using their own tool internally, how AI can help ops teams, the value of building a scalable dashboard, and why RevOps is a seller’s best friend.  Takeaways:To excel in RevOps, one must learn the importance of ruthless prioritization due to the limited time available for completing tasks. Additionally, mastering the art of saying no is crucial in order to focus on the most significant priorities.As a mighty team of one, Chris holds four pivotal roles, encompassing DealDesk, Business Systems, Go-to-Market Operations, and Reporting Dashboards. Through careful planning, Chris enabled efficient processes and data-driven decision-making.With a small ops team, you need to efficiently leverage outside help. While responsibilities like deal desk need to be handled internally, CPQ systems and data research are prime for outsourcing. A strong RevOps team allows sales to focus on selling, leading to increased opportunities and closed deals. By relieving them of administrative tasks and providing insights from reporting and analytics, time can be better utilized for maximum impact.An important cross functional initiative for any team to consider is taking information from the sales team and relaying that back to product teams. Innovation happens at the edge and bringing design teams closer to that edge results in a better product. While building a fleshed out dashboard can be a time consuming project, you will quickly reap the benefits. As future reports are requested, instead of rebuilding the dashboard, you can simply tweak the parameters to get the data you need. Otter provides a shared repository of information and an AI chat feature that helps align executives, product managers, and sales teams. Sharing this knowledge internally allows Otter to expedite their own ops processes.Quote of the Show:“One of the main things that I love about my job is I get to teach.” - Chris HudsonShoutouts:RevOps Co-op: https://www.revopscoop.com/ Wizards Of Ops: https://wizops.org/ Modern Sales Pros: https://modernsaleshq.com/ Stephen Daniels: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenhdaniels Jeff Ignacio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbethechange/ Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjhudsonsf/ Website: https://otter.ai/ Blog: https://cjhudson.com/ Ways to Tune In:Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh
Prioritizing Quality First - Mandy Cole - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 34
Oct 20 2023
Prioritizing Quality First - Mandy Cole - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 34
When it comes to growing a young company, a RevOps team has their work cut out for them. With a background in VC, this week’s guest is here to help. She’s a visionary, results-driven GTM exec who excels at building multichannel teams. Please welcome to the show, Partner at Stage 2 Capital, Mandy Cole! Mandy joins David and Jarin to share her tips for RevOps teams. Mandy goes in depth on the importance of prioritizing quality over quantity, why sellers need to focus on buyer driven signals, and what the future holds for BDRs.  Takeaways:RevOps teams in a portfolio should focus on prioritizing quality over quantity in their outbound strategies. Utilizing new AI tools and personalized messaging can significantly improve pipeline building and enhance ABM strategies.The role of BDRs is evolving as companies leverage AI to improve outreach and achieve better success. While there may be a decrease in the number of BDRs needed, their focus will be on following up more effectively with targeted accounts.A successful RevOps team should prioritize both growth and retention, focusing on leading indicators of retention and product usage. By taking a data-driven approach to measuring pipeline, finger-pointing can be eliminated and shared goals can be achieved.Leveraging your CRM and incorporating a buyer-driven process ensures accurate pipeline reports and qualified leads, removing uncertainties and improving sales forecasting.It is important to consider red flags in RevOps due diligence, such as the lack of retention data, focus on inefficient growth, and absence of thoughtful processes implemented by the RevOps team.Companies should evaluate their tech stack and streamline their tools to avoid duplication and improve data integration. Additionally, they should explore new technologies, such as AI, to drive better outcomes and maximize ROI.It is crucial for companies to focus on one target market, such as mid-market, before expanding to enterprise. Attempting to cater to multiple market tiers simultaneously can strain resources and hinder success.Quote of the Show:“It starts with really understanding your ICP and your buyer journey.” - Mandy ColeShoutouts:Andrew Bennett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewleebennett/ Greg Kokino: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkokino/ Modern Sales Pros: https://modernsaleshq.com/ Links:Twitter: https://twitter.com/MandyHCole LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandyhcole/ Website: https://www.stage2.capital/ Ways to Tune In:Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh
Enabling Ops Teams With Collaborative Workspaces - Namrata Ram - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 33
Oct 13 2023
Enabling Ops Teams With Collaborative Workspaces - Namrata Ram - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 33
Joining the show this week is an ops leader with experience leading global teams at scale. She’s a multi faceted ops pro, with experience in sales strategy, monetization, marketing, and business ops. Please welcome to the show, Head of Revenue Strategy and Operations at Notion, Namrata Ram! Nam sits down with David and Jarin to share how she leads Ops functions at Notion. She dives into the nuances of aligning cross functional initiatives as a PLG company, the balance between short and medium term initiatives, and how Notion’s AI is empowering teams around the world. Takeaways:Proper management of a tech stack, including processes for testing and development, is crucial for empowering sales teams and minimizing the impact of system changes. This requires rigor similar to software development, even for customization changes.Outsourcing certain tasks, such as data cleanliness and repetitive work, can allow companies to focus on more strategic and complex responsibilities. Factors to consider include the complexity of the work, availability of talent, and fluctuations in workload.A key focus area for scaling a company is efficiently and responsibly establishing sales processes, methodologies, and operating cadence. These foundational elements are crucial for sustainable growth and achieving success in scaling efforts.Effective sales performance requires a balance between short and medium-term initiatives. While immediate change is possible in short deal cycles, significant results require two quarters of consistent effort to assess effectiveness and adapt accordingly.AI offers the ability to leverage personalized messaging and outreach to improve the conversion rate from outreach to meetings, ultimately leading to significant revenue impact. Notion's AI functionality offers features like summarization and improved writing, making work more efficient and impactful. By transforming meeting notes into action items and creating effective outreach, teams can enhance collaboration and productivity.In PLG companies, cross-functional initiatives between the growth and sales teams are crucial to impacting the full customer journey. By aligning onboarding processes with product usage from the beginning, teams can optimize the customer experience.Quote of the Show:“All these different metrics that the teams are goaled on is indirectly your goal. Because your job is to make sure that they are successful.” - Namrata RamShoutouts:Erica Anderson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-anderson-54b5878/ Eli Weiner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliweiner/ Robert Frati: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfrati/ Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/namrata-ram-715ba415/ Website: https://www.notion.so/product Ways to Tune In:Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh
Aligning Teams For Success - Henry Mizel - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 32
Oct 6 2023
Aligning Teams For Success - Henry Mizel - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 32
This week’s RevOps Rockstar is a high caliber leader at a high growth company. From his many years of experience, he understands the power of a centralized ops team. Our guest this week is none other than SVP of Revenue Operations and Partnerships at Apollo.io, Henry Mizel! Henry sits down with David and Jarin to share his expertise as an Ops leader, and how he’s helped drive revenue at a unicorn company. Henry dives into the importance of alignment, how his team is utilizing an automated SDR, and why teams should embrace rather than fear AI.  Takeaways:Driving alignment across teams and maintaining clear communication are essential to success. Creating transparency, understanding the audience, and simplifying complex ideas are key strategies for achieving this.Outsourcing or offshoring can be effective for new initiatives, but overreliance can become costly and less efficient. It's crucial to strategically hire for long-term projects that support teams and organizations.Achieving company goals and fostering alignment around strategy, definitions, and data are key indicators of success in the role of RevOps. A successful RevOps team ensures company growth and effective collaboration across departments.When it’s time to interact with the board, alignment and understanding your audience are the two main components. Partnering with the right teams, and tailoring the information to the makeup of the board ensures you continue to be involved in decisions. For Apollo, the use of an automated SDR is allowing them to revamp their sales engagement. By more effectively tracking demographic and product signals, they can trigger automated emails in a timely, personalized manner.Tech stack consolidation and leveraging AI are key disruptive trends in RevOps, with potential benefits and risks. Simplifying and streamlining tools can enhance efficiency, while harnessing AI can significantly boost productivity without job replacement.RevOps teams need to look at AI as a tool to help boost efficiency and productivity, rather than a concern that will take their jobs. Good ops teams who can leverage AI tools will see a boost in the output of their team. Quote of the Show:“If the company is aligned around strategy, definitions, and data, then I think RevOps is doing a good job.” - Henry MizelShoutouts:Brad Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonarbrad/ Matt Curl: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-curl-51470714/ Peter Kazanjy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kazanjy/ Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrymizel/ Website: https://www.apollo.io/ Ways to Tune In:Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh
Reshaping RevOps Through Generative AI - Hugo Robein - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 31
Aug 25 2023
Reshaping RevOps Through Generative AI - Hugo Robein - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 31
Joining us on today's podcast is an esteemed RevOps executive who has played a pivotal role in fostering the expansion of numerous generative AI companies. Welcome to the show, Director of Revenue Operations at Phrasee, Hugo Robein.Hugo joins hosts David Carnes and Jarin Chu to delve into the impact of generative AI in regard to the future of RevOps. Hugo shares his insights on the use cases of AI tools such as Phrasee and Chat GPT, and utilizing generative AI to create on-brand content for your company while optimizing your data with the aid of AI.Takeaways:In RevOps, nothing will ever be perfect. RevOps is full of change and it is important to acknowledge and understand that. While you may seek perfection, you need to utilize iterative change to make small improvements. Although it feels like companies are finally understanding what the role of RevOps is, it continues to evolve. While traditionally it was about marketing and sales alignment, RevOps teams are now responsible for also aligning CS teams. RevOps has the ability to provide crucial insights into the pricing structure for your company. By analyzing market trends, competitor pricing, as well as insights from sales calls and current clients, Ops teams can make crucial pricing decisions. When you interact with the board of directors, you need to be concise, and understand who your stakeholders are. Understand your metrics of success, and condense your findings into short insights that speak to your audience. One area of advancement with AI that Ops leaders should focus on is automation of tasks. Models that will allow you to connect applications and automate data entry will save hours of manual work. AI models that provide predictive analysis offer another opportunity for Ops leaders. Data engineers and analysts come at a high cost, and having an AI assistant that provides even a base level of predictive analytics will help many teams. While generative AI models are tempting tools for marketers, not all tools are created equal. Before sending your prompt, consider if that tool can write within your brand standards, follow regulations, and ultimately produce good content. Quote of the Show:“You need to understand what you want to achieve before going into AI. Otherwise, you're going to get a solution and you won't have any idea of how you're going to use it” - Hugo RobeinShoutouts:Matthew Volm, CEO and Co-Founder of RevOps Co-op: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewvolm Erol Toker, Automation, Technology, and RevOps: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eroltoker Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsrobein Phrasee (Company Website): https://phrasee.coPhotography: https://chloeboucherit.com/ Ways to Tune In:Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh
Mastering Salesforce Reports and Dashboards - David Carnes - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 30
Aug 18 2023
Mastering Salesforce Reports and Dashboards - David Carnes - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 30
Joining the show this week is a certified Salesforce savant. He’s a three times Salesforce MVP who knows dashboards like the back of his hand. He regularly hosts Dashboard Dojo, a biweekly series focused on dashboard reporting best practices. Welcome to the show, Author of the newly released book “Mastering Salesforce Reports and Dashboards", Co-Host of the podcast “RevOps Rockstars”, and Founder and Chairman of OpFocus, David Carnes!On this special episode, David and Jarin take some time to discuss his new book, the process of writing it, and why OpFocus strives to be a hub of RevOps knowledge.  Takeaways:There is a strong SaaS RevOps community, but no one is graduating with a degree in RevOps. To help industry members, OpFocus sought to become a hub of RevOps knowledge with podcasts, Dashboard Dojos, and David’s newly released book.Developers have become the driving force behind organizational development environments, but with how new RevOps is, it can be a bit confusing. By providing devs with resources, OpFocus helps them create better implementations. As a consumer of O’Reilly books, David was enthusiastic about joining their lineup of resource books. To write the book, David compiled his teachings from the Dashboard Dojos with his passions for dashboards into one integrated resource. While the book covers many topics, there are a few David thinks are the most important. Inside the book you’ll find resources for extending your reporting reach, ways to combine features, and how to properly utilize trending. If you’re struggling with your reports, the best thing you can do is play around with dashboards. Try running reports on the same dashboard with different components, or clone an existing dashboard and try to see how you can improve it. Writing a book is a daunting task, but leaning on your editor makes the process much easier. As you write chapter after chapter, their feedback will help bind everything together into a seamless experience. Quote of the Show:“Nobody's coming out of school with a degree in rev ops yet.” - David CarnesLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpcarnes3/ Website: https://opfocus.com/ Dashboard Dojo: https://www.dashboarddojo.com/ Book Link: https://a.co/d/1GsBLuK Ways to Tune In:Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh
Data Tells A Story - Jeremy Curley - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 29
Aug 11 2023
Data Tells A Story - Jeremy Curley - RevOps Rockstars - Episode # 29
Joining the show this week is a SaaS growth and operations executive who’s supported multiple private equity-led mergers & acquisitions. As a seasoned advisor for his portfolio companies, he helps them implement strategic initiatives. Welcome to the show, Senior Director at JMI Equity, Jeremy Curley!Jeremy joins hosts David Carnes and Jarin Chu to discuss the ways he supports RevOps functions at multiple companies at the same time. Jeremy shares his tips for success and advice on how to make sense of data, the importance of having a common thread in your portfolio, and how to best support your companies. Takeaways:As no two companies are identical, providing them with support requires the ability to understand where they are. Once you understand their uniquities, then you can start to fix problems with things like data, accounts, and segmentation. When your company portfolio focuses on a common thread of companies you can better advise each individual company. Because of their commonalities, you can draw on past experiences to address problems that arise. Companies have an in-depth understanding of where their wins are, but can often lack the perspective to make sense of the data. By helping organize the data, you will identify areas to make incremental improvements.Data is good, but the real value comes from people and the execution. In a PE firm, you need to also provide assistance to RevOps leaders. Sharing wisdom, showing new tips, and being there when they need you are common responsibilities. When you intake a new company, you need to quickly figure out what is, and isn’t working. The best place to start is by looking at the GTM strategy, and the ways the RevOps team is setting targets and driving alignment. In a Private Equity role, you’re working with different companies on a daily basis. While exciting, the variability presents a challenge. To stay on top of the work, the best things you can do are learn as much as you can, and build strong relationships. In a PE role, your main objective is enabling others at your portfolio companies to succeed. It’s important to to be available as a resource, be there as a contact for advice, and provide transparency and communication.Quote of the Show:“My job is not to take credit, my job is really to help people do great work.” - Jeremy CurleyShoutouts:The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-diary-of-a-ceo-with-steven-bartlett/id1291423644 Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremycurley/ Website: https://www.jmi.com/ Ways to Tune In:Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh
Take Over Or Take A Seat? - Paul Stansik - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #28
Jun 9 2023
Take Over Or Take A Seat? - Paul Stansik - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #28
Private equity firms can seem to be demanding when it comes to implementing tactics for improving business performance. However, done right, this is not the case. Effective operating partners have different processes when communicating with the portfolio company. On today’s episode of RevOps Rockstars, we feature the experienced writer, process developer, and Operating Partner at ParkerGale Capital, Paul Stansik.Paul talks about the harm in too much research and data, the four jobs of an operating partner, and the way to create realistic and attainable budgets for the portfolio company. Learn the mistakes you may be making when advising companies on how to burgeon success. Takeaways:More data does not automatically derive more results. Be selective when determining potential questions to research. Find out which are the essential questions that will impact business performance and only then spend resources to collect the data.Sales and marketing are not independent departments. They are meant to go hand in hand. Marketing is meant to make sales more manageable, and the departments need to communicate and collaborate. The operating partner has four jobs: to keep the standard, create business-improving agreements, keep score using metrics and reporting, and foster a demanding and supportive environment. Data is preferably industrial rather than artisanal, it should be readily available and constantly tracked, rather than dug up and recorded when necessary. This reduces the overall effort required to produce and increases reliance on data for improvement. Growth and success are not achieved through a one-and-done process, rather, they require constant feedback and incremental improvements on each version of the process or report created.Collaboration between the PE firm and the Portfolio Company is critical. Collaborative budget building will make a realistic budget that will be adhered to and employees feel respected and valued when the operations leader is open to input from them. When suggesting a plan to enact, provide the necessary resources and foster a safe and welcoming environment for questions and clarifications. Doing so will allow employees to be honest and vulnerable when a newly implemented process is unfamiliar.Quote of the Show:“You are there to help make growth inside the company more predictable, more repeatable, and just feel easier.” - Paul StansikTopics: 00:00 - Intro.01:14 - What do you wish RevOps teams within your portfolio companies would stop wasting time on? 03:30 - About Parker Gale Capital.05:42 - Measuring success in RevOps.07:32 - Engaging with the RevOps teams.09:11 - How a RevOps team might disappoint.10:13 - Paul’s day-to-day.14:46 - Measuring the success of the PE firm.18:53 - Red flags in RevOps.21:39 - RevOps teams should be doing more… 25:40 - Inquiry versus Advocacy.29:37 - What actions should RevOps teams take today?32:02 - Learning about Paul.36:03 - Shoutouts.41:04 - Contact and close.Shoutouts:Dave Kellogg https://kellblog.com/ Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulstansik/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulstansik Medium: https://pstansik.medium.com/ Company website: https://www.parkergale.com/ ParkerGale PE FundCast: https://www.parkergale.com/podcasts Book Link: https://www.parkergale.com/salesmetricsplaybook Ways to Tune In:Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh
Strengthening RevOps in a Growing Industry - Yin Cheng - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #27
Jun 2 2023
Strengthening RevOps in a Growing Industry - Yin Cheng - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #27
RevOps isn’t a siloed process, it is constantly in collaboration with marketing, finance, and other departments. Being able to increase communication will improve the overall operation of your company. Discover the right strategic moves from a five time startup success story and VP of Sales Ops at Dutchie, Yin Cheng. Yin goes in depth on how to fine tune the priorities and projects of your team and adopt a forward thinking mindset in the beginning stages of operation. Yin also shares his insights into improving your Salesforce infrastructure, preparing for a potential IPO, and nurturing the RevOps ecosystem. Takeaways:Over-communicating is underrated. Cross-functionality necessitates over-communicating with all stakeholders you interact with regularly or occasionally. Doing so will allow for all parties to maintain the same level of understanding of priorities in action.With the virtualization of the workplace, there’s less opportunity for unstructured conversations between team members. To combat this decreased opportunity, schedule regular cross-department and team meetings to recalibrate or refocus your mission. Get comfortable with prioritization. As a specialist and a leader, there is always more to get done. However, your time is valuable and if you’re not careful, you may stray from the company’s objectives if you don’t prioritize. In an industry that is relatively new, heavily regulated, and experiencing rapid growth, such as the cannabis industry, it is crucial to keep up with regulatory changes, such as potential legalization of distribution and use either on a state or federal level. IPO readiness is another growth opportunity that is important to track and prepare for. Get ahead of the game in part by properly architecting Salesforce to collect and organize the data that government bodies, investors, and banks are interested in. Though difficult, justifying the creation of a team or hiring of a new employee can be found by looking at data about points of tension for the existing team, gaps in the skills of current employees, and high rates of growth beyond a team’s capabilities.Both strategically and tactically, RevOps teams have a valuable role to play in the pricing and packaging of the product because they are the medium of communication between the customer and the producer.Quote of the Show:“My team's success reflects on my success as a leader.” - Yin ChengShoutouts:RevOps Platform:https://www.clari.com/https://exchange.tableau.com/ https://www.looker.com/ Podcasts:Sean Lane https://www.operationspodcast.com/ Rosalyn Santa Elena https://therevopscollective.com/ Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yin-c-540a4722/ Website: https://dutchie.com/ Ways to Tune In:Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh YouTube - https://youtu.be/BwHNEhrDNaQ
Balancing Possibilities With Needs - Hoppy Maffione - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #26
May 26 2023
Balancing Possibilities With Needs - Hoppy Maffione - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #26
On this episode of RevOps Rockstars, we’re joined by an operations powerhouse. With over 12 years of experience in operations, she has perfected her expertise in building systems and teams. She is renowned for her exceptional ability to assist startups in their growth and scaling endeavors. Welcome to the show VP of Revenue Operations and Strategy at Harness, Hoppy Maffione! Hoppy, David, and Jarin share the mic to explore the importance of communicating the value of the work you do, ways to tailor presentations for execs, and the difference between being right and being effective. Takeaways:Being right is not the same as being effective. While you may know what you want to do, you need to be able to evangelize for it. You can have the right ideas, but if you can’t convince people of them, it’s the same as not having the right ideas. There are two main types of work that would be outsourced, small easy tasks, and larger long-term projects. Small tasks are easy to hand off, but larger ones require a contractor who can easily integrate into your workflow and tech stack. Organizing a RevOps team is a project on its own, but a ticketing system is a great way to stay on task. A ticketing system will help plan for upcoming work, balance requested work with current tasks, and give you feedback into where you spend your time.Measuring success in RevOps comes from internal and external objectives. When looking externally, are you getting good feedback and supporting stakeholders? When looking internally, are you on track for projects and are there any slipped dates?Communication is key as you need to establish the value the RevOps team provides the company. A stakeholder doesn’t need to understand every detail, but they should have a clear picture of the time and effort put into a project. A unique way RevOps can bolster sales is by providing insights to the free trials team. If you can identify the product features that current customers enjoy the most, you can boost conversion rates by including them in the product trial. At presentations, the best way to get on an exec’s good side is to make their life easier. Take the info you are presenting on, and create a higher level more digestible version. Doing so takes away the hard thinking, allowing the exec to focus on making a decision. Quote of the Show:“There's a relatively straightforward path to becoming indispensable when you're making your execs' lives easier.” - Hoppy MaffioneLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmaffione/ Website: https://www.harness.io/ Ways to Tune In:Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh YouTube - https://youtu.be/svw-JnZHpJ8r3wgYyDaRY1S0K6JhwWQ
Talking With Top Stakeholders - Chris Glen - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #25
May 12 2023
Talking With Top Stakeholders - Chris Glen - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #25
Protecting revenue for a company is a delicate balancing act between getting new customers, serving existing customers, and handling operations work. This week’s guest is here to help make that balance easier. With over 9 years of experience in Business Systems he has built and led teams across a variety of departments. Joining the show this week is Head of Business Systems and Data Team at Invicti Security, Chris Glen! Chris sits down with hosts David Carnes and Jarin Chu to help teams revamp their change management strategies, strengthen relationships with company investors, and find their balance.  Takeaways: One of the most important things with major projects in RevOps is to get stakeholders involved from the start. You need someone who is in the trenches, and who can credibly defend the reasons for doing the project to leadership. For many companies, their systems teams often align closely with IT teams. For Invicti, their systems teams roll up into RevOps. For Chris, this means managing a team of generalists who cover data, business systems, revenue systems, and finance systems. Utilizing automation for CS Ops can offer many advantages, but getting started can be confusing. Start is with your communication channels. Automation tools allow you to quickly customize outreach, allowing you to more frequently contact customers.  When balancing in house and outsourced work, Chris considers the timeline of a project. Day-to-day fixes and projects under 2 weeks are perfect for internal teams. As projects approach longer timelines, those are ideal for outsourced help.  While you may want to focus on 2 or 3 long term projects that are most valuable for the company, you need to find a balance. If you’re too narrowed in, you won't be able to focus on compliance, preventing tech debt, efficiency gains, and operational gains.  When implementing new processes or changing systems, your work’s not done after implementation. Change management is people management, and you’ll need to continually work with people to keep them utilizing the system effectively.  Your investors are a valuable operations asset. Operating partners work with numerous companies, and can quickly distill what works, and what doesn’t. As an additional layer of help, their operating teams may even have analysts to assist you.  Quote of the Show: “For me, success is more about the journey than it is about the destination.” - Chris Glen Shoutouts: Maggie Astolfi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggieastolfi/  Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-glen-08a8851b/  Website: https://www.invicti.com/  Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars  Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh  YouTube - https://youtu.be/oJ7ATUJ4GAQ
Finding The Right Solutions For Your Stakeholders - Michael Boardman - RevOps Rockstars - Ep #24
May 5 2023
Finding The Right Solutions For Your Stakeholders - Michael Boardman - RevOps Rockstars - Ep #24
Today's RevOps Rockstar is a Sales Ops specialist. He’s an expert in all things GTM, sales metrics, and forecasting. Joining the show this week is Director of Revenue Operations at Riskonnect, Michael Boardman! Michael sits down with hosts David Carnes and Jarin Chu to cover the risks of rushing tech implementations, why you need to account for your different stakeholders, and what the future of RevOps looks like.  Takeaways: As a RevOps leader you need to be careful with the tech you implement. When looking for new options, pick ones that are asked for in the field. Having a partner in the field to help drive implementation is a crucial step to make sure the implementation is effective.  When you’re fixing problems, you need to balance the different internal stakeholders. An executive who brings you in and a frontline agent will have two different perspectives on the problem. Balancing their needs is critical to ensuring a proper solution.  When balancing in-house and outsourced work Michael factors scope and time. For projects that someone in-house couldn't handle or wouldn’t have time for, he chooses to outsource. Most other projects are then in-housed. When interacting with the board, you need to make sure your data is accurate. Pre-empt the questions that will be asked, and prepare data to back up your answers. It will take time, but it is important to demonstrate what is being worked on.  To drive success for multiple departments, you don’t need to obsess over the minute details. However, constant communication is key. Establishing weekly meetings to align on goals and discuss vision allows you to move forward in the same direction.  Tools like Gong and Chat GPT will revamp RevOps by providing new types of data. The challenge for teams will be the way the data is presented. Analyzing this unstructured data is the next big problem ops teams will need to solve.  As new technologies trickle out, ops teams need to adapt swiftly. If you want to maintain a competitive edge, you need to ensure early adoption, and mastery of new technologies. If you can master the tools, you will give yourself an advantage.  Quote of the Show: “When I join an organization, I spend a ridiculous amount of time talking to people.” - Michael Boardman  Shoutouts: Drew Mullen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewmullen13/  Taylor Young: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorvictoriayoung/  Phoebe Farber: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phoebefarber/  Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-j-boardman/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjboardmanphotography/?hl=en  Website: https://riskonnect.com/  Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars  Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh  YouTube - https://youtu.be/o7n3yjj1VNI
Moving Slow To Move Fast - Laura Wheeler - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #23
Apr 28 2023
Moving Slow To Move Fast - Laura Wheeler - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #23
This week’s RevOps Rockstar is a talented Ops leader who entered the tech industry while playing in a cover band working as an event coordinator. She’s a skilled salesperson and mentor who has seen every aspect of the sales and operations process. Joining the podcast this week is VP of Revenue Operations and Enablement at Spekit Laura Wheeler! Laura joins hosts David Carnes and Jarin Chu for an exploration of how Laura best enables her teams. In this episode we’ll cover the inherent cross functionality of RevOps, how outsourcing work can benefit startups, and what Laura’s go to karaoke songs are.  Takeaways: When you move slow you actually move fast. In RevOps it can be tempting to move quickly, but you’ll soon encounter issues. Moving slowly and thinking about the long term impact of actions will help prevent future issues.  RevOps is inherently cross functional. Even with small requests, it is important to understand what is trying to be done, what is trying to be accomplished, and who is going to be impacted by that change.  Laura’s team at Spekit works to serve the BDR’s sales teams, and the CS organization. With the current financial climate, Laura has prioritized CS ops to better understand what their journey looks like, and to protect ARR.  For startups, outsourcing work has a few benefits. It allows you to handle out of scope projects with short timelines very efficiently. While adding headcount allows you to invest in long term solutions, onboarding takes time and money you may not have.   As a RevOps leader, you need to take ownership of how engaged employees are. If they aren’t confident in their role or hitting their targets, that responsibility falls on you to provide them with solutions.  As AI tools progress in their ability, RevOps leaders would look to adopt them into their tech stack. AI tech has the potential to revamp the way sales departments write battle cards, construct pitches, and create engaging emails.  While RevOps leaders don’t need to be frontline leaders, having a close relationship can be beneficial. Close observation will help you understand where you’re falling short on revenue, what new tools you may need, and how messaging may need to be revamped.  Quote of the Show: “I take ownership of how engaged our employees are because those are my stakeholders.” - Laura Wheeler Shoutouts: Wizards of Ops: https://wizops.org/  Amy Volas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyvolas/  Thursday Night Sales: https://aspireship.com/thursdaynightsales/  Sales Enablement Collective: https://www.salesenablementcollective.com/  The Enablement Squad: https://enablementsquad.com/  Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wheels-spekit  Website: https://spekit.com/  Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars  Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh  YouTube - https://youtu.be/Wjcy5PKGupc
The Evolution Of RevOps - Dustin Brown - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #22
Apr 21 2023
The Evolution Of RevOps - Dustin Brown - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #22
On this episode of RevOps Rockstars we’re joined by a RevOps revolutionary. He’s a motivated Ops leader, with over 7 years of experience across a wide variety of industries. Welcome to the show, Senior Director of GTM Operations at Flashpoint, Dustin Brown! Dustin joins hosts David Carnes and Jarin Chu for an in depth discussion on how he unifies teams at Flashpoint through RevOps. In this episode Dustin shares the importance of understanding how your different departments are intertwined, the challenges of avoiding tech debt, and how he organizes RevOps through a hub and spoke model.  Takeaways: While RevOps teams get a reputation for having all the answers or knowing every solution, it’s ok to not know everything off the top of your head. If someone asks you for an answer you don’t know, do some research, and return with the answer.  In a well run organization, your success, marketing, and sales departments are tightly interwoven. RevOps needs to drive an organized GTM function. You don’t need to know the nuances of each department, but you should understand their function.  On a RevOps team, it’s important to understand the root behind each request. While adding in a new field may seem like the solution, a good ops team can address if that change may complicate other areas.  One crucial function of a RevOps team is preventing tech debt, but tech debt comes in many forms. Most commonly it is having multiple pieces of software that do the same thing. But it can also be owning a single piece of software that you don’t actually need.   Dustin organizes Flashpoint’s RevOps on a hub and spoke model. The core team is 3 people, with operational partners in different departments. Rather than owning everything, the RevOps team enables teams, while protecting the system’s integrity While Dustin’s team is the primary owner of their Salesforce, individual partners have their own dev sandboxes. Through multi stage deployments, departments are able to work towards fixes, and RevOps is able to ensure a smooth integration.  When outsourcing work, Dustin looks to an outside partner as assistance with overflow, and as an advisor. While sometimes he just needs extra person hours, he finds the real value in targeted engagements where you need expert opinion and guidance.  Quote of the Show: “I really believe that our role is to support the business holistically” - Dustin Brown. Shoutouts: David Giller: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgiller/  Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustinmbrown/  Website: https://flashpoint.io/  Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars  Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh  YouTube - https://youtu.be/B48r1Wns_no
Growing RevOps With The Right People - Danny Schonfeld - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #21
Apr 14 2023
Growing RevOps With The Right People - Danny Schonfeld - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #21
On this week’s episode of RevOps Rockstars, we’re delighted to feature a talented Ops pro with a lot to share. He’s an effective leader who is skilled at leading diverse, international teams. His early career involved working for both Deloitte and LinkedIn, allowing him to cut his teeth in the world of RevOps. Welcome to the show, VP of Revenue Operations at Glia, Danny Schonfeld. Hosts David Carnes and Jarin Chu interview Danny to uncover his strategies for leading teams across multiple time zones, striking a balance between strategy and operations, and using data to paint a narrative when presenting to the board.  Takeaways: Building out a RevOps team requires balance. Ops teams handle both long term revenue issues and short term fixes. It’s important to hire people who enjoy both types of work, and are able to transition seamlessly between them.  When you lead a team with members in different locations and time zones, an extra degree of flexibility is required. As a leader, allow your team members to structure their day in a way that works best for them.  Building a RevOps team is a two step process. When you start, hire people to add in cross support to other areas you serve. Once you have a strong foundation, new hires should be adding new value rather than just taking over operational tasks.  If your company already offers remote work, hiring outside the country offers a few key benefits. Hiring globally allows you to draw from a wider, stronger talent pool, and allows you to save money on new hires.  When determining whether to in house or outsource a role, Danny likes to consider timeline and investment. Tasks that require a lengthy training process are done in house, while those that are quick and don’t require in depth access to data are outsourced. When planning to interact with the board, you need to be efficient and prepared. When preparing slides, try to predict the questions you’ll be asked. When building a narrative on your work, allow the data to shape and shift the narrative as you build slides.  When planning for the future of RevOps, teams should be looking to implement AI and automation to their workflows. Using automation on repetitive time consuming tasks frees up valuable time for Ops teams to work more efficiently.  Quote of the Show: “You need to be excited about both the destination of the cool stuff that we’re building, as well as the journey of getting there.” - Danny Schonfeld Shoutouts: Kyle Stout: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stout0/  Bart Piela: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartpiela/  Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyschonfeld/  Website: https://www.glia.com/  Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh YouTube - https://youtu.be/L-HCXJB9o_o
Introducing Order to Chaos - Ali Seibel - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #20
Apr 7 2023
Introducing Order to Chaos - Ali Seibel - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #20
Today’s guest on RevOps Rockstars is an operations Swiss Army Knife. She has a passion for scalable processes, and a knack for keeping people on their toes. She is a constant innovator, who consistently goes above and beyond. Welcome to the show, Director of Revenue Operations at Groove, Ali Seibel! Ali joins hosts David Carnes and Jarin Chu to talk about what it really means to be a RevOps leader, how to effectively enable your teams, and the challenges faced when running a RevOps team.   Takeaways:  Not everyone truly appreciates the role that RevOps plays in an organization. This is especially true if the organization has never had a RevOps role before, which also means you’ll need to teach yourself as you go.  The people who are asking questions when rolling out a new process are the perfect internal stakeholders who can help you champion success. Their eagerness and curiosity provides a valuable source of data and insights.   Cross department collaboration is important in RevOps. Ali likes to identify things the ops team needs to own now, and future areas of ownership. For future tasks, the ops team works closely with the task owner until ops can fully own it.   As a RevOps leader, you need to encourage people to leverage you as an internal resource. Ops leaders know better than anyone else the pain of the buyers for their companies. One of the best parts of RevOps is getting to drive improvements for your teams. To execute effectively, you first need to find where you need to improve. Sit down with people who are struggling, identify their pain points, and implement solutions. Being a former customer and then ending up working at the company you were a customer of creates a great synergy and gives valuable insight into what parts of the software works, what doesn’t and how to fix it. As a RevOps leader, you may not always have someone at your company to learn from. The best resource for gaining more knowledge about RevOps is to follow and connect with other RevOps thought leaders on LinkedIn.  Quote of the Show: “You're someone who has to essentially introduce order to chaos.” - Ali Seibel Shoutouts: Brandon Redlinger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonredlinger/  Jordan Henderson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanmichaelhenderson/  Hilary Headlee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilaryheadlee/  Rosalyn Santa Elena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosalyn-santa-elena/  Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therevopsswissarmyknife/ Website: https://www.groove.co/ Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars  Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh  YouTube - https://youtu.be/c0wI9S2qonw
The 6 Pillars Of RevOps - Kay Dastgheib - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #19
Mar 31 2023
The 6 Pillars Of RevOps - Kay Dastgheib - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #19
Today’s RevOps rockstar is someone who develops top performing teams, and has a passion for scalable and sustainable business growth. As a RevOps leader, he focuses on establishing a proactive data-driven culture. Joining David and Jarin this week for another amazing episode of RevOps Rockstars is the VP of GTM Strategy & Operations at Mural, Kay Dastgheib. David, Jarin, and Kay dive deep in to Kay’s 6 pillars of RevOps, how he empowers team members to utilize data, and the ways to use your RevOps skills to build an effective garden. Takeaways: Data is the language of RevOps, but everyone speaks at a different level of fluency. While some things may seem obvious internally, Ops teams need to take the time to effectively communicate their observations.  When presenting your data, it’s not enough to just show the numbers and stats. RevOps teams need to distill into actionable insights. You need to convert the data into benchmarks or milestones that teams can work towards completing.  RevOps professionals need to also consider themselves revenue leaders. RevOps leaders need to keep an eye on booking targets and the forecast pipeline. Pacing on gross and net retention alone is not enough.  Kay breaks his RevOps team into 6 operating pillars. Sales operations, revenue enablement, business analytics, CS operations, marketing operations, and go to market systems.  When it comes to finding the balance between in-house and outsourced work, a large factor for Kay is time. For time bound projects that require expertise on tap, Kay prefers to leverage external consultants.  It wouldn’t be RevOps if there wasn’t something that needed immediate attention. As a RevOps leader, you need to rely on your teammates under you for critical escalations. Setting metrics of importance allows you to supervise the team without micromanaging.  While simpler is often better, RevOps teams operate within multiple pieces of software. Having a central source of truth is good, but ensuring the way you construct your reports are synonymous is a crucial step.  Quote of the Show: “Our stakeholder’s success is our success.” - Kay Dastgheib Shoutouts: Josh VanGeest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrvangeest/  Anil Somaney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anilsomaney/  Chris Hays: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishays1/  Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayvandb/  Website: https://www.mural.co/  Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars  Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh  YouTube - https://youtu.be/zKGrhOCwbFI
Nail It And Scale It - Cody Guymon - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #18
Mar 24 2023
Nail It And Scale It - Cody Guymon - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #18
This week's guest on RevOps Rockstars is a strategic sales & operations leader who was recognized as one of Utah’s 2020 Business Executive 40-under-40. He helped Qualtrics go from a $1B unicorn to an $8B SAP acquisition and then through an IPO at a $20B+ valuation. Welcome to the show Chief Operating Officer, GTM Operations at Workato, Cody Guymon! David, Jarin, and Cody sit down this week to discuss the value a statistician brings to a ops team, why you should start preparing for board meetings as soon as the quarter ends, and the value of doing ride-alongs with sales reps.   Takeaways: When assigning territories you need to keep fairness and equity in mind. You don’t want one rep to have 80 customers and another rep to have one. By using data to assess spending and industries, you can divide up accounts more fairly.  While Cody measures general success through the company number, he also ties each functional unit to the function they support. A Field Ops Director for EMEA is tied to EMEA results, a CS op is tied to the overall goals of the CS team.  To drive successful results, you need to be methodical. Block out time in your calendar for strategizing. Talking with frustrated sales reps will help boost their morale, give you a better understanding of issues, and build stronger relationships.  When balancing outsourced and in housed work, Cody prioritizes outcomes and speed. For features that have high impacts, are needed quickly, and take a while to build, he will outsource. For longer term, less urgent projects, those are handled in house.  The best thing you can do in a new RevOps position is to “nail it and scale it”. Whatever function you start in, learn the ins and outs of the role, become world class at it, and then scale yourself.  When preparing for board meetings, earlier is better. If you start preparing right after the quarter ends, all of your data and initiatives are fresh in your memory. Starting early gives you extra time, giving you weeks before a meeting to review a polished deck. A best practice for RevOps leaders is to stay close to your sales and revenue teams and really understand how they work. Riding shotgun with sales people and attending marketing events will give you a clear picture of how those teams operate.  Quote of the Show: “I find a lot of the innovation just comes from listening to sales.” - Cody Guymon Shoutouts: BJ Larsen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanjlarsen/  Yezi Peng: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yezi-peng-5223652b/  Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codyguymon/  Website: https://www.workato.com/  Email: cody@workato.com  Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstars  Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6Chxh YouTube - https://youtu.be/Ej0FSaMWEis
Putting The Right People In The Right Places - Tyler Uteg - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #17
Mar 17 2023
Putting The Right People In The Right Places - Tyler Uteg - RevOps Rockstars - Episode #17
On this week’s episode of RevOps Rockstars, we’re joined by someone who enjoys scaling teams and organizations to make them more efficient and productive. He’s a proven relationship builder, and an established leader who knows how to use data to drive decision making processes. Welcome to the show, VP of Revenue Operations at Muck Rack, Tyler Uteg! Tyler is a RevOps pro who joins hosts David Carnes and Jarin Chu to give them the scoop on how Muck Rack has built a successful RevOps department. In this episode we’ll discuss all things KPIs, the importance of a good CRM, and how to make sure you give the right accounts to the right people. Takeaways: Because of how new RevOps is, there is no playbook. One of the hardest challenges is figuring out exactly what a company needs from their Ops team. You’ll need to be able to balance and meet the needs of many departments.On an Ops team, you’ll be asked to complete a lot of different tasks. It’s important to understand that not everything is urgent. Ops teams need to be strategic in prioritizing the core issues to drive effective progress.As a RevOps lead, you need to be proactive about hiring as you don’t want to react to things on the spot. To help align leadership with your goals, build out clear roles and responsibilities, and explain why each role will help the overall business growth.As RevOps’ responsibilities change frequently, it’s important to be aligned with your team. Set quarterly OKRs for your department, align on vision and strategy, and identify your core deliverables.As a RevOps team, you need to have the right team members targeting the right accounts. Different accounts have different needs, and pairing those accounts with the member who best supports them reduces churn.While there are lots of great tech tools out there, your CRM is the foundation of your tech stack. If you’re not effectively using your CRM, the other tools in your tech stack will fall short.Looking towards the future of tech in RevOps, more teams need to take advantage of AI enabled call analysis software. These tools allow you to rapidly analyze sales calls and outreach methods, and allow you to improve outreach at a faster rate. Quote of the Show: “Core alignment is the most important thing for any RevOps professional in any business.” - Tyler Uteg Shoutouts: Jordan Henderson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanmichaelhenderson/Jeff Ignacio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbethechange/Jacob Dailey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daileyjacob/ Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyleruteg/Company website: https://muckrack.com/ Ways to Tune In: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/08a4b302-d25e-4b7b-a11a-60e9b51df083/revops-rockstarsApple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revops-rockstars/id1654084702Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6ynGAP60cktaDs1Cb6ChxhYouTube - https://youtu.be/SonWEGcacPY