As a RevOps leader or manager, you're no stranger to the constant pressure to prove the value of your function. You've streamlined processes, improved communication between teams, and implemented tech stacks that align sales, marketing, and customer success. But when the C-suite asks for the ROI of RevOps, how do you demonstrate it? It's not enough to say you're aligning teams; you need data and insights that show clear, tangible outcomes.

The Evolution Of RevOps

RevOps has rapidly grown from a niche concept to a core function within many B2B SaaS companies. Originally, sales operations and marketing operations worked in silos. Sales had its metrics, marketing had its campaigns, and customer success had its own tools. But as business models shifted to focus more on recurring revenue and customer retention, this fragmented approach became inefficient.

RevOps was born to bring these departments together, aligning their processes and tools to drive revenue growth more efficiently. The aim is clear: seamless alignment between sales, marketing, and customer success so that they work together towards shared revenue goals.

The business case for investing in RevOps is compelling. According to research by Boston Consulting Group, B2B technology companies that have embraced RevOps report benefits like: 

• 100% to 200% increases in digital marketing ROI

• 10% increases in lead acceptance

• 15% to 20% increases in internal customer satisfaction

• 30% reductions in GTM expenses

But the real challenge for RevOps leaders lies in demonstrating tangible ROI that is specific to their organizational context.

The Challenge With Tracking The ROI Of RevOps

Despite its benefits, tracking RevOps ROI isn’t straightforward. There’s no single metric that tells the whole story, and RevOps success often manifests through multiple indirect improvements.

Long-Term Gains

RevOps is a long-term strategy. Many benefits, such as customer retention and improved forecasting, take time to materialize. This makes it harder to demonstrate immediate ROI.

Attribution Complexity

One of the biggest challenges is attributing revenue gains to RevOps. Since RevOps touches multiple teams and processes, it’s difficult to directly attribute revenue increases or cost savings to RevOps alone. 

Siloed Data

If your organization has not fully adopted RevOps practices, siloed data can make it difficult to track improvements. RevOps requires integrating sales, marketing, and customer success data for a holistic view of performance. Without full integration, you may struggle to see the complete ROI picture.

What To Expect From RevOps ROI

The ROI of RevOps comes in several forms. The results won't always appear in the form of direct dollar signs but rather in incremental improvements that lead to bigger wins over time. 

Here’s what you can expect:

Improved Sales Productivity

The primary expectation of any RevOps strategy is improved efficiency. Companies with well-developed RevOps functions see a 10-20% increase in sales productivity. When sales productivity improves, revenue increases—not because the team is working more but because they’re working smarter. RevOps accomplishes this by optimizing lead handoffs, improving pipeline visibility, and eliminating inefficiencies in the sales cycle.

Consider a scenario where your sales reps spend hours manually entering data into your CRM after every customer interaction. A streamlined RevOps process could automate data entry, giving reps more time to sell, follow up on leads, and close deals faster. If a rep can handle 20% more deals in a quarter, the revenue impact is substantial. 

Improved Forecasting Accuracy

RevOps also improves the accuracy of revenue forecasting. RevOps leaders often standardize reporting and forecasting processes, providing a more consistent, data-driven picture of the sales pipeline. Better data equals better decision-making, which minimizes surprises when it comes to hitting revenue targets.

Reduced Customer Churn

RevOps isn’t just about acquiring new customers; it’s about ensuring they stick around. By aligning customer success with sales and marketing, RevOps minimizes customer churn, thereby improving retention rates. This is particularly important because retaining an existing customer is much cheaper than acquiring a new one.

According to a study by Bain & Company, increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can increase profits by 25-95%. A successful RevOps strategy ensures that customer success is proactive, engaging customers before issues arise.

Faster Sales Cycles

Time kills deals. The longer a prospect stays in the pipeline, the more likely they’ll get cold feet. RevOps tightens this process by removing inefficiencies. By streamlining communication between departments and providing real-time data, the sales cycle can be shortened significantly.

Demonstrating RevOps ROI

1. Track The Right Metrics

To overcome these challenges, focus on a few key performance indicators (KPIs) that clearly showcase RevOps success. Consider creating a comprehensive RevOps dashboard that tracks your most important KPIs on an ongoing basis.

• Win Rate: Win rate is one of the most telling metrics. It measures the percentage of deals closed compared to those lost. If RevOps is functioning properly, you should see improvements in your win rate over time. Streamlined processes, better data visibility, and more aligned teams often result in more closed deals. 59% of organizations that adopt RevOps report improvements in their win rate. 

• Lead-to-Close Time: This metric tracks how long it takes for a lead to move through the entire sales funnel—from lead generation to deal closure. RevOps aims to optimize every stage of this funnel, so a reduction in lead-to-close time is a strong indicator of success.

• Revenue Per Customer: By aligning teams around customer success, RevOps can help increase the average revenue per customer (ARPU). With better upsell opportunities and stronger customer retention, this metric can help prove that RevOps is driving revenue growth beyond just new sales.

• Forecast Accuracy: RevOps improves data transparency and standardizes reporting, which leads to better forecast accuracy. Track your forecast accuracy over time and look for improvements as RevOps practices become more ingrained. Better forecast accuracy means fewer surprises and more confidence in revenue predictions.

• Customer Retention Rate: Retention is key in the SaaS business model. RevOps works to align customer success with sales, ensuring customers are retained and reducing churn. Improved customer retention rates are a clear sign of RevOps success, as keeping existing customers is far more profitable than acquiring new ones.

• Cost Of Customer Acquisition (CAC): RevOps should help reduce your cost of customer acquisition (CAC). With better-aligned teams and more efficient processes, you can close deals faster and with less effort. A lower CAC shows that RevOps is driving operational efficiencies.

2. Use Automation To Showcase Efficiency

Automation is a critical part of RevOps. By automating tasks, you’re freeing up time for your teams to focus on higher-value activities. Use this to your advantage when proving ROI. If you can show that RevOps has automated, say, 50 hours of work per month, it’s easier to justify the cost.

Consider this: If your average sales rep makes $60/hour, automating just 50 hours of their time equates to a $3,000/month saving. Multiply that across your team, and you're looking at significant savings.

3. Tell A Story With Data

Executives love numbers, but they love stories even more. Paint a picture of what life was like before RevOps and how things have improved. Use real-life examples, like how one rep closed a deal 30% faster because of the streamlined process. Or how lead quality improved so much that customer churn decreased by 10%.

The more relatable and specific your examples are, the easier it will be to sell the value.

4. Time Is Money (Literally)

Remember the old saying, “Time is money”? It’s especially true in RevOps. When sales, marketing, and customer success aren’t communicating well, it costs time. And wasted time equals wasted revenue.

RevOps allows your teams to work in sync, saving time and reducing friction. Every minute you save can be translated into potential revenue. So, when proving ROI, don’t just focus on the monetary gain. Highlight how much time is being saved and what your team can now do with that extra bandwidth.

5. Show How RevOps Impacts Customer Satisfaction

Customers don’t care about your internal processes, but they do care about the experience they get. RevOps ensures a smoother journey for them, which means higher satisfaction and loyalty.

Track your Net Promoter Score (NPS) or customer satisfaction ratings before and after RevOps implementation. If the numbers improve, that’s a clear sign that RevOps is working, and executives will pay attention to that.

Final Thoughts: RevOps = Smarter Growth

For RevOps leaders and managers, demonstrating the ROI of RevOps is both an art and a science. It’s about creating an efficient, aligned, and data-driven organization that can respond quickly to changes in the market. 

And when it’s time to prove the value? Lean on the numbers, tell stories, and show how it’s improving efficiency, time savings, and customer satisfaction. In the world of B2B, the proof is often in the process.