3 Steps to Structure Your RevOps Team for Success

Creating a well-oiled revenue operations machine requires structuring your team in a way that sets everyone up for success. But if your company has had “siloed” departments for a long time, figuring out what the revenue operations team structure should be and how to get there isn’t easy.

When deciphering the best revenue operations team structure for you, it’s important to consider the specifics of your company. Depending on the current structure of your organization, revenue operations will incorporate any department or role that affects the current revenue lifecycle. Therefore, your RevOps team might look different than that of a larger organization or a different industry.

There’s no specific revenue operations team structure you must follow, so long as each department in your current customer lifecycle is included. To ensure your RevOps team includes key players in your revenue-generating process, consider these three steps.

Step 1: Establish the Needs of Your Company

The structure of a revenue operations team boils down to the specific needs of your company. Begin by conducting a customer journey audit to understand the strongest areas of disconnect across all departments. Answer some critical questions, such as:

• • Who reports to whom?
  • How does each department share crucial data for revenue purposes?
  • Where should the key players in your RevOps team be placed?

Identifying the company-wide areas that contribute to gaps in the revenue process will help you make the best judgment as to who (and how many) professionals you’ll need to construct a strong revenue operations team. Bear in mind, the size of a company may only allow so many employee additions, so structuring a RevOps team may involve incorporating existing employees.

Related article: How to Build a Revenue Operations Strategy That Will Grow Your Company

Step 2: Research What a Typical RevOps Team Structure Looks Like

As mentioned, there is no specific structure a RevOps team must follow — only guidelines based on your business size and industry. With the size of your company as a basis, your revenue operations team structure may be as simple as designating a revenue operations manager to each department – these managers can then communicate with each other during the customer lifecycle to ensure data accuracy.

Another method that can be used to create an ad hoc RevOps team is the use of a committee structure. Rather than hire all new staff or shift existing roles to fit into a revenue operations job description, a company can choose to select someone from each department — whether it’s a lead marketing manager or customer success leader — to report daily to a revenue operations manager to ensure complete revenue visibility.

However, if a company is looking to significantly scale its operations, there may come a time when a distinct RevOps team will need to be constructed and operate as its own entity. Such a team would operate side-by-side to conduct revenue operations and maintain interdepartmental communication to collect crucial revenue data.

As a starting point, a basic revenue operations team structure looks like this:

• • Sales operations: Oversee various functions including sales forecasting, sales process management, and opportunity management at the start of the customer lifecycle.
  • Finance operations: Maintain multiple financial functions of a RevOps team – like financial analysis and budget analysis – while sales are in the pipeline.
  • Implementation: Manage a variety of external roles, such as order management, new customer onboarding, and customer success, as well as internal professional development.
  • Revenue reporting and analysis: Monitor the state of sales as they move through the customer lifecycle via business analysis, data science, or database development.

Remember, your revenue operations team structure can shift as your company continues to expand. Likewise, when structuring your RevOps team, there may be a bit of trial and error as you learn what structure works best for your operation.

Related articles:

• • How to Build a Revenue Operations Software Stack for a B2B Business
  • Bookings vs. Revenue: Top Mistakes Companies Make When Tracking This Metric

Step 3: Start Building Your Revenue Operations Team Structure

Now that you have a good idea of what your RevOps team structure needs to look like, it’s time to start building that structure. A good place to start is with your sales operations team.

A sales team includes four main divisions: 1) technology and equipment; 2) planning and strategy; 3) operations; 4) and performance. We’ve also identified seven common roles within this team that are important from a RevOps standpoint.

Here is a quick summary of some tips for building a successful RevOps team:

• • Hire the right people. Your RevOps team should be made up of people with a variety of skills and experience, including sales, marketing, data analytics, and technology.
  • Create a clear vision and mission. Your RevOps team should have a clear understanding of its goals and objectives.
  • Set clear KPIs. Your RevOps team should be held accountable for its performance through clear KPIs.
  • Invest in the right tools and technology. Your RevOps team will need access to the right tools and technology to be successful.
  • Empower your team. Give your RevOps team the authority and resources it needs to be successful.
  • Communicate effectively. Make sure your RevOps team is communicating effectively with all other departments in your company.