How to become a RevOps MVP

Your job as a RevOps leader often calls on you to be a utility player — a true MVP of your organization that inspires all areas of the business.

For instance, whether or not you have experience building compensation structures, at some point, you will be called upon to build or evaluate your team’s sales compensation plans.

You’re also the tech wizard, responsible for building an effective and meaningful tech stack that enables your team to do their job better. Plus, you’re the data storyteller and must be able to show data in a way that connects with board members, leadership, and individual contributors.

All while driving revenue.

It’s a lot to balance, right?

Fortunately, we lined up an incredible panel of RevOps leaders, including Camela Thompson of Calibermind, Ryan Milligan of QuotaPath, and Matt Volm, CEO at RevOps Co-op.

The three discussed tips and best practices on where and how to prioritize your time around compensation, technology shopping, and data sharing.

Read below for a recap of key takeaways.

How do you analyze your comp structure?

Ryan: There’s such a human component behind sales compensation in addition to the math. It’s one of the biggest areas where you can lose or retain trust in your team. So, I start by understanding how the reps are motivated. What do they like about the existing model? What do they not like?

From a mathematical perspective, what are the things you want to motivate your team to do that are very closely tied to the performance of the business? How do I build those into comp plans that are motivational for the business and for the rep that is within their scope of control?

Camela: I start by analyzing the current structure by looking at how many people are attaining compensation. What is the attainment rate? If 20% is hitting 100% of your number that’s such a red flag.

Ultimately when you’re designing a comp plan, the goal should be at least 50% to 60% of your team is at 80% or above attainment.

And, when I see problems with attainment, I dig into product efficiencies and enablement.

To check the health of your comp plans and Quota:OTE ratio, use our free tools Quota:OTE Ratio Calculator and Compensation Hub.

How do you approach your tech stack?

Ryan: I look first at the problem then tie the tech to how it solves the problem.

Problem | Tech to solve it

Identify your buyer → Lead generation

Talk to your buyer → Sales engagement/marketing automation

Record conversions/interactions → CRM/Call recording

Track the data of your business → Data warehouse/BI analytics

Motivate your team → Commission tracking/CRM updating

Simplify your buyer journey → Lead routing/ territory planning

Camela: At tiny startups like the one I’m at, we are overwhelmed with tech requests. So to help, I look at the following:

Do we have the bandwidth to manage a new tool?
Are we purchasing tools that overlap?

I also encourage you to not be a snob about technology. I’ve fallen into that trap myself. HubSpot used to be subpar, but they’ve made so many strides. I used to be a Marketo fan but now HubSpot does everything I need to do, so why be a snob about it?

How to become a better data storyteller:

Ryan: When you’re trying to understand what’s going on with your business, you have to understand the variables that are driving change versus just the output.

If new annual recurring revenue is down quarter-over-quarter, to do anything, you have to first understand what is driving that metric and why.

Open up a full view of the funnel, and show and tell the “why.”

Camela: I think people really need to pay attention to this and internalize it. Data doesn’t change minds. Stories do. The higher I climb in corporate, the more I realize that how people feel outweighs the data. You have to tie the data to something they care about and where they are concerned. Use tools like video to show rather than tell.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful questions throughout the webinar and again to our panelists.

Resources

Our panel referenced three free resources throughout the webinar that you can find here: