Rev Ops vs Sales Ops: Know the difference

Tech advancements are seriously shaking things up — changing how people buy things and making businesses really reconsider how they make money. This has really put customer led growth in the spotlight. Lots of companies already have a growth marketing team working hard to smooth things out in the sales and marketing department. But not everyone’s clued up about this thing called revenue operations, or RevOps for short. 

Even though rev ops and sales ops are both all about money, they’re not quite the same thing. 

To get your head around what makes revenue operations vs. sales operations different, and find out where they fit in your business, let’s chat about what they actually do and see how they stack up against each other.

What is sales ops (sales operations)? 

Unlike revenue operations, sales ops teams — the superheroes of the sales department — handle the big stuff like mapping out territories, handling tech, and creating reports. They’re the ones who come in with their capes swinging when it’s getting late in the sales cycle. They’re like your ultimate co-workers, but, hey, don’t mistake them for sales enablement teams, who are the early birds in the sales life cycle, always there to make sure the sales squad is supported.

The name of the game for sales ops? Amping up sales performance! 

What does sales operations team do

Sales Ops is focused on making their sales reps lives easier. For this, they take on the following heavy-duty tasks: 

• Pipelining: They keep the sales pipeline flowing, ensuring a smooth journey from lead generation right through to closing deals.
• Growth marketing analytics: They are the data nerds. They collect, analyze, and interpret data, creating reports that help the sales team make stronger, more informed decisions.
• Tech Management: They’re in charge of all the cool tech the sales team uses, managing everything from CRM systems to the latest sales software.
• Forecasting: Using data and market trends, they make sales projections to help guide strategies and decision-making.
• Training & Support: They’re the ones who help new sales team members find their feet and offer ongoing support to the existing team.
• Strategic Planning: They plan the selling strategies focused on customer satisfaction and maximum revenue generation.
• Performance Assessment: They check out the sales team’s performance, find areas for improvement, and send kudos where deserved!
• Resource Allocation: They decide who and what goes where — like how to divide territories between sales reps or how to allocate the sales budget.

Using their secret weapon of data analysis and sales forecasting, sales ops teams sketch out the sales strategy. It’s like the chess grandmasters in the sales ops vs. revenue ops game, conjuring up moves that would make Bobby Fischer break into a cold sweat! They make sure that everyone knows their role and can play their part.

Read also: Growth marketing vs performance marketing: what to choose for your business?

Example of the sales operations team in action

Let’s take a look at a detailed case scenario of sales operations within a hypothetical SaaS (Software as a Service) company named “CloudDesk”:

To address a decline in close rates due to increased market competition, the sales operations team at CloudDesk devised a strategy to enhance the team’s performance and streamline the sales process.

Here’s what they implemented:

• Data Analysis and Sales Forecasting: The team performed detailed analyses of the sales pipeline and historical data. They identified trends and patterns that indicated where leads were being lost most frequently in the sales funnel. Using these findings, they updated their sales forecasts and redistributed resources to the most critical areas.
• Revamping Pricing Structure: The analysis revealed that the pricing structure was a stumbling block as prospects compared CloudDesk to competitors. The sales operations team implemented a tiered pricing strategy, offering different packages to better cater to customers’ varying needs and budgets.
• CRM Overhaul: The sales team was spending an excessive amount of time manually entering data into their outmoded CRM system. The sales operations team introduced a sophisticated CRM system that automated data entry tasks, freeing up more time for the sales team to focus on selling. 

This comprehensive approach produced tangible results, including a substantial increase in the close rate, greater sales team efficiency, and a more predictable sales forecast. This case illustrates how pivotal sales operations can be in enhancing the overall sales performance of a SaaS company.

Goals of the salesops: 

• Creating a Clear Vision: These guys are the map-makers for the sales team. They create a clear vision and set the path so everyone knows where they’re headed.
• Maximizing Efficiency: Sales ops are seriously into efficiency. They’re all about making everything smoother and faster. Think — better systems, processes, software. You name it, they’ll streamline it!
• Standardizing the Sales Process: They want to make sure all reps are singing from the same songbook. They create a standardized sales process that all reps can ride on for a smoother journey.
• Setting Up, Streamlining, and Optimizing the Sales Tech Stack: One look at your sales tech and they’re on it like white on rice, setting things up, making them better, and getting them to work just right.
• Supporting Sales Enablement: They’re the super-sidekicks to the sales team, stepping in with training and growth marketing tools that make the sales folks’ job easier and more effective.
• Boosting Sales Performance: The scoreboard matters to these guys. They’re here to pump up those sales numbers and get the reps to not only meet but exceed their targets.
• Eliminating customer pain points: They’re all about making the customer’s journey feel like a walk in the park. They work to toss out any friction and build a super-smooth sales process that keeps customers coming back.
• Increasing Revenue Growth: There’s always room for more! They’re itching to see the revenue curve go up and up!

The goal for sales ops, in a nutshell, is to take the sales team to the next level, making them insurmountably effective, efficient, and customer-oriented. And they do it all with a smile (and lots of coffee)!

Benefits 

They’re the behind-the-scenes rockstars boosting performance in crucial ways. Let’s chat about some key benefits, backed by some snazzy stats, of course.

• Boosting Efficiency: In the league of sales operations, the sales ops team stands out for its relentless focus on streamlining processes. Research by Salesforce shows that businesses adopting a sales ops strategy can see a 15% increase in their sales productivity.
• Increasing Sales: When it comes to driving numbers, sales ops are in their element. SiriusDecisions found that the presence of an established sales ops team can lead up to 20% growth in sales!
• Guide with Data: Trying to avoid the productivity pitfall? You’d be amazed to know that a study by InsideSales confirms nearly 64% of a sales rep’s time is lost on admin tasks in the absence of a sales ops team.
• Improving Sales Cycle: If shortening sales cycles is on the agenda, there’s nothing like having a solid sales ops team. In the spectrum of sales ops vs. revenue ops, a Harvard Business Review study divulges that companies with dedicated sales ops see as much as a 23% shorter sales cycle.
• Greater Customer Satisfaction: In their aim to eliminate friction to offer a smooth sail for customers, sales ops has been able to score high on customer satisfaction indices. A KPMG study reveals that such businesses can garner 20% higher customer satisfaction rates!
• Savvy Use of Tech: Good news for the tech-enthusiasts, adept usage of tech and software by sales ops can lead to a 14.2% dip in sales cost, and that’s according to Aberdeen Group’s research.

There you have it! In the discussions around sales ops vs. revenue ops, always remember that sales ops brings its unique set of advantages to your digital business, boosting it in ways that make a solid impact.

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What is revenue operations revops?

When you toss “revenue ops vs sales ops” into the mix, it’s like comparing a coach to a team captain. Sales Ops is the captain of the sales team, making sure everyone in sales is doing their best. But, RevOps? Well, it’s the super-cool coach making sure the whole company — not just the sales team — is raking in the profits. Really, it’s a whole different ball game.

RevOps, short for revenue operations, is essentially the cool cousin of the company that brings all the teams together and gets rid of anything stopping the big bucks from rolling in. It’s all about fueling growth by making sure things run as smoothly as possible.

How does Revenue Operations work? 

Picture this, RevOps is like the coach for your company’s teams. It’s not just about getting things done fast, but also about making sure everyone works together in a way that brings in more dough. Talking about revenue ops vs sales ops, while Sales Ops focuses on getting the sales hustle right, RevOps is playing the bigger game — pulling everyone together for that sweet sound of ringing cash registers.

Example

Imagine a team working hard on a winter sale campaign. The marketing team is creating flashy ads, the sales team is prepping for inquiries, and customer service is getting ready for post-purchase queries. 

But, they’re all working in isolation. The marketing team is clueless about the sales team’s strategy, and the customer service is out of the loop about the sale timings. This leads to a disjointed process and the customer experience isn’t great.

Now, enter RevOps. 

They notice these separate teams aren’t all singing the same song, so they step in. They organize a meeting between marketing, sales, and customer service. They ensure everyone knows what the others are doing and devise a strategy that fits all teams. 

The result? A sale campaign that goes without a hitch. The customer receives consistent communication and overall satisfaction goes up. This leads to happy customers and better sales — that’s RevOps in action!

 What does revops team do?

• Connects different teams like Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service.
• Streamlines communication between teams.
• Implements systems and tools for improved efficiency.
• Analyzes data to inform business decisions.
• Establishes the processes to improve customer experience.
• Measures and improves the operational effectiveness of the company.
• Aligns company’s strategy across all departments.
• Drives revenue growth by removing operational bottlenecks.

Goals: 

RevOps, also known as Revenue Operations, has aims that set it apart when you consider ‘sales operations vs revenue operations’.

• Break down silos within an organization: The prime aim of RevOps (an ideology that is essential in the ‘sales operations vs revenue’ conversation) is to cultivate better communication and collaboration among marketing, sales, and customer service teams, making sure everyone is working towards one common objective.
• Increase operational efficiency: One key objective associated with ‘operations revenue vs sales’ is that RevOps seeks to refine processes and implement systems that help teams function more efficiently and productively.
• Improve customer experience: A critical goal of RevOps in the ‘sales operations vs revenue’ dynamic is to cultivate a smooth, positive customer journey, from initial interaction through to post-sales support.
• Drive revenue growth: In essence, when we think ‘operations revenue vs sales’, all strategies and processes adopted by RevOps are geared towards increasing the company’s revenue.
• Align strategy across all teams: Cementing its significance in ‘sales operations vs revenue’, RevOps ensures all departments are aligned with the firm’s primary objectives and strategies through fostering communication and collaboration.
• Provide actionable insights: Through data analytics, another distinction between ‘operations revenue vs sales’, RevOps aims to offer insights that can steer decision-making and enhance business performance.
• Enhance scalability: A pivotal aim in the ‘sales operations vs revenue’ context, RevOps enables organizations to scale effectively by creating processes that are both efficient and automated, able to adapt and grow with the organization.

Benefits:

Adopting Revenue Operations (RevOps) can provide a multitude of benefits to a company, a point affirmed by numerous data. Taking a look at the ‘RevOps vs Sales Ops’ comparison, we can understand the all-encompassing approach of RevOps and the significance of its effectiveness. Here are some prominent statistics that emphasize this:

• Companies that have integrated RevOps achieved 36% higher customer satisfaction rates, reflecting the effectiveness of a unified approach against ‘Sales Operations vs Revenue Operations’. RevOps align marketing, sales, and customer service, enabling a seamless customer journey. (Source: Forrester)
• Businesses with collaborative sales and marketing teams, a key pillar in the ‘RevOps vs Sales Ops’ discussion, reported an average of 32% higher revenue growth. This alignment is a cornerstone of the RevOps strategy. (Source: Aberdeen Group)
• Salesforce’s “State of Sales” report highlights that 80% of high-performing sales teams consider their sales and marketing teams as fully integrated, reinforcing the effectiveness of RevOps in enabling synergy among teams for optimized performance.
• A SiriusDecisions report mentions that organizations with well-aligned sales and marketing teams — a principle aim of RevOps against the narrower ‘Sales Operations vs Revenue Operations’ contrast, experience 15% higher profitability and 19% quicker revenue growth annually.
• LeanData’s State of Revenue Operations report illustrates the ‘RevOps vs Sales Ops’ matter, demonstrating that companies with RevOps models saw a 71% higher stock performance.

These statistics may vary based on factors such as company size, industry, and others. However, they significantly emphasize that businesses implementing RevOps models generally outperform those that do not. Although correlation doesn’t equate to causation, these figures indeed suggest vital benefits of implementing RevOps models.

What’s the difference between rev ops vs sales ops?

This section aims to highlight these differences, providing you with a better understanding of their unique roles and contributions to an organization’s success. Let’s delve into the specifics of “RevOps vs Sales Ops” and how each one functions to boost a company’s performance.

Time to sum the things up. Here is what experts say: 

How are they connected?

Sales Operations and Revenue Operations (RevOps) are interconnected, each contributing to an overall aim of business growth and profitability. These two operations, “sales operations” and “RevOps,” often work in synergy and their connection is pivotal in understanding the dynamics of “revenue operations vs sales operations.”

• Sales Operations, a part of the broader RevOps machinery, usually focuses on the tactical and strategic initiatives within the sales teams. These initiatives include setting individual and team sales goals, management of sales team resources and tools, overseeing the sales pipeline, and implementing sales techniques and strategies.
• RevOps or Revenue Operations, on the other hand, encapsulates all customer-facing operations including sales, marketing, and customer success teams. Its main aim is to break down the typical departmental silos, enhancing each department’s contribution to revenue generation. RevOps strives to ensure a seamless and efficient customer experience along the entire customer lifecycle, thus making a broader and more holistic impact.

In the “revenue operations vs sales operations” comparison, Sales operations can be considered as a subset, directly feeding into RevOps. Activities and strategies in the realm of sales operations are crucial as they directly affect the efficacy of the broader RevOps machine. As a unified engine, RevOps capitalizes on the outputs of sales, marketing, and customer success operations to create cohesive, streamlined business functions that drive revenue growth.

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Which is right for your company: Revenue operations vs. sales operations?

Choosing between Revenue Operations (RevOps) and Sales Operations (SalesOps) for your company depends on your business size, structure, and operations strategy.

Remember, SalesOps can be a part of a broader RevOps framework. As your company grows and becomes more complex, you may find operational advantages in expanding from SalesOps to a more all-encompassing RevOps approach.

FAQ on rev ops vs sales ops 

How are RevOps and SalesOps connected?

Revenue Operations (RevOps) and Sales Operations (SalesOps) are intrinsically connected, both playing important roles in a company’s growth and profitability. 

Sales Operations functions as a subset of RevOps, and it’s typically focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the sales team. This can involve setting sales targets, managing resources and tools, overseeing the sales pipeline, and implementing sales strategies.

RevOps, on the other hand, is a more holistic approach, integrating and aligning all revenue-related functions across an organization, including sales, marketing, and customer success. The ultimate aim of RevOps is to eliminate operational silos, enhance customer experience, and increase revenue.

Therefore, the strategies and activities of SalesOps directly feed into the wider objectives of RevOps. The insights and outputs provided by SalesOps are utilized by RevOps to align strategies across departments, optimize processes, and ultimately, drive revenue growth.

Read also: Your Growth Marketing Strategy Template with guide and examples

How can a shift from SalesOps to RevOps affect a company?

Shifting from a Sales Operations (SalesOps) to a Revenue Operations (RevOps) model can bring significant changes to a company.

• Breaking down silos: RevOps aligns all customer-facing departments — including sales, marketing, and customer success — ensuring they are working together towards the same goal. This can eliminate departmental silos that often hinder efficiency and customer experience.
• Improved Customer Experience: With a streamlined approach to operations, customers can enjoy a consistent and seamless experience at every stage of their journey. This can lead to improved customer satisfaction and retention.
• Enhanced Decision Making: RevOps provides a more comprehensive view of the business operations and customer lifecycle. This can enhance decision-making efficiency and accuracy.
• Revenue Growth: By ensuring all departments work together seamlessly and efficiently, RevOps can lead to increased operational efficiency and revenue growth.
• Better Forecasting: Greater alignment between departments can improve the accuracy of forecasting and strategy setting.

It’s important to note that transitioning to a RevOps model requires careful planning and execution. It may require changes to team structures, processes, and even company culture. Thus, the transition should be approached with a clear understanding of these implications and a plan to manage potential challenges.

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What are the main challenges businesses face when implementing RevOps and SalesOps?

Implementing either Revenue Operations (RevOps) or Sales Operations (SalesOps) can pose unique challenges:

• Resistance to change: Organizations may encounter resistance from employees used to traditional operational structures and processes.
• Data discrepancies: Merging and aligning data from various departments can be challenging, especially if different teams have been using different product metrics framework KPIs or platforms to track performance.
• Siloed departments: Breaking down existing departmental silos and fostering collaboration can be difficult, particularly in larger or well-established organizations where these silos have been ingrained over time.
• Lack of tools and technology: Both RevOps and SalesOps rely heavily on technology for data analysis and automation. Lack of the right tools or software can pose a challenge.
• Resource allocation: Shifting resources to align with a new operational strategy can be complex and may face internal resistance.
• Skill gaps: Both RevOps and SalesOps require specialized skills. Organizations may find they need to invest in training or new hires to fill these roles.
• Change management: Managing change and ensuring smooth transition is always challenging. This can include redefining roles, reallocating resources, and adapting to new processes.
• Visibility and accountability: With RevOps, ensuring transparency across all departments and holding them equally accountable for revenue generation can be challenging.

Overcoming these challenges requires careful planning, clear communication, strong leadership, the right tools and technology, and commitment to the process from the entire organization.

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