RevOps: The Modern Operating Model for Fast-Forward Organizations

The original version of this article, authored by Craig Rosenberg, was published by TOPO, now Gartner. 

Revenue operations (RevOps) is the operating model for driving efficient, predictable revenue. RevOps is not a function but rather a way to better align the organization.

Organizations are always looking for revenue growth, and that need increases following a period where sales are flat or negative. Sales and marketing teams scale their efforts to accelerate growth in response to improving economic conditions through a series of specific actions. 

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Some of these actions include:

• Adopting lean, agile, go-to-market functions
• Moving to a data-driven decision framework
• Building a resilient, forward-looking organization
• Adopting RevOps

The RevOps operating model is a series of repeatable activities conducted across go-to-market functions including marketing, sales, sales development and customer success.

3 key attributes of RevOps model

Three attributes identify the RevOps model:

• The process design is end-to-end and supports the entire customer life cycle.
• It is interconnected with seamless workflows across integrated systems, data and functions.
• It is observable by providing visibility into execution and outcomes across the revenue process.

The TOPO Revenue Operations Framework is a standardized methodology for helping go-to-market organizations adopt the strategic shift toward end-to-end revenue management, practiced by the world’s fastest-growing companies. Above all, the framework provides a strategic starting point for alignment, diagnostics and action.

6 organizing elements of RevOps model

The RevOps model is organized into the following elements: 

• Strategy. Plan that aligns with revenue objectives to organize and mobilize the revenue organization
• Process. Design, management and tracking of end-to-end revenue processes
• Workflow . Manual and automated processes required to create an interconnected revenue process
• Data. Data needed to manage and optimize end-to-end revenue processes
• Analysis. Agreed-upon activities to monitor and measure across the revenue life cycle
• Technology. Technology stack required for RevOps execution

Start by identifying gaps

When using the TOPO Revenue Operations Framework, we recommend starting with a diagnostic of your current state as it relates to each of the key elements to determine which areas have the largest gaps to address. These gaps will serve as the initial building blocks for iteratively improving how to best apply it to your organization.