Podcast
December 20, 2024
Episode 20: RevOps vs. GTM Ops
Learn the difference between revenue operations and go-to-market operations and why titles, reporting structures, and a centralized leader are critical.
In this episode of the RevOpsAF podcast, co-host Matt Volm chats with Tana Jackson, Global Head of Revenue Operations at Chronicle Heritage. Every team has a utility player, and for many companies, that’s the RevOps leader. One day you’re knee-deep in Salesforce, the next you’re training the sales team on new processes.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of being a ticket-taker, which makes finding time for those strategy-impacting projects non-existent! Tana shares her experiences and best practices for switching from reactivity to proactivity, allowing you to focus on building out the initiatives you really care about.
“Always asking the questions. Does this align with the business operations process and goals? What are we going to get out of this?” - Tana Jackson
Getting out of the ticket-taking mindset requires prioritizing your own time, being very transparent when communicating with stakeholders, and being clear about what initiatives must be removed from your plate to accommodate new requests.
Tana acknowledges that finding the right balance is hard. At her current organization, she feels more tactical at the moment because it’s what the business needs. At the same time, there’s a roadmap of strategic projects she’s putting together. Most RevOps professionals can relate #amirite? 😿
Jump to the clip to hear about how RevOps is the utility player in the business game.
“You're in control of building the relationships. If you're bringing people along on the journey, that can push projects forward more effectively.” - Tana Jackson
Tana uses the example of a CRO trying to clean up their pipeline. RevOps might look at the data and see that it’s in terrible shape and that sellers aren’t following the right process.
This is your chance to provide a solution!
Take the time to clean up the pipeline, build the right reports, and make sure their forecasting tool is accurate. Ultimately, you want to make your stakeholders’ jobs easier.
Jump to the clip for the low-down on why establishing yourself as a partner to stakeholders can help avoid fires.
“Prioritize communication because you want to provide value to the company and support what the business is striving to do.” - Tana Jackson
When you’re planning your year, look at your business goals and the number of projects you have and make sure that they’re aligned. Next, figure out which are your top priorities and low priorities and set timelines. Apply project management best practices and set OKRs for your team to accomplish, like improving SLAs or rolling out new initiatives.
Check out our article on change management and our 90-day roadmap for revenue operators for inspiration.
Jump to the clip to hear about Tana’s contract clean-up initiative at Chronicle Heritage.
“Instead of defaulting to tactical get-shit-done sort of questions that we all have inherently in our nature as operators, just ask those business questions, first.” - Matt Volm
Matt shares a story about a VP of Marketing who came to RevOps saying that he wanted to buy a gifting platform. Rather than asking tactical questions like, “Does this integrate with Salesforce?”, Matt asked what OKR the platform will help the business address this quarter and what problem the VP is trying to solve. It turns out, the VP just wanted an easy way to send gifts to customers.
Jump to the clip to learn why today’s macro-economy means it’s even more important for RevOps to establish its value to the business.
“If you don't have somebody paying attention to all those little details in the weeds, you can't really improve the process.” - Tana Jackson
RevOps can make a huge difference in revenue by being the eyes looking to the horizon and the ears to the ground. GTM teams will know there are problems, but it’s RevOps' job to identify why. Are contracts falling through the cracks because there are no automations in the opportunity management process? Are there email reminders to call prospects back? Identify the gaps in the process and the friction points so you can introduce improvements.
Jump to the clip For Tana’s advice on not being afraid to have difficult conversations about strategy, diversity, and more.
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