Here are some of my favorites templates/resources 1. OpsCast Podcast (https://marketingops.com/podcasts/) 2. OpsStars Conference (https://www.ops-stars.com/) 3. Operations with Sean Lane (https://operationspodcast.drift.com/public/13/Operations-43678) 4. RevOps Podcast (https://www.revenue.io/revops-podcast) 5. Marketing Ops Professionals Slack Group 6. Darrell Alfonso - Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellalfonso/) 7. Chief Martec (https://chiefmartec.com/)

When there are only one or two team members, I would have the team focus on mission-critical projects only. The three main areas would be 1: Sales process & forecasting, 2. Define and measure KPIs, 3. Sales Compensation design. Initially, individuals will cover broader responsibilities but will not have the capacity to go very deep in each area. All of these can evolve throughout the business, but I would clearly define and set the structure by working closely with your sales leader. * Sales Process & Forecasting: You can be simple with the process. In the beginning, set 2 - 3 action items and 1 - 2 exit criteria for each stage. Don't worry too much about getting the fields or validation rules right. The key is to train the sales team so that it becomes easy to remember and follow. In one of my roles, we used to print and laminate a 1-pager, and all reps had it on their desks. Also, investing in solid forecasting tools (Aviso, Clari) will be foundational. Making sure there is visibility and enforcement on forecast categories (pipeline/upside/commit) goes a long way. * Define and Measure KPIs: For SaaS businesses, there are ~10 metrics you should care about. (ARR (by region, business type, segment), Average Deal Size, # of Deals, Cycle Time, Conversion Rates, Win Rates, # of Customers, Retention Rate, Rep Productivity, Rep Attainment). You should define these metrics and build your SFDC data structure so that anyone can easily pull these numbers. It will save you time to focus more on strategy and insights if you get the fundamentals in place. * Sales Compensation Design: Again, comp plans can be simple. There are many standard comp plans out there. I would stick to those and not do anything crazy. As the business evolves and business goals change, you would want to add components, but in general, I will keep it to the basics.

Here's a few trends I've observed for revenue operations: 1. Rev ops is becoming an umbrella org for operations teams supporting other business functions 2. Rev ops is fast adopting AI, but AI is still in its infancy Rev Ops Umbrella Org - historically departments like marketing, sales, sales enablement and customer success operate separately and have their own operations team. However, given how inter-connected these functions are to help acquire, retain, and up-sell customers, companies are starting to move the operations team for each function under an overall rev operations org. Take Action - As a rev ops practitioner, regardless of your current org structure, set-up operational cadences and joint KPIs with other operations teams to promote better collaboration and drive revenue growth. Use the cadences to review performance against joint KPIs and provide a feedback loop on your functions (e.g. what types of customers does Cust Success successfully retain or upsell that we can inform Marketing to target as an ICP) to create a flywheel for revenue acceleration. AI is Table Stakes - GTM SaaS vendors have been quick to embrace and incorporate AI into their offerings. The majority of vendor's AI use cases help increase GTM productivity (e.g. use GenAI to compose an email or conduct research on an account). What AI doesn't do well right now are to provide proactive insights to Rev Ops team (i.e. recommend what account to work on, what specific tasks to complete and in what sequence in order to maximize revenue). Take Action - Increase seller productivity by enabling them on the latest AI functionality in your tool stack, and incorporating them into your playbooks. At the same time, no vendor will have more knowledge about your company's data and sales playbook than your company to determine what proactive insights can be raised. Work with your IT team to gauge what AI technologies are needed to surface actionable insights, and evaluate whether to buy vs build the tools taking into consideration needed resources, cost and time.

You should own all of the KPIs/metrics if you are the first revenue operations hire. Initially, you'll need to validate the data sources and availability, put a system (and potentially tools) in place to capture them and do the calculations and visulization yourselIf the first few times. I once worked at a company that did not look at any metrics in their weekly executive staff meeting. I made it my mission to develop a simple executive dashboard with operational metrics that was reviewed by leadership at the start of the call. It helped galvanize the teams in the facts and drove better decision-making. And by establishing myself as the data expert with finger on the pulse of the business, I utlimately earned a seat at the table.

Honestly, I believe revenue operations leaders need soft skills more than hard skills. Hopefully they are coming from a background where hard skills like data analysis and visualization and Excel/SQL were needed, but broadening this question out to general skills - data analysis, storytelling, and communication and collaboration are the most important. * Data analysis: Revenue operations leaders and teams are working with and responsible for the data that supports their stakeholders, so leaders should have a strong skillset in taking that data and using it to answer questions and solve problems so they can support stakeholders as well as help their teams do the same. * Storytelling: This is kind of an extension of data analysis, but all the best data analysts are also outstanding storytellers. The CEO of your company is often not going to want the nitty gritty details of an analysis project, and so revenue operations leaders and professionals need to be able to distill complex topics into simple stories and narratives that someone who is not in the weeds will understand and take action on. * Collaboration: This is obviously important in MOST jobs, but revenue operations leaders are constantly working to align different teams and stakeholders across business functions, as well as help their own teams make the right strategy decisions. For example, Sales and Marketing are so reliant on each other, but oftentimes aren't collaborating nearly as much as they should be. A RevOps leader needs to be able to quickly identify those gaps and drive action based on aligned data, priorities, and initiatives. 

I think it comes down to a few things and I don't think this is specific to revenue ops. I borrow this concept from one of my favorite Youtubers, Ali Abdaal, who notes in his upcoming book that meaningful work boils down to three P's - power, play, and people. And if you have a team or an organization that does all three well, you'll have a good chance of retaining people. * Power is about autonomy and progress, the feeling that people have control over the work that they do. It also encapsulates a feeling of progress, and having a destination to work towards. Do people feel like they have a path forward? Do they have autonomy? Being able to say "Yes" to both is necessary to retaining (and hiring) talent. * Play is simple - it's enjoyment. It's the idea that doing the thing, the work in and of itself, is joyful and fun. Do they enjoy the work? Are they being challenged enough? Are they bored? * People is many things, but fundamentally I think it's about teams. I picture this as an inner circle and an outer circle. The inner circle is the immediate team that someone is in, their manager, their direct coworkers, the people they interact with on a daily basis. Is there a sense of connection with the team? Do people feel like they have to compete with one another? How are ideas discussed? How are they criticized? It's often said that people leave managers (and teams), not companies, and that's what the inner circle is about. The outer circle is the broader organization and company. It's less relevant than the inner circle, but still important. A strong sense of connection the company's mission is a indicator of retention.

Correlation between Go-to-Market actions and renewal success is one of the most studied areas in SaaS firms. Although the answer will vary for each firm, having a data driven point of view on actions and indicators that lead to positive renewal outcomes is imperative. Examples of actions and indicators: - Seat utilization - Renewal meeting 90 days ahead of renewal date - Account continuity - Customer-specific metrics (e.g. HC growth) - Documented and updated customer objectives With clarity around actions and indicators that influence renewal outcomes, the next step is to define: - Which team own each action/ indicator? Roles and resposibilities/ "swim lanes" - What "good looks like" for each action and indicator? - How to report performance against each? - How to ensure accountability? In my experience, the "blame game" as referred comes from lack of clarity and alignment on the steps above.

First and foremost, whatever the OKRs you choose need to check two basic principles in my opinion: 1.Alignment with Business Objectives: Each OKR has to be directly tied to the broader goals of the organisation, ensuring that the efforts in RevOps contribute tangibly to the company's overall success. 2.Passing the "So What" Test: The chosen OKRs must be crafted not just to track activities but to generate meaningful outcomes. They should answer the "so what" by demonstrating how each key result impacts the business either by driving growth, efficiency, or helping with market expansion. Here are some examples of some good OKRs you may want to start with: Objective 1: Improve Sales Efficiency * KR1: Increase the lead-to-close rate by 15% by the end of Q2. * KR2: Reduce the sales cycle length by an average of 10 days by Q3. * KR3: Implement a new CRM system with at least 95% adoption rate among the sales team within 4 months. Objective 2: Enhance Customer Retention and Expansion * KR1: Achieve a customer retention rate of 90% by the end of the fiscal year. * KR2: Increase upsell and cross-sell revenue by 20% by Q4. * KR3: Implement a customer feedback loop, achieving a 50% response rate, to inform product development by the end of Q3. Objective 3: Optimize Revenue Operations Processes * KR1: Automate 30% of manual reporting tasks by the end of Q1. * KR2: Reduce operational costs by 10% while maintaining or improving service quality by the end of the year. * KR3: Develop and launch a training program for new RevOps tools with 100% team completion by Q2. Objective 4: Strengthen Data-Driven Decision Making * KR1: Increase the accuracy of sales forecasting by 25% by Q3. * KR2: Implement a new analytics dashboard used by 100% of the sales team weekly by Q2. * KR3: Conduct quarterly data audits to ensure 98% data accuracy across all sales and customer platforms. Objective 5: Expand Market Reach and Revenue Streams * KR1: Launch two new product lines contributing to a 15% increase in total revenue by Q4. * KR2: Enter two new geographic markets, achieving a sales target of $X by the year-end. * KR3: Establish three new strategic partnerships that enhance product offerings by Q3. Each of these objectives tackles a different aspect of Revenue Operations, from sales efficiency and customer retention to process optimisation, data-driven decision-making, and market expansion. The key results are quantifiable and time-bound, providing clear targets to aim for. Remember, OKRs should be reviewed and adjusted regularly to reflect changes in the business environment and organisational priorities.

To justify a promotion you want to be able to show impact, followership and consistency. You want to be able to say 1. this is what I did 2. this is how I did it 3. I'm operating at this level consistently. 1. Impact: show with numbers the impact that your initiatives had on the business, and point to your leadership / actions that enabled it. Quantifying your impact to the business, and leading these types of initiatives is key. 2. Followership: Build a strong followership of teammates and cross functional partners who would pound the table for your promotion. Operate in a way that you are an effective collaborator, make room for other people's ideas, and people enjoy working with you. 3. Consistency: Show consistency (6-12 months) of operating at this high level, driving impact and building your followership. You must show that you have truly upleveled your skills across several initiatives vs. a one off big win.

Forecasting rigor and hygiene will be critical to your success. If you are just getting this dashboard off the ground I would make sure there is a component of the dashboard that speaks to the last time an opportunity was updated. Additionally, if you are tying stages to a business forecast you should make sure you have a regular live sync or a regular push of information to your key stakeholders to state what you are forecasting. When they come back with a feeling your number is low you can expose the formula you are using and the values going into it. By creating a more consistent cadence you can ensure the stages are updated at more frequently.