The revenue operations landscape is dynamic and ever-changing, what worked yesterday might not help today.
To keep on top of this growing function’s best practices, trends, and technology you might want to dive into the latest industry statistics.
That’s where we come in. Our State of Revenue Operations report surveyed RevOps professionals to uncover the state of the industry right now. From the responsibilities of RevOps pros to the size of their teams, our report covers it all.
1. 23.2% of revenue operations pros have been working in RevOps for 10+ years.
Revenue operations is a continually growing function, that’s been gaining traction in recent years. This shows, as a whopping 34.1% of respondents have been working in the RevOps function for five to nine years, with a further 23.2% working in this field for 10+ years.
This leaves 42.7% of revenue operations professionals surveyed having less than five years of experience. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for these up-and-coming pros!
2. 52.1% of RevOps pros come from sales ops experience.
Out of the 86.6% of respondents who had previous experience before their RevOps role, over half (52.1%) come from a sales operations background. This suggests a natural progression from sales ops to revenue operations.
3. Over half of organizations have only had a revenue operations function for 1-2 years.
While 57.3% of our respondents are old hands in the RevOps game (having five-plus years of experience in the function), only 9.7% of organizations can say the same.
A massive 59.8% of organizations our respondents work for have only had a revenue operations function for one to two years! This accounts for the growing popularity of this strategic business function in driving revenue growth in the last few years.
4. Measuring metrics and KPIs is a top RevOps responsibility.
Revenue operations professionals are responsible for many different elements of revenue generation, and these responsibilities often vary from organization to organization.
So, to better define the revenue operations role, we asked our respondents what the main activities in their role are. The top three activities for our RevOps professionals are metrics and KPIs (89%), pipeline strategy (81.7%), and tech stack management (79.3%).
Unsurprisingly, over half of our respondents define almost all of these tasks as a main part of their role, cementing revenue operations as a jack-of-all-trades function.
5. Manual data cleansing is the biggest time waster in the revenue operations role.
When asked what the biggest time waster in the revenue operations role is over half (56%) said manual data cleansing. Unsurprisingly, this rises to 67.3% of those who work in organizations that have implemented a RevOps function within the last two years.
This is clearly a huge problem within the RevOps community, and with more thought leadership on data hygiene being published recently, we hope this issue is solved in the near future (possibly with the help of AI? 👀).
6. Recurring revenue (ARR/MRR) is the most important metric for engaging leadership.
We asked revenue operations professionals what metrics their team uses to measure their efforts. The most popular metric to track was recurring revenue (ARR/MRR) with almost three-quarters (73.2%) of respondents tracking this metric.
This was followed by close rate at 59.8% and revenue retention at 45.1%. On the other hand, the least tracked metric by our respondents was marketing qualified leads (MQLs) with only 32.9% tracking this metric.
Some metrics mentioned in the ‘other’ category include customer lifetime value (LTV), sales pipeline velocity, and projects delivered.
7. 40.2% of RevOps teams have no budget allocation at their organization.
When it comes to the revenue operation team’s budget it’s hit or miss. 40.2% of respondents have no budget allocation at their organization. Conversely, the next largest chunk of RevOps pros (35.4%) have $50K+ annually in their pocket.
“My biggest internal pain point right now is lack of resources.
“If you don't do a good job of mapping out the resources needed to achieve that nirvana state, then oftentimes, you are the last person to get budget.” -Greg Larsen.
8. 22% of revenue operations pros work as a solo RevOps function.
How many team members make up a revenue operations function today? 44.4% of respondents say they work in a team of two to four. While 22% of respondents work as a solo RevOps function.
Just under one-fifth (19.5%) of our respondents work within a team of five to nine, leaving only 17.1% working in a team of 10+.
9. Almost all RevOps pros work closely with their sales department.
Which functions do revenue operations professionals work closely with? Unsurprisingly, almost all (98.8%) respondents stated they work closely with their sales department.
The functions RevOps works with most closely after sales are marketing with 81.7% and customer success with 69.5% of respondents working closely with them. This is closely followed by finance, which 64.6% of our respondents work with regularly.
‘Other’ departments that our respondents work closely with include legal, IT, and product.
10. RevOps is understood internally at 18.3% of organizations.
RevOps is a complicated function, which begs the question, do others understand what the function does? According to our respondents, it’s a mixed bag.
Almost two-thirds (62.2%) of respondents say that some people at their company understand the RevOps role, and some don’t. 19.5% say that their role is not understood within their organization versus 18.3% who say that revenue operations is understood internally.
11. 65.9% of revenue operations teams attend internal leadership meetings.
We believe that for revenue operations to be a truly strategic function, they should be attending leadership meetings.
Luckily, that’s the case for most of our respondents with 65.9% saying that a member of their team (or themselves) is invited to leadership meetings. As well, we see a further 19.5% reporting that their team sometimes gets an invite.
For the 14.6% of revenue operations teams who don’t have that invite to leadership meetings, it might be time to prove your strategic place within your organization and gain your seat at the table.
12. Problem-solving is the most important skill in a potential RevOps manager.
After discovering what the most important skills are for RevOps we wanted to uncover what the number one skill to look for when hiring new team members is.
Not surprisingly, problem-solving is in top position with 44% of respondents saying it’s the most important skill in a potential RevOps manager. This is followed by data analysis (17.1%) and communication (14.6%).
13. 82.9% of RevOps professionals are looking to take the next step in their careers.
The career ladder is calling. How many of our RevOps experts are looking for that next step?
Overall, 82.9% of our revenue operations professionals are looking to take the next step in their careers within the next year, with 35.4% of them looking elsewhere if they can’t progress in their current organization.
That’s a big shift coming to the revenue operations industry in the next year. We wonder how the job market will shift to accommodate these ambitious revenue operations professionals!
Unlock more insights
Find more revenue operations statistics and insights from revenue experts in our full State of Revenue Operations report.
This extensive industry report will provide you with data to help you to:
💰 Back up your budget request.
👥 Justify hiring more team members.
🎓 Understand where to focus your upskilling efforts.
🔮 Predict the future of the revenue operations landscape.
Get your copy! 👇
