Understanding Revenue Operations

I've watched organizations rush to implement AI tools across their revenue functions, often with mixed results. Today, I'm sharing a crucial insight: the companies seeing transformative results are not those with the most advanced tech stacks. Instead, they deploy AI with surgical precision at the intersection of efficiency and trust. In my latest piece, I break down specific AI tools reshaping revenue operations and offer strategic guidance on implementing them without eroding the customer trust that underpins sustainable growth. Key takeaways: 🎯 Conversation Intelligence Platforms (Gong, Chorus): Not just for call analysis, but for scaling successful behaviors while maintaining authentic customer interactions 🎯 Predictive Lead Scoring (MadKudu, 6sense): Allowing targeted deployment of human capital against high-probability opportunities (with critical guardrails) 🎯 Personalization Engines (Mutiny, Optimizely): Creating tailored experiences without increasing operational complexity or crossing the "creepy line" 🎯 Content Generation (Jasper.AI, Copy.ai, Claude.ai): Achieving velocity without sacrificing quality (but still requires human oversight to be more, well, human). 🎯 Customer Journey Orchestration (Drift, a Salesloft company, Qualified): Creating guided buying experiences that feel personalized while operating at scale 🎯 AI Assistants (Grok, ChatGPT): Rapid iteration and testing of multiple approaches before committing resources The most successful revenue organizations aren't those using the most AI but those using AI most strategically. There is a competitive advantage in knowing where NOT to automate - in preserving human connection where it creates differentiating value. What AI tools are you implementing in your revenue operations? And more importantly, how are you measuring their impact beyond efficiency metrics? Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e4Ang6Nj __________ For more on growth and building trust, check out my previous posts. Join me on my journey, and let's build a more trustworthy world together. Christine Alemany #Strategy #Trust #Growth

What is HCA Healthcare doing in revenue cycle that’s driving 12% margins in a 2% industry? 📈 HCA - the 2nd largest health system in the country - just reported a 12% operating margin. 📉 Meanwhile - most hospitals are fighting to breakeven. On their latest earnings call, HCA didn’t claim they “solved” denials or removed payer pressures. In fact - they called out elevated denials and underpayments, especially with MA plans. In other words - HCA is not immune to the same pressures everyone else is facing. 👉 So what is HCA doing differently? 👈 🎯 They’ve turned rev cycle into a strategic driver of financial performance. Here’s CFO Mike Marks on their latest earnings call: “As you know, we've been working really hard over the last several years to strengthen our revenue cycle. We've added resources, technologies, and a lot of capabilities around dispute resolution to really go after the root cause of the denials. That work has continued to pay dividends.” I found 5 things HCA is doing, that might also help you increase margins: 1️⃣ Advanced denial management + dispute workflows Not just appealing more - but systematizing how to identify, prioritize, and resolve payer issues at scale 2️⃣ Deeper payer integration/connectivity Reducing manual touchpoints, accelerating issue resolution, and tightening the feedback loop between billing and payers 3️⃣ Advanced analytics on payer performance Using technology to more easily identify underpayment trends, denial patterns, and contract leakage in near real time 4️⃣ Relentless focus on cash realization We all know Cash is King - incentivize teams accordingly 5️⃣ Consistent investment in revenue cycle as a strategic function Not episodic fixes, but meaningful sustained multi-year infrastructure build For CFOs and revenue cycle leaders, the takeaway is clear: Revenue cycle isn’t just about managing downside. It’s one of the few remaining levers to actively defend - and expand - margin. *️⃣ Invest accordingly. *️⃣ What are you doing to protect margins right now: denial prevention, payer strategy, analytics, AI investments?

"We've tried everything and nothing works." This CRO was frustrated. They'd hired expensive consultants, implemented new CRM systems, brought in sales trainers, and even replaced half their team. Revenue was still flat. Here's what I told him: "You're treating symptoms, not the disease." Most sales organizations approach revenue problems like isolated issues. Poor prospecting. Weak discovery. Long sales cycles. They try to fix each problem separately with point solutions. But revenue problems are systemic. Your prospecting problems create discovery problems. Discovery problems create qualification problems. Everything is connected. After working with 100+ revenue teams, I developed a systematic methodology that treats revenue generation as an integrated operating system. And I call it the The Revenue Engine OS. It has three core components… #1 Revenue intelligence Diagnose what's actually broken. Most leaders think they know. They're usually wrong. → Map real conversion rates by stage (not CRM fiction) → Identify pipeline velocity killers → Audit actual vs. intended sales process One client discovered their "discovery problem" was actually qualification. Reps advanced unqualified prospects who stalled later. #2 Performance engineering Build predictable systems, not hope based forecasting. → Design repeatable frameworks for each stage → Create coaching systems that improve results → Implement metrics that predict performance #3 Leadership enablement Transform managers from activity supervisors to performance multipliers. BTW. Here are some real results from orgs going through our Revenue Engine OS: Client A: 67% → 127% team quota (90 days). Client B: $15K → $85K average deal size (6 months). Client C: 11 → 6 month sales cycle, 18% → 31% close rate. Teams that win consistently don't have better people. They have better systems. Stop fixing random problems with random solutions. Start building a revenue engine that creates predictable growth. — Here's the thing. If you keep hiring the wrong people, no amount of training will fix it. But if you want me to personally diagnose what's broken in your hiring and development process, book a free diagnostic call below. I'll show you exactly what top performing teams do differently: https://lnkd.in/ghh8VCaf

Why the Best CMOs Think Like CFOs Here’s the truth: the best CMOs don’t just market, they think like CFOs. That might sound counterintuitive, but if you want a seat at the table, you need to stop leading with campaign metrics and start speaking the language of business outcomes. CEOs and boards care about revenue, profitability, and market share not clicks or impressions. The most effective CMOs connect marketing metrics to financial outcomes, proving that marketing isn’t just a cost centre — it’s a growth engine. Here’s how to start thinking like a CFO: 1. Focus on ROI, Not Activity: Replace “we ran a great campaign” with “our campaign added $3M to the pipeline and reduced CAC by 10%.” It’s not about what marketing did but what it achieved. 2. Tie Metrics to Revenue: Metrics like engagement and lead generation matter internally, but you need to translate them externally into revenue impact. For example: “This lead generation effort contributed $2M in ARR with a 3:1 ROI.” 3. Prove the Financial Impact of Long-Term Investments: Marketing isn’t just about quick wins. Show how brand-building efforts improve CLTV, shorten payback periods, and increase pricing power over time. CEOs don’t just need to see what’s happening this quarter, they need to trust that marketing is driving sustainable growth. 4. Bridge the Gap Between Marketing and Business Strategy: Marketing doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Collaborate with product, sales, and finance to ensure marketing initiatives align with the company’s goals. Whether it’s launching a product, refining pricing, or improving retention, marketing should be the connective tissue that drives alignment. The best CMOs don’t just report on what marketing does, they show how marketing creates value. Thinking like a CFO isn’t about abandoning creativity or strategy, it’s about tying them to outcomes that matter most to the business. Finally. To connect marketing metrics to business outcomes, don’t just report numbers, translate them into a narrative that resonates. Instead of saying, “Our campaign generated 1 million impressions,” frame it as, “This campaign increased unaided awareness by 15%, positioning us ahead of Competitor X in market share for Segment A. This sets the stage to capture an additional $5M in TAM.” It’s about making every metric a stepping stone to the CEO’s growth, profitability, and market leadership priorities. The more you can bridge the gap between what marketing measures and what the business values, the more indispensable marketing, and you, become.

“My CEO ordered me to never use the word ‘brand’ again,” lamented a CMO from a $75mil SaaS brand. “Then he told me to only spend money on things that drive revenue,” the CMO shared. Ah, yes, the double whammy. Everyone in the huddle sympathized with a “been there” nod. I silently stewed. A productive rant to follow. Should CMOs stop using the word “brand?” Yes. It’s toxic. Time to move on, and this is from the guy whose latest book subhead reads, “12 Steps to Building Unbeatable B2B Brands.” If you must venture into brand-like language, use the word “reputation.” It’s much easier to grasp. Even CFOs can understand the difference between a good reputation and a poor one. Does that mean I can have budget items for reputation building? No, unless you want that part to be cut faster than you can say “brand.” If possible, avoid sharing spending buckets beyond people, programs, and tech. If you, like many CMOs, divide your budget into demandgen or growth marketing and everything else, your CFO will assume that everything else is unmeasurable and possibly wasteful. Choose your budget-bucket labels carefully. Events, for example, can drive new logos, accelerate late-stage deals, help with expansion, and reduce churn. If events are funded from your “growth marketing” budget, then that’s how they will be measured, and that may limit this invaluable channel. What about the “only spending on revenue drivers” directive? Live with it. All marketing drives revenue (there, I said it!). It’s just a matter of timeframe and targets. Unless you’re selling an impulse item (Of course, I would buy another penguin hat if it showed up in my Instagram feed), you operate in the world of considered purchases and buyer journeys. Different marketing activities impact different parts of your target at different times in different ways. Let’s take Analyst Relations. It can take 12-18 months to build a quadrant-shifting relationship with an analyst. When that higher rating or new category of your own making suddenly arrives, you’ll be rewarded with higher consideration and close rates. That’s revenue too. Just a bit slower. Could we shift this conversation altogether? Yes. Please. Let’s start at the end and work backward. Right now, every B2B brand has a win rate. If you, for example, compete against three better-known brands, your win rate is likely lower than that of the top three. What would it take to improve your win rate? Most likely, it is a combination of product changes, pricing, positioning, CX, and promotion, including analyst relations. Lead that conversation. The second conversational shift is to pricing power. Conduct a thorough analysis of the discounting required to close deals. Understand how much discounting impacts profit margins. Find out the last time you took a price increase. Reputational strength equals pricing power and higher close rates. Work with your CFO to build the model. Marketing does drive revenue. But it's not about SQLs.

The traditional Chief Revenue Officer role is dying. The new CRO job of today is really the Chief Customer Officer - which is why we gave ours the CS org. SaaS is getting squeezed from every direction right now. AI tools are replacing entire product categories overnight. Buyers are consolidating vendors. Switching costs that used to protect your base are evaporating because the new alternative took 3 weeks to build, not 3 years. Even good businesses are watching customers leave. Not because the product is bad. Because the market is moving that fast. Which means the CRO who only knows how to hunt net-new logos is standing on a shrinking island. The CRO 1.0 playbook was simple. ⭐️ Raise capital. ⭐️ Hire SDRs. ⭐️ Run outbound. ⭐️ Close new ARR. ⭐️ Celebrate on the all-hands. Repeat. Customer fit? Worry about it later. Retention? That is someone else's problem. The top of funnel will cover the leaks. That playbook is broken. CRO 2.0 looks a lot more like a Chief Customer Officer. Here is what that actually means in practice. Retention is the new growth lever. When AI is giving your buyers a new alternative every quarter, keeping customers is harder than winning them. The best CROs are injecting real operational rigor into CS (thank you Keegan Otter). They are treating churn like a revenue problem, not a support problem. Because it is. Expansion revenue is not a bonus. It is the plan. Net-new is expensive and slow. Growing within your existing base through upsell, cross-sell, and deeper adoption is where the math actually works. Turn $1 into $5, not $1 into $1.50. Acquisition has to be surgical. You cannot afford to sell to bad-fit customers anymore. The CRO who lets reps close anyone with a pulse is building a churn machine. AI changes how the CRO operates, not just the market around them. The best revenue leaders focusing on CS while letting AI do the TOFU work identify which accounts are heating up. P&L fluency is table stakes. GRR, NRR, CLTV, CAC payback. The board does not want to hear about pipeline coverage ratios anymore. They want to know the business is efficient and durable. The modern CRO has to speak finance as fluently as they speak sales. Creative revenue strategies replace brute force. Customer-led growth. Partnerships. Channel. Community. Referral networks built by reps who refuse to ghost after the sale. When you cannot just throw more bodies at the number, you get resourceful! If this role sounds less like a VP of Sales with a bigger title and more like someone who owns the entire customer lifecycle from first touch to renewal... that is the point. The market created CRO 1.0 when capital was cheap and growth forgave everything. AI is creating CRO 2.0 because the businesses that survive will be the ones who protect and grow the revenue they already have. Same title. Fundamentally different job. #revenue

Most first-time CROs fail. Not because they’re bad leaders — but because they still think like a VP of Sales. Being a CRO isn't about Disco skills or pipeline reviews. It’s about one thing: creating ENTERPRISE VALUE. I’ve coached 100+ CROs across $1T+ in ARR. Here are 5 brutal lessons I wish I knew before my first CRO gig: 1. You must have P&L fluency You need to read a financial statement, calculate unit economics, and know the difference between ARR, revenue, and bookings. As a VP of Sales, you can slide by without understanding how the pieces fit together. But as a CRO, you must have a deeper understanding of the financial performance of the business. 2. You have to hit the number at the right cost Yes, you have to hit the number. But your economics matter. You can’t just hire more reps. You have to have a perspective on CHANNEL EFFICIENCY. You have to think creatively about the best path to your number - not just the simplest one (which can also be the most expensive). 3. You have to be able to recruit and build a great team When you’re a VP of Sales at a larger org, you have talent acquisition resources. If you don’t hire the right people, you can outsource the blame to HR. But delivering great results starts with hiring the best people. And those people have to want to work FOR YOU. Your personal brand. Your commitment to development. Your willingness to recruit personally. All adds up to the right pool of talent you’ll need to hit your goals. 4. You must work cross functionally There’s nobody to blame when you’re CRO. You can’t blame Marketing. You can’t blame Sales or Product. You signed up to own the overall number and that number is generated across all the departments. You must be aligned with the CMO and the CPO. They have to view you as a trusted peer, not an adversary. 5. The Exec team is your first team Too many VP of Sales think their job is to defend their team. Bring back the best comp plan. Bring back the best spiff. But as a CRO, your job first and foremost is to the company and that means to the ELT and the CEO BEFORE your team. If you’re just advocating for your people, you can’t be trusted. Fundamentally, that means you’re out for yourself. As a CRO, your job is to bring your team along with you even if that means short term pain. If you’re always in a face off with the CFO about comp, you’re on your way out. My biggest mistakes as CRO ultimately came down to EGO. EGO is often the vestige of a precocious young VP of Sales. You’re out for yourself. Your team. Your money. Your resources. But the CRO needs to have a bigger perspective. A long term perspective. You need to understand how the business works. The CRO is the architect of a system and committed to building that system with their peers. If you’re a VP of Sales, it’s time to learn these skills through Pavilion's CRO School. And if you’re a seasoned CRO, you might need a refresh. It starts today, but I can get you in. DM me and I'll set it up.

CMO: While you're slashing top-of-funnel budget, we're building a creator army. Founder: But ROAS is life. CMO: ROAS is a mirage in the desert of sustainable growth. Founder: Can you explain? CMO: We've built a creator community delivering brand awareness at 1/10th the CPM of Meta ads. Founder: No way. CMO: Way. While others chase short-term metrics, we're playing the long game. Founder: But the board wants results now. CMO: Short-term thinking created this mess. We're retargeting the same pool until it's bone dry. Founder: So what's the alternative? CMO: 1,000 creators. Systematic distribution. Performance-based compensation. Founder: Sounds expensive. CMO: Every dollar spent is focused on driving immediate revenue AND long-term awareness. Founder: How's it different from influencer marketing? CMO: This isn't about one-off posts. It's a consistent TOF awareness machine. Founder: And the benefits? CMO: Millions of authentic impressions. Multiple touchpoints pre-purchase. Improved paid channel performance. Founder: Hold up. How does this help paid? CMO: Increased brand awareness makes every ad more effective. Founder: The CFO's gonna ask about ROI. CMO: We're building mental availability. That's the foundation of long-term revenue growth. Founder: But can we measure it? CMO: Absolutely. We track impressions, engagement, and most importantly, the lift in our baseline revenue. Founder: Baseline revenue? CMO: The revenue we'd get if we turned off all paid channels tomorrow. Founder: That's... scary to think about. CMO: Exactly. That's why we need this strategy. Founder: So while everyone else is fighting over the same audience... CMO: We're expanding the pie. Creating new customers instead of just converting existing ones. Founder: This feels like a paradigm shift. CMO: It is. We're not just chasing customers. We're creating fans. Founder: Alright, I'm intrigued. What's our first move? CMO: We identify our ideal creators, build the compensation structure, and start small. Founder: And then? CMO: We scale. Fast. While our competitors are still trying to squeeze juice from the ROAS fruit. Founder: Let's do it. CMO: Welcome to the TOF revival!

Preparing for my first board meeting as Gusto's Head of Marketing was painful. I felt lost, scared and self-conscious. I wish I had a playbook for navigating the board. So I put one together. Here's my 3C framework—everything CMOs need to nail the board meeting: The biggest mistakes I made when I first started presenting to the board: - Going too high level or too tactical - Not connecting marketing actions to company impact - Not being able to go deep on the numbers - Not showing innovation and vision In a nutshell your goal is to position marketing as a strategic growth lever. This is hard. Most board members come from finance, product or sales. Meaning few actually understand marketing. The 3C framework—Communication, Content and Context—bridges the gap: COMMUNICATION 1. Speak English, not Marketing. Maintain simple, clear language. No jargon. Marketing is complex. You have to simplify to get through. Limit yourself to ~5 slides. 2. Be consistent & repetitive across meetings Restate your goals every time. Use the same slide format and dashboards. Constantly changing how you talk about marketing is a sign you don't have a handle on things. 3. Elicit their help Board members want to help. You don't need to have all the answers. Think in advance: where do you want their input? What can they help you with? CONTENT 1. Define clear objectives upfront I recommend 3 evergreen ones for CMOs: - Pipeline | To hit current revenue targets - Awareness | To hit next year's revenue targets - Conversion | To drive overall efficiency and faster growth 2. Set metrics/initiatives for each objective - Pipeline | [$XX] in marketing-sourced ARR with self-serve and outbound. - Awareness | Engaged TAM = 25% with content academy. - Conversion | Lower CAC to 12 mo by increasing website conversion 3. Have a highlights and lowlights slide This helps you get credit for your wins and get ahead of problems. Being honest about what's not working gives the board a chance to help. It also shows you're a straight shooter, which builds trust. 4. Know your numbers These are smart people who care about the numbers. Know your program levers. Be prepared to go 3-4 layers deeper. Why is conversion down by 25%? Why can't you grow inbound faster? CONTEXT 1. Meet board members quarterly This helps you get on the same page ahead of the meeting. Share your strategy and educate if needed. But most importantly, ask for feedback! e.g. what do you want to see in the board meeting? What can I do better? 2. Ask your CEO for input The CEO often has a better understanding of the board and what's important to them right now. Align on where you should focus in this meeting. _ The best part of nailing this playbook? It earns you the right to invest in longer term initiatives that are hard to measure. Ahem, brand. By showing that you know how to connect your work to revenue, the board will trust you to take bigger bets with a longer revenue payback.

Earlier this week, a Sales Manager shared something with me. “Piyush, every time targets are missed, leadership calls it a motivation issue. But my team is motivated — they’re just exhausted from chasing moving goalposts.” I’ve heard this too often. And let’s be honest: it’s not always the reps or team leaders who fail. Sometimes, it’s the management playbook that breaks revenue. Here’s the thing: Revenue challenges are rarely about lack of execution. They’re often about lack of consistency from the top. In most cases, I’ve seen 3 management mistakes repeat: 1️⃣ Constantly raising quotas without fixing pipeline health. 2️⃣ Chasing shiny tools and tactics instead of building solid processes. 3️⃣ Priorities shifting every quarter — leaving teams confused and demotivated. The result? Teams burn out → Morale collapses → Revenue stalls. What I told him was simple: “Your team doesn’t need another pep talk. They need clarity, consistency, and commitment from leadership.” So this Monday, here’s a reminder for Founders and Executives: Don’t just demand performance. Enable it. Because no team can win if the goalpost keeps moving. #SalesLeadership #RevenueGrowth #MondayMindset #Clarity