RevOps Co-op Weekly #53 - Strategies for Increasing Your Operations Budget
They say more money, more problems, but just think of all the operational issues you could solve... Negotiating more budget is a must-have skill!
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Strategies for Increasing Your Operations Budget
Camela Thompson she/her (RevOps Co-op)
I am SO excited to introduce @Krystal Diel! Recently we recorded a video session on something many of us are agonizing over right now - BUDGET PLANNING. Krystal, before we dig into the deets, what is your favorite food and beverage? 🧉
Krystal Diel
Hi! I'd have to say that my most favorite food is Nachos paired with a Frozen Strawberry Margarita!
Camela Thompson she/her (RevOps Co-op)
Ohhhh...excellent choices..... So how did you first get roped into budget discussions?
Erin O'Neill (RevOps Co-op)
Oooo, my kind of lady! I am such a sucker for nachos and a good marg.
Krystal Diel
In my role it's important that I am on the lookout for things that can help solve challenges we are having today but also looking for things that can help create efficiencies in our current processes.
I typically need to have a good understanding of the issues and to communicate those to leadership.
Camela Thompson she/her (RevOps Co-op)
So do you primarily focus on the operations budget or are you also involved in planning for other departments?
Krystal Diel
I focus on any tool that is under the umbrella for Revenue Operations. For us that means Marketing, Sales, or Partnerships.
Camela Thompson she/her (RevOps Co-op)
Nice! What do you think is THE most important groundwork RevOps needs to do before convincing others to hand over the 💵?
Krystal Diel
Gosh, there are TWO most important things that are included in the ground work:
1. A good understanding of the the problem you are trying to solve
2.Research! It is critical to have done research to vet out what are some potential ways to solve the problem
I think a good ol’ fashioned Pros and Cons list is the right tool to get the job done and to make a good recommendation.
Trevor Greyson (RevOps Co-Op)
How do you recommend intake of requests as these new problem requests come in?
Krystal Diel
Great question, Trevor. When I think of intake, I think of how to gather the requests. We use a ticketing system to gather input from the team to submit tickets to us if they have a problem that needs solving. When we have tickets we can see trends and also we can prioritize which problems are causing the most issues.
I will add that if it's a major problem that is coming from the C-Suite, those usually take priority.
Camela Thompson she/her (RevOps Co-op)
Do you have any tips and tricks for building an airtight case for a solution? Like an ROI formula or places to look for real $$$ data?
Krystal Diel
A few things come to mind but the thing that I do the most is to have a good understanding of what the cost is of not solving the problem.
You can consider doing math on the following:
1. How much time is wasted doing things the current way?
2. What is the cost associated with this wasted time? Here I consider who's time is being spent and an average amount of dollars per hour that is being allocated to solve this problem.
From there I can compare it to how much time and money is being saved with the proposed solution.
Camela Thompson she/her (RevOps Co-op)
Awesome! And I assume that people shouldn't sweat the minutia too much... use average salaries, average time spent, etc.?
Krystal Diel
100%. Averages are usually enough to show enough comparison to get the point across.
Camela Thompson she/her (RevOps Co-op)
You brought up something that I think is SO important the last time we chatted. Confidence. And how we need it to do everything from convincing leaders to buy into handing over budget to presenting data trends. How can people start to be aware of stuff like body language or tonality? I know this is a passion topic.
Krystal Diel
Ah yes, a topic so close to my heart!
…There’s more! Read the full AMA here 👉 Strategies for Increasing Your Operations Budget
🗣 From the Community
#04_revops-questions
10/5/21: Hey team - my client recently acquired two companies and we are beginning to merge our sales tech stacks. Has anyone tackled an integration like this before and would be willing to chat about your process? We don’t have a dedicated project manager so I am going to attempt being that person as well as the “doer” in most instances 😳. I’d love to get some advice from someone who has handled a merge before! Thanks in advance. Read 9 Responses.
10/6/21: I’ve been tasked with building and implementing a sales process for a team of about 15 reps (SDRs, AEs, CS). What’s the best way to document this to share with leadership and the rest of the team? Do you just write it out in a Word doc? I figure creating something in Lucidchart could get messy/complicated real fast. Read 9 Responses.
10/7/21: Hi everyone, I’ve been asked by several customers how PLG companies we work with structure sales commissions plans in the world of PLG. We’re starting to collect some of the most common answers and I’d love to hear what everyone here is doing/seeing at their companies! Can you reply here or shoot me a DM? Read 7 Responses.
#08_tools-and-software
10/5/21: Hi Everyone, I typically inherit a marketing automation platform. For the first time, I'm going to be selecting the solution. I realize the criteria needs to be tailored to an org, but wanted to see if anyone had a vendor eval matrix for this they wouldn't mind sharing as a jumping off point. Thank you for your consideration! Read 3 Responses.
💬 Access the RevOps Co-op Slack group here to contribute to the conversation!
🐦 This week in #RevOps Twitter
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…and let’s not stop there!
Words from the wise. 🦉
📅 Upcoming Events
Slack AMA with Nicole Smith - Tuesday, October 19 @ 9am PT (12pm ET)
Tune into #03_general as we get into live conversation with Nicole Smith, Head of Revenue Operations at Greenlight Guru. Get your questions in about building better reporting, creating unique solutions to allow your tech to work based on your process, and growing in your revenue operations career.
RevOps Happy Hour in Austin, TX Ya’ll! - Tuesday, October 19 from 5pm-8pm. Central Machine Works.
Come and join us for our very FIRST in-person RevOps industry happy hour!
Meet other area RevOps pros, make new friends, and strengthen your network. The co-founders of RevOps Co-op and Funnel IQ will be in attendance - Matt Volm, Ganesh Sridharan, and Trevor Greyson.
We can't wait to meet ya'll! RSVP in the Link above. 👆
RevOps Hangout! Virtual Networking - Thursday, October 21 at 2pm PT (5pm ET)
Come and meet other folks from the RevOps Co-op. Share your ideas, get some great tips, and make new friends. Co-hosting are Cliff Simon and Seamus Ruiz-Earle with Carabiner Group.
Hangout Topic: Annual Planning! Building a Revenue Plan and Building a Headcount Plan
Bi-weekly Product Led Revenue Peer Calls | Correlated
We're a group of revenue leaders who meet bi-weekly to talk all things PLG & PLG sales (product led revenue!).
REVCON | RevGenius - Thursday, October 14 at 11am
A virtual conference on the future of Sales, Marketing, RevOps & Customer Success.
📚 Your curated #RevOps reading list
Why Documentation is Your Secret RevOps Weapon | Hubspot
If RevOps is the glue that holds the company together, documentation would be the recipe for making the glue. Or if RevOps fuels or speeds up the revenue engine, documentation could be the instructions on how to put the fuel into the engine, use the right kind of fuel, the right amount for the right conditions...
Documentation and its role in change management may not be as exciting to talk about compared to common RevOps topics of tools or data, but if your people aren’t enabled with easily accessible and clear documentation of what they need to know about or do in your tools, or with your data....your tools will not be useful and the data will be a mess!
The evolution of go to market strategies of B2B SaaS in 3 charts | HeadsUp
We all hear about the magic of product led growth. Why then are companies becoming less product-led as they grow? In this article, the GTM motions of 30 top B2B SaaS companies (e.g., Notion, Retool, Salesforce) are broken down in 3 charts. We see how companies transition from purely product-led to a mix of product- and sales-led, and at times even becoming fully sales-led. The article also explains why companies tend to do so, as well as the other GTM trends observed
5 Qualities You Need to Be a Great CS Ops Leader | Gainsight
So, you want to be a CS Ops Professional? Well, have you been paying attention to the job market? If so, you may have seen the recent uptick in interest and advertisement for positions as a Customer Success Operations Manager or Administrator. But you may have also noticed a lack of clarity and standardization of hiring requirements, guidelines, and experience. As a result, details often overlap and can seem confusing.
🎧 RevOps Podcasts
BEYOND QUOTA PODCAST - Episode 10: AJ Bruno | Scratchpad (A RevOps Co-op Community Partner)
Pouyan, Corp, and AJ Bruno, Co-founder and CEO of QuotaPath chat about going from sales to starting a SaaS business and that challenges of getting teams together during a pandemic.
Product Led Revenue - Moving from Sales-Led to Product-Led Revenue with Steffen Hedebrandt from Dreamdata | Correlated
If you’ve recently converted to a product-led revenue model or are looking to do so, you don't want to miss this episode of Product Led Revenue with Breezy Beaumont. Earlier this year, Dreamdata transitioned from a traditional sales model to a product-led revenue model, an enormous undertaking for any company.Chief Revenue Officer at Dreamdata, Steffen Hedebrandt, talks with Breezy about the transition and what they've learned from the experience. He predicts where the company might be headed and the impact that PLR will have.
The Revenue Marketing Report - What Marketers Need to Know About Privacy-First | CaliberMind
Quimby Melton, Co-Founder & CEO of Confection.io, joins our host, Camela Thompson, in this episode of the Revenue Marketing Report. Quimby shares what all is being impacted by the privacy-first trend and what the future may look like for digital marketers.
🔥 A few HOT #RevOps Jobs (a ton this week!!)
Director of Growth | RFPIO Inc.
Sr. Revenue Enablement Manager | Weights & Biases
Sr. Lifecycle Marketing Manager (Growth) | RevOps, Inc.
Revenue Operations Systems Manager | Weights & Biases
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Business Development Manager | InDebted
Business Technology Lead | Workstream
Revenue Operations System Administrator | Superside
Salesforce Tech Architect/Manager | DISQO
Salesforce Developer | Visible Alpha
Salesforce Developer | DISQO
GTM Intelligence Sr. Analyst | Workstream
Revenue Operations Analyst | Superside
Revenue Operations Analyst, Client Success | InDebted
Revenue Operations Analyst, Sales | InDebted
Senior RevOps Systems Specialist | Degreed
Sales Operations Specialist - Austin | TikTok
Sales Operations Specialist - NA SMB | TikTok
Pardot Consultant (Contract 6mo) | DISQO
Jira Administrator (Contract) | DISQO
Funnel IQ is an operating system for your GTM team that provides end-to-end, full funnel analytics and insights that keep marketing, sales and customer success teams aligned and working seamlessly together to drive more revenue growth for your business.