Achieving Revenue Objectives

Are you prioritizing the one task every business owner should focus on daily? Revenue. 📈 Here’s why your #1 job is as Chief Revenue Officer, even if it’s not your official title. As the owner, your primary role should be driving revenue—without it, the rest of the organization feels the strain. Consistent revenue-focused action is the backbone of sustainable growth. From cold calls to client meetings, every effort should align with boosting the bottom line. Here’s how to make sure you’re keeping revenue front and center every day. Actionable Tips: 𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲-𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀: Prioritize actions that directly impact income, like follow-up calls and sales pitches. 𝟮. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆: Record calls made, sales closed, and new opportunities added to your pipeline. 𝟯. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗨𝗽 𝗮 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗥𝗠: A Customer Relationship Management system helps you organize and follow up on leads. 𝟰. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀: Establish daily, weekly, and monthly goals to stay motivated. 𝟱. 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲-𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: Use time blocks to focus solely on tasks that generate income. 𝟲. 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘀: Tap into past clients and your network—referrals can be a fast track to revenue. 𝟳. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: Remove unnecessary steps, making it easy for potential clients to say “yes.” 𝟴. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Consistency in revenue-focused activities will build momentum and long-term results. 𝟵. 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺: Encourage everyone to focus on activities that drive income, fostering a shared goal. 𝟭𝟬. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆: Regularly assess which activities contribute most to revenue and adjust as needed.

I reach out to 16 new prospects every business day. Why 16? Because I track my numbers and I have a "revenue per hour" target. Here's how it breaks down: If I reach out to 80 ideal prospects a week (16/day), I'll convert 5% of those touches into a qualified opp with a VP+ contact. That's 4 new opps per week. This work takes me about 5-6 hours a week. On average, I'll close 1.6 of those 4 opps (40% close rate) and an average deal size of $39,000. That's $62,400 in expected revenue from about 6 hours of work (not counting the time spent on the deal cycles). That's $10,400 in revenue per hour for that work stream. Not everything I do has that much leverage, but I'm aiming for a blended average of $3,000 in revenue per hour at the time of this writing. If I'm successful in holding that rate 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, that's about $8 million a year in revenue (which happens to be one of my targets). Point of this post? First, if you know your desired revenue, then you can reverse engineer by knowing your numbers. The right inputs lead to the right outputs. Second, define your 'hurdle rate.' Based on where you are and where you want to be, what is your desired revenue per hour? Aim to spend as much of your time as you can at or above that hurdle rate. Aim to "delegate and elevate" things that are worth less than you desired revenue per hour. Raise your standards on revenue per hour, and that's how you can grow your income over time. Take one step up. Learn new skills. And repeat.

Targeted revenue provides stretch goals for sales teams. But it's also vital for strategic planning. Here's how targeted revenue works and why it matters for FP&A. 1) Start with known and knowable sales This is the core of a sales forecast. Every company should maintain sales activity in a CRM. This may be broken down by customer, channel, product category, SKU, or a combination of all. Customers are known, the stage of the sales process is clear, and the amount of the deals are quantified. If a company is planning using driver-based forecasting, the sales outlook may omit this level of detail since the figures won't tie directly to customer accounts. 2) Layer in a stretch target. Many companies don't know which specific customers will generate revenue a year from now. Even if they do, there’s uncertainty in the amounts. But this shouldn’t stop setting the targets. Revenue targets can be based on forecasts within a sector or revenue channel where sales managers believe there's untapped opportunity, rather than with a specific customer. This brings about a focus on sales strategy, marketing, and other sales initiatives to make inroads in those channels. 3) Quantify the opportunities A vital, but challenging task, is for the sales team to put numbers to those opportunities: • Which channels are most promising? • What the potential deal size? This provides FP&A with a foundation for all-in revenue planning. 4) Cascade the impact Once a revenue target is set, it doesn't stop at the sales forecast. It drives the operating assumptions further down the P&L, for capex, and for financing: • Direct costs • Gross margins • Headcount planning • Compensation • Marketing • Facilities • Debt 5) Build in timing assumptions It's rare for revenue to be forecast in neat, even increments. FP&A needs to decide: • Smooth it evenly throughout the year • Front-load, if sales are aggressive • Back-load, if sales are conservative • Weight it, if seasonality is in play The choice of FP&A or a Controller is not just for revenue recognition. It impacts hiring plans, marketing, cash flow, and especially working capital needs. 6) Apply conservatism discounts Targeted revenue is aspirational and hardly guaranteed. Because of this, the financial model benefits from conservatism or scoring adjustments upon which scenarios can be run. A sale may be all-or-nothing, where it's either won or it's not. Weighted confidence levels can allow for scenario triggers so forecasts adjust dynamically. This helps FP&A and sales create what I call "tiers of planning" -- high, mid, and low confidence. Tiered planning sets optimistic and conservative sales thresholds. 7) Apply the plan With sales targets at various thresholds, FP&A can better plan for the rest of the FP&A and set performance milestones.

Every revenue leader talks about sales and marketing alignment—but most still struggle to make it work. Here’s why. Sales and marketing should operate as a single, high-performing revenue engine. But in most organizations, they function more like disconnected teams, leading to missed revenue, wasted budget, and deals slipping through the cracks. If you’re a revenue leader facing these challenges, here are the three biggest roadblocks getting in your way—and how to fix them. 1. 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 Marketing focuses on MQLs, brand awareness, and content engagement. Sales focuses on closed deals, quota attainment, and speed to revenue. If these goals aren’t aligned, it creates tension. Fix it: • Set shared KPIs that both teams are accountable for—like pipeline velocity, win rates, and customer retention. • Regularly sync on revenue impact metrics, not just lead volume. 2. 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Too often, marketing hands off leads without sales understanding the strategy behind them. Sales dismisses marketing’s efforts as “not helpful.” The disconnect creates frustration and lost opportunities. Fix it: • Implement structured feedback loops so sales can report back on lead quality. • Create joint working sessions where both teams contribute to messaging, targeting, and go-to-market execution. 3. 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 & 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 If sales and marketing aren’t rewarded for the same outcomes, they’ll never truly work together. A sales team compensated only on closed deals won’t care about lead nurturing. A marketing team judged on MQLs won’t focus on sales enablement. Fix it: • Align compensation and incentives around revenue impact. • Ensure marketing KPIs include pipeline and sales contribution—not just lead gen metrics. 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲:The companies that will win in 2025 and beyond aren’t just the ones generating more leads—they’re the ones ensuring their sales and marketing teams operate as a single, high-performing revenue engine. If you’re seeing any of these roadblocks, you’re not alone. The companies solving them now will have a real competitive edge in the years ahead.

Steal these 7 revenue planning tips from CROs who consistently exceed revenue targets 👇 Every great revenue plan does two things: 1. It drives execution today. 2. It future-proofs growth for tomorrow. I caught up with CROs who consistently exceed revenue goals. Here’s what they do differently: 1️⃣ Set core goals and bet on “S-Curves” [Kyle Norton, CRO at Owner.com] Owner's plan is built on 2 things: - Core initiatives (essential plays that drive growth now) - S-Curve bets (strategic experiments that future-proof revenue) “S-Curve bets help us anticipate bottlenecks. If demand slows or conversion dips, these bets ensure new growth drivers are ready.”  2️⃣ Plan for attrition. Talent planning = revenue planning [Chris B., CRO at 360Learning] Losing a mid-market rep can wipe out 35-40% of quota capacity. - Use 5-35% quota buffers based on risk tolerance - Build a talent bench - Prioritize retention of top performers “If you lose a top rep, their quota still needs to be met.” 3️⃣ Plan with the future in mind [Andrea Kayal, CRO at Help Scout] Help Scout aligns its plan with key benchmarks: - ARR Growth (velocity) - NDR (expansion) - Rule of 40 (efficiency) - Net Magic Number (GTM ROI) - ARR per FTE (scalability) “A revenue plan without clear inputs and outcomes is not a plan.” 4️⃣ Set unreasonably ambitious goals (but know your team) [Dennis Lyandres, Advisor at ICONIQ Capital / ex-CRO of Procore] Ambitious targets drive outsized outcomes. But, context matters: - Winning teams thrive on stretch targets - Struggling teams need confidence-building wins “Building a growth company is an unreasonably hard thing to do. The goals need to mirror that.” 5️⃣ Stay the course, communicate and make progress visible [Tim Dorris, CRO at Stensul] Most companies set key initiatives early then only revisit them quarterly. Instead: - Tie all-hands and meetings to key initiatives - Celebrate early wins - momentum drives execution - Adjust deliberately, not reactively “Stick to it. Too many companies change course too often – adjust deliberately, based on data and feedback.” 6️⃣ Align internal and external partners  [Elizabeth Pemmerl, CRO at GitHub] At GitHub, GTM plays align Revenue, Product, Marketing, Finance & Partners. They even run a Partner Kickoff mirroring their Revenue Kickoff, reinforcing alignment. “When internal teams and external partners are aligned, the entire GTM motion becomes more effective.” 7️⃣ An annual plan is a living document  [Kyle Norton, CRO at Owner.com] An annual plan is a hypothesis, not a rigid contract. “No one expects their annual plan to be 100% right. The best planning processes treat the plan as a testable hypothesis - adjusting as new data emerges.” -- ✍ Full details on CRO annual planning tips in The GTM Newsletter (see comments). 💡 For more weekly growth & go-to-market insights, join 50k+ GTM leaders and founders in GTMfund's media brand, GTMnow (see website).

Last year, 61% of teams missed their revenue target. Here’s how to avoid a similar fate in 2025: 1. Align revenue objectives across your organization Clear, focused objectives unify your team around the most important revenue goals. Get everyone rowing in the same direction with shared objectives that span sales, marketing, and customer success. 2. Identify and address Revenue Leak Revenue Leak drains up to 26% from businesses annually. Start by analyzing your entire sales funnel for inefficiencies and prioritize the most critical leaks to stop first. Address these leaks early to add significant value back to your bottom line. 3. Operationalize with Revenue Cadences Consistency in your revenue process is key. Implement Revenue Cadences — structured, repeatable processes across every revenue-critical meeting — to lock in flawless execution from start to finish. 4. Forecast with pinpoint accuracy Use precise forecasting techniques to track deal health and pipeline velocity weekly. An accurate, transparent forecast provides the insights your team needs to make adjustments before it’s too late. 5. Elevate executive engagement Deals in 2024 require more stakeholder buy-in. Ensure your teams are prepared to navigate expanded buying committees and secure top-level executive alignment to close critical deals. At Clari, we compiled the ultimate playbook on how world-class revenue leaders drive predictable growth. You can read the CRO Playbook here for more: https://lnkd.in/eeJaM-cM

Agreeing on 2025 GRR and NRR Targets? Here’s What You Should Prioritize: When it comes to setting Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) and Net Revenue Retention (NRR) targets for 2025, alignment across the C-suite is critical—CCOs, CEOs, and CFOs need to be on the same page. This isn't just about reaching ambitious goals; it's about committing to realistic, data-driven targets that the entire organization can rally behind and achieve. As a Chief Customer Officer, your ability to be grounded in the data is CRITITCAL. Here's how to make sure the numbers you sign up to deliver next year are both achievable and impactful: 1. Know Every Data Point Inside Out GRR and NRR are influenced by many factors—renewals, expansion, churn, product adoption, and customer satisfaction. Understand the nuances of your data. What drives churn? Which segments are generating the highest upsell opportunities? How does customer onboarding affect long-term retention? The better you understand these data points and their relationships, the more accurate your forecasting will be. 2. Debunk the “Gut Feel” Approach While intuition has its place, it should never overshadow data-driven decisions. Concrete metrics and cause-and-effect ratios will not only help you identify opportunities but also create buy-in across leadership. For example: If customer segment A contributes to 25% of expansion revenue, can that be scaled in the next fiscal year? Do retention efforts for high-risk customers significantly offset renewal rates? When you show that your targets are grounded in facts, you'll have the support of your CFO (and their green light on initiatives). 3. Focus on Cause and Effect Retention targets are interwoven with operational strategies—what actions today drive outcomes tomorrow? If we invest in more customer success managers (CSMs), how does that impact NRR within 6-12 months? Test your assumptions in Q4. Model scenarios and stress-test them with your data analysts. 4. Speak the Language of Finance Finally, clear communication between the CCO, CFO, and CEO is essential. Avoid vague terms and translate strategies into impact metrics that resonate across leadership—for example, articulate how investment in automation could reduce churn percentage while scaling GRR. Buy that course Jay Nathan and Jeff Breunsbach created if you need to uplevel. Trust me. Remember: Ruthlessly understanding and leveraging your data isn't just about hitting a number—it's about building a sustainable, predictable revenue engine. Let's set the bar where it needs to be. How are you aligning with your leadership on targets? Drop your experiences in the comments below—I'd love to hear your insights!

SDRs need to be aligned to revenue goals. Aligning SDR goals with your company’s revenue objectives is crucial for driving growth and success. It’s also essential to quantifying the value of your SDR teams. Here are some strategies to ensure your SDR team is on the right track: Revenue-Driven Metrics: Define specific metrics that tie directly to revenue, not only to qualified leads generated, but include conversion rates, and total pipeline contribution. This ensures SDR efforts are focused on activities that impact the bottom line. Regular Performance Reviews: Include frequent check-ins on revenue focused activities to assess progress towards and adjust targets as needed. This keeps the team aligned and motivated. Unified Goals: Ensure SDRs and sales teams share common goals and understand how their roles contribute to overall revenue. This creates a cohesive strategy and smooth handoffs. Feedback Loops: Establish regular communication channels for feedback and insights to both marketing and sales leadership. This helps SDRs refine their approach and better build closeable pipeline. Career Pathing: Show SDRs a clear path for career advancement within the company. This not only boosts engagement and retention, but a focus on developing AE skills leads to AE like behavior and skills for SDRs to build high-quality pipeline. What other things do you think Reps and Leaders should try to do to focus on revenue alignment? #sdr #leadership #salesleadership #pipeline