Top 7 Challenges in Revenue Operations

June 3, 2023
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On average, companies grow 8% faster than their competition (Forrester) when they have a full revops strategy. However, building out these strategies means overcoming at least seven key challenges identified.

Why Implement RevOps Solutions? 

Revenue Operations (RevOps) is an approach that eliminates silos, it brings together sales, marketing and customer service and success. Old approaches to revenue generation predictable growth are not working- that is why RevOps is on the rise. When you have a seamless integration of revops, it has over arching benefits to companies that implement this. Companies report seeing increased revenue growth, achieving higher performance, becoming more productive, and being more aligned as a whole for business needs.

Do Challenges Exist?

Of course! Implementing key performance indicators can be great for companies, but it can also come with headaches and challenges for leaders. Planning and execution is becoming more challenging in todays market. Below we will dive into common challenges that RevOps leaders face. Keep in mind, this list is not inclusive as each company is unique. Let's dive into the top revenue operation challenges we see.

1. Goal Setting

Companies starting or continuing on their RevOps crm implementation journey need to create a shared set of goals and activities to work towards. Sales and Marketing Operations are traditionally viewed as separate teams. But, with RevOps, the goal is to align these two teams together to support revenue growth. When a company sets overall goals, that each department is aligned to reach together, it is more likely to reach success and growth. That is not to say that the teams cant have their own goals and objectives to work towards - but they must go hand-in-hand working together for the good of their company, not just their siloed team. 

2. Losing Control

Pretend that you are an executive leader who runs the sales or marketing team. How would you react if someone approached you about taking authority over your own team members and the entire team? At first thought - that might sting a little. Leaders do not want to give up authority or control. This can be a big barrier and challenge for RevOps leaders. It could ultimately create tension and further silos in the company. Senior leadership in sales and marketing teams should challenge themselves to work openly with RevOps team. 

3. The Unknown is Scary

Starting a new collaboration effort can leave a lot of employees wondering what the future entails and weary of next steps moving forward. A good first step in implementing RevOps framework is to get people to collaborate together like they never have before. People across the sales process, marketing and customer success teams should know each other to understand the customer lifecycle. They should feel comfortable enough to share goals and customer experiences and collaborate towards growth. Implementing RevOps can seem like your company is having a reboot on how it plans, collaborates and works together. If silos are prominent- some companies might need to focus on team bonding before asking your teams to work together and trust one another. 

4. Undervalued Approach to Growth

Change can be hard. Decision makers can be resistant to new approaches to growth. Unfortunately, this leaves RevOps leaders having to defend their case to fund and promote more revenue. RevOps leaders must define the value that RevOps will bring their company. Data quality reports and research can be helpful to sell a senior executive on understanding revenue operations. Research other companies in your niche who have rolled out revenue operations strategy. Did it work for them? Share this with decision leaders to help solidify the choice to pursue revenue operations. 

RevOps leaders must help their company to enable businesses to see the opportunities that sales team can bring to increase efficiency. Lack of buy-in from leaders and executives is a big challenge. Align the goals of RevOps to the goals of sales and marketing teams- to become more efficient and generate more sales. 

 

5. Lacking Skill Set

Even if a company wants to single source tangible results - they might not have the skill sets on at their company to do so. A RevOps leader must be able to understand multiple sources of data, manual clear processes, and tech. They must be able to scope and monitor goals and objectives. One skill set that is specifically important is that RevOps leaders must be able to understand and utilize a range of tech and application platforms. Someone who is data-aware and who thinks big picture would be a good fit for a RevOps role.

6. Budget is Lacking

In todays climate, getting funding approved can be difficult, if not impossible. One challenge in a revenue lead generation is finding the budget to delegate and/or hire this role at the company. Second, it can also be a challenge to approve funding for new tech and tools when funds are drying up. If we think about revenue operations as a team that brings together marketing sales teams - it might be viewed as secondary to these primary teams. This mindset can be harmful and lead to companies making budget cuts and reducing RevOps strategy funding which will reduce revenue instead of increase revenue. Revenue operations should be viewed as equal to sales processes, marketing activities and customer experience success teams. 

7. Tech Stack is Out of Wack

The last challenge we will note is when tech across a company is not aligned. A RevOps leader can complete a tech audit to find areas of need and strength within the company within a customer journey. Deciding what tech to use can be a headache. There are thousands of marketing tools and applications for marketing sales. Look to peers and colleagues who have customer experience with tools to help make decision for your company for customer success. Tech alone will not solve everything- but it is a great foundation for sales and marketing teams to promote RevOps. 

Conclusion

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