Become a RevOps Jedi
Become a RevOps Jedi
How product knowledge can puts you above the rest
Hey, Toni from Growblocks here! Welcome to another Revenue Letter!
This weekly email is my way to share knowledge and build a community of people who love to learn more about growing revenue in a data-driven and scientific way.
Anything in particular you want to hear my thoughts on? Drop me an email, and I might use it in my next article.
What does Jedi-level RevOps look like?
Sure, you know all things data and tools.
The organizer of the CRMs. The keeper of dashboards.
That’s a given.
But that also describes a system admin too.
No, if you want to really become a Jedi, you need to know your product and what the problem it’s solving.
Do you need to be ingrained with developers and know every small feature before it’s even released?
No.
But you need to know where it fits when it comes to your customers.
This is also where I see sooooo many RevOps folks fail.
Because it’s incredibly easy to walk into an organization with product market fit and take it for granted.
You go in, see that it’s working, then optimize the GTM.
But you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage if you don’t understand the context.
Because, sometimes the only way to really improve your GTM is with a true & deep Product and Customer understanding.
It's great to be a Reveue Architect.
But if you don't understand what is really happening outside of your four walls.
It will be hard to put together the puzzle in the right way.
So, where do you begin?
Learn the force
I think a lot of folks get the customer journey (or at least understand they need to get better at it).
But the bowtie steps are more or less the how.
To get outside your current data, you need to understand the why.
Who are your customers?
Don’t only dig into who’s already paying for your software, but also who your ICP is that isn’t in there yet.
Understand why it is SMBs you are selling to.
And why it would be super hard from a product perspective to sell to Enterprise.
Why are they buying?
There’s a reason why they chose you over the other vendors.
Understand what made the difference.
Sometimes it’s really not a big reason. It can be brand, you or faster sales process.
Or some unique features that allow your reps to get ahead.
Why aren’t they buying?
Probably the more important question. And one that’ll take a bit more digging.
Is it missing features? Competition? Too expensive? Bad sales? Misaligned marketing?
It could be a number of factors that are blocking your sales process.
And only by understanding the qualitative data around it, will you start to get it.
Why aren’t they renewing?
Just like Sangram says, you don’t have a sales, marketing or CS problem. You have a GTM problem.
And even if you get all the way to renewal and then they drop off, you have a failing business.
So why are those customers not renewing?
What is the expectation they had that is now failing them?
Use the force (to make better decisions)
Once you understand the above, you will realize that you are suddenly not living in a vacuum anymore.
Everything you are doing to optimize GTM is now in a clear context.
Don’t forget, these customers aren’t here to be marketed, sold, or CS’ed to.
They are here because they want your product (or service).
And this product of yours is helping them to solve a real problem.
Everything in your GTM now is there to help them
Learn that they have a problem
Educate them that there is a solution
Help them to acquire the solution
Enable them to use the solution to solve their problem
Grow them to solve even more problems with your solution
That’s how you need to look at your GTM.
It’s a very big, very expensive piece of machinery that is there to help customers to go through those 5 steps.
All of this is A LOT of stuff. And frankly, this can’t be expected of every single RevOps’er out there. But if you want to ascend to Jedi Level RevOps, this is an area that you will also need to master.
Case Study: Nylas
There’s no better example of a RevOps Jedi than Mallory Lee from Nylas.
In our ebook, This is what strategic RevOps looks like, we broke down how Mallory uses her customer understanding to focus on NRR.
The thing is, she didn’t just monitor the metric.
She dove deep into understanding how product changes, like the launch of a new API platform, would impact customer retention and expansion revenue.
This level of product and customer understanding enabled her to proactively manage and influence her metric.
Some actionable steps you can take to be more like Mallory:
Regular Interaction with Product Teams: Regularly engage with product teams to stay updated on upcoming features and understand their potential market impact.
Customer Feedback Loop: Establish a system to gather and analyze customer feedback, focusing on how they use and benefit from your product.
Market Analysis: Regularly review market trends and competitor strategies to understand where your product stands in the larger ecosystem.
P.S. Even the best Jedi-level RevOps need some support. That’s why we built Growblocks in the first place. Forecast your entire GTM (not just sales) and create a digital twin of your engine to catch problems before they make you miss target. Email me if you want to know more.
Love this one! Often gets way too little attention. It's easy to walk into an organisation and try to apply just any of the fancy frameworks which are flying around. What really sets you apart is to deep dive into your Product & your Customer's and ICP's perspective. Take part in Meetings between your GTM teams and Prospects / Customers and do your homework and build up those Industry & Product knowledge!