The RevOps role has become a catch all.
I’ve worked on 10+ RevOps hires in the last year and there is one consistent thing that stands out - there is no clear definition of RevOps :)
Instead, job descriptions read like a laundry list of tasks that no one else has time for. They range from extremely strategic to exceptionally tactical, and cover the full spread in between. Some are basically sales ops, others cover the broader revenue and customer facing teams - a few even lean towards data science.
As a quick thought experiment, I wondered what would happen if I built a word cloud based on the “key responsibilities” of RevOps roles. I put “RevOps” into LinkedIn Jobs, filtered on Director+/Head of, and copied 47 job descriptions into a word cloud generator.
The results?
Nothing really stands out: sales, revenue, processes, operations…and “etc”
Literally, THE most frequent words used in a set of requirements for RevOps is “etc” - this job could not be more of a catch all:
So why do I flag this?
When you set out to hire RevOps, you have to understand that there are many different “flavors” of candidates. People who are first and foremost Salesforce admins, who come from a finance or data scientist background, or those who grew up in sales and focus more on enablement. If you don’t take the time to define the key priorities for the role, it’s nearly impossible to evaluate candidates and ensure you are finding the right person to help drive your business at your specific stage.
Please, I beg you, do NOT start crafting a new job description by copying another company’s JD off of LinkedIn and making a few small tweaks. Instead, we recommend the following 3-step process:
Step 1: Assess Your Current Gaps
Write down the list of jobs to be done. What is everything you expect this person to (eventually) own? Here are common examples:
- Tech stack selection and management
- Onboarding process
- Marketing Ops - drip campaigns and attribution
- Lead scoring
- Lead routing
- Data governance - cleanliness and automation
- Data insights
- Exec dashboards
- Forecasting / pipeline
- Quota setting / management
- Comp plan design/management
- Headcount planning and annual model
- Board reporting
- Deal desk
- RFPs
- BDR campaign execution
Step 2: Work Backwards and Prioritize
Prioritize and group that list into no more than 4-5 key areas and use these to write a thoughtfully-structured job description. This should include more detail than the standard bulleted list of tasks, which is what every RevOps role seems to look like online right now.
A great way to do this is to reflect on the question “In 6-12 months what should this role have accomplished?” Working backwards can help you prioritize the right big picture categories and not dwell in the current backlog of things to be done. Some examples include:
- GTM tech stack: Audit our existing tech stack (which might include HubSpot, Salesloft, Seamless, and Segment), perform a gap analysis, evaluate replacement and additions, lead selection and implementation and ongoing management
- Data/Insights: Design, deliver and automate dashboards to act as "single source of truth" answer for all GTM data in the business. Partner closely with Finance to ensure we are delivering timely and accurate data to key stakeholders in the business, as well as our investors
- Automation: Constantly look for opportunities to make the team more efficient through tooling and automation. Your goal is to streamline as much of the sales process as possible to allow people to focus on what they do best - spend time with customers.
As the team scales you can specialize people into operations, enablement, project management, tech stack, insights. But, in the early days, the key is to prioritize the specific needs within these areas.
Step 3: Set a High Bar
Capture the experience and qualities that you think are most important for this hire to possess. Generally, I find it easier to point to the profiles of a few people and say "I wish we could hire her." If you start with a high bar on the ideal, you can build a JD to attract them and make sure you know what you are looking for
For example, is it more important for you to hire someone who has built a tech stack from scratch before? Or, have they worked in a high-performing environment and learned what great looks like from a talented RevOps leader?
This process works just as well for your first RevOps hire as it does for your fifth. The key is to start back at step 1, assess the gaps in the current team and where you have new jobs to be done. From there, you can ensure that you are developing a clear, prioritized goals for a new hire to “own” and not reverting to a laundry list of reactive tasks.
Want to see how to use this job description to develop an interview process and scorecard to identify the right candidate for your role?
Check out this actionable resource from Stage 2 Capital LP, Amy Volas, where she details How to Ace the Hiring Process for Founders AND Sales Leaders.
