Why RevOps Isn’t Optional (And When You Really Need It)
There’s a perception problem with revenue operations. Some boards still see it as “walking overhead” – a nice-to-have luxury that can wait until you’ve got 20-plus salespeople on the ground. But according to James Bagan, a veteran sales leader with over 30 years in B2B technology and chairman of three tech businesses, this view is not just outdated – it’s costing companies real growth.
Having surveyed over 200 businesses through his GTM due diligence work for private equity and venture capital firms, Bagan has seen first-hand what separates the winners from the also-rans. And increasingly, that difference comes down to how early companies get serious about revenue operations.
The RevOps Perception Problem
Why do so many boards undervalue RevOps? Bagan identifies three key reasons.
First, it’s simply unfamiliar territory. The term “RevOps” only emerged around 2016, coined by an organisation called LeanData. For boards without direct experience of the function, it’s genuinely new ground.
Second, there’s no universal definition. Ask three people what RevOps means and you’ll get three different answers. Unlike a new business salesperson – whose remit is crystal clear – RevOps has remained somewhat nebulous as it’s evolved. That ambiguity immediately puts boards on edge about the value proposition.
But the main reason? Boards want to see a direct line between effort and revenue. Hiring a salesperson with a target is simple maths. RevOps? That feels indirect, harder to quantify, more difficult to justify when you’re watching every penny.
When RevOps Actually Makes Sense
So when should you seriously consider bringing RevOps into your commercial operation?
Bagan doesn’t give a one-size-fits-all answer – there’s too much nuance for that – but he does point to clear indicators that should trigger the conversation. If your business is experiencing any of these, it’s time:
You’re scaling the sales team. When you’re moving from a handful of salespeople to something more substantial, you need operational rigour behind that growth.
Data is becoming unwieldy. If you’re struggling to make sense of your CRM data, your pipeline visibility is poor, or reporting takes days rather than hours, you’ve got a RevOps problem.
Processes are breaking down. When what worked for five people simply doesn’t scale to 15, you need someone thinking systematically about how your commercial engine actually runs.
You’re investing in new tools. Bringing in new technology without someone to properly implement, integrate and optimise it is money down the drain.
The key insight? You don’t need to wait for 20 salespeople. Bagan is seeing more scale-ups at just £2-3 million ARR bringing in RevOps resource – and seeing real value from it. The role might look different at that stage (perhaps more generalist, wearing multiple hats), but the function is still critical.
What RevOps Actually Does
At its heart, RevOps exists to create scalability and predictability in your revenue engine. It’s about building the infrastructure that allows your commercial teams to operate efficiently and your leadership to make informed decisions.
Think of it this way: your salespeople are the athletes on the pitch. RevOps is the coaching staff, the kit managers, the performance analysts – all the people who make sure your team can actually perform at their best.
Specifically, RevOps should be:
- Ensuring data integrity across your systems
- Building and maintaining sales processes that actually work
- Providing the reporting and analytics that drive decisions
- Managing your tech stack so it serves the business, not the other way round
- Creating enablement materials and training programmes
- Optimising territories, quotas and comp plans
Without this function, you’re asking your CRO or VP of Sales to be player-manager-coach-analyst all at once. And while some might cope for a while, it’s not scalable.
The Continuous Recruitment Mindset
Beyond RevOps, Bagan is evangelical about one practice that separates great revenue leaders from good ones: never stop recruiting.
“I believe it’s incumbent on a revenue leader in a growing operation to constantly be out looking for talent,” he says. And he’s not talking about having constant mandates in the market or spending half your week in interviews. He’s talking about maintaining a current perspective on what’s available.
Why? Two compelling reasons.
First, you’re constantly benchmarking your current team against the market. Are the people you have genuinely best-in-class, or have you just grown comfortable with what you know?
Second, when something goes south – and it always does eventually – you’re ready. That surprise resignation or necessary termination doesn’t catch you cold. You met someone brilliant three months ago who wasn’t quite ready to move then, but might be now.
The mechanics are straightforward. Keep your careers page active and welcoming. If you’ve got retained recruiters, negotiate a relationship where they can funnel CVs to you regularly. Make time for coffee meetings with interesting people in your space – not formal interviews necessarily, just conversations.
How much time should this take? Bagan won’t be prescriptive, but suggests meeting a handful of candidates properly each month is probably about right. Couple that with softer activities – making sure your LinkedIn presence signals that you’re a great place to work, networking so people know you’re always interested in talent – and you’re creating a pipeline for when you need it.
As Bagan puts it: “If you can sit here and say that the number one skillset for a revenue leader is to hire brilliantly and manage and drive teams, then it’s got to be a constituent part of your working week.”
The Bottom Line
Revenue operations isn’t optional in 2025. The companies that treat it as such are the ones struggling to scale predictably, wrestling with data chaos, and watching competitors pull ahead.
The good news? You don’t need to be a 100-person sales organisation to justify the investment. If you’re experiencing the symptoms – scaling challenges, data problems, process breakdowns – the conversation needs to happen now, not when things are completely broken.
And if you’re leading a revenue function? Never stop recruiting. The best teams aren’t built in a panic when someone leaves. They’re built continuously, deliberately, by leaders who understand that talent acquisition isn’t an HR function – it’s a core competency of the role.
The lonely days of the revenue leader are getting better, with more communities, podcasts and peer networks emerging to provide support. But the fundamentals remain: hire brilliantly, build the right operational infrastructure, and never stop improving the quality of your team.
Everything else is just details.
Watch the full Rev-n-u Unplugged podcast here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI3PN5salZU
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