Revops Rant: Good vs. Great RevOps

Last week, I was at the Revenue Operations Summit and it was amazing (and extremely validating) to hear other RevOps leaders share their challenges, made me realize we're all in the same boat.

In one of my many conversations, someone asked me a deceptively simple question: “What differentiates great RevOps from good RevOps?”

And honestly? It stumped me for a second. Because I didn’t have an answer, I'd never thought abotu that. After some reflection I realized it’s not just one thing. There’s no single metric, no magic framework that separates the good from the great. It’s a mix of things, how RevOps wields data, how it navigates change, and whether or not it can actually get people to use what it builds.

After thinking it through, here’s where I landed:

Great RevOps Uses Data to Diffuse Misalignment

Every RevOps person knows data is king. Good RevOps reports the numbers, while great RevOps uses them to solve problems.

• Good RevOps: “Marketing says their MQLs are fine, but Sales says they’re garbage. Here’s the data showing conversion rates.”

• Great RevOps: “Conversion rates from Marketing’s MQLs are 10% lower than outbound. Let’s adjust the scoring model and align on a shared conversion metric to fix the disconnect.”

See the difference?

Great RevOps Knows Process Alone Isn’t Enough (It’s About Adoption)

Look, we can build the best process in the world, but if no one actually follows it? It’s worthless. I’ve seen this play out so many times:

• We roll out a new lead handoff process. Nobody follows it.

• We refine the forecasting model. Sales leaders ignore it.

• We create a killer enablement program. Reps don’t watch the training.

Good RevOps stops at “we built the process.” Great RevOps knows the real work is change management. Adoption is everything and getting buy-in is just as important as the mechanics of the process itself.

Great RevOps Balances Strategy with Execution

There’s an easy trap to fall into in RevOps:

• Some people get stuck in execution mode: constantly fixing dashboards, updating Salesforce, troubleshooting integrations.

• Others lean too far into strategy talking about long-term GTM alignment but never getting into the weeds of implementation.

Good RevOps typically lands in one camp or the other. But great RevOps balances both. They can zoom out to shape high-level strategy and then dive in to execute. They’re comfortable leading a C-level conversation about revenue growth one minute and troubleshooting a CRM workflow the next.

Great RevOps is the Translator Between Teams

RevOps sits at the intersection of Sales, Marketing, CS, and Finance. And let’s be honest: those teams don’t always speak the same language.

• Sales talks about deals and quotas.

• Marketing talks about campaigns and leads.

• CS talks about adoption and retention.

• Finance talks about bookings, ARR, and margins.

Good RevOps understands each team’s priorities. Great RevOps translates between them and aligns them.

Great RevOps isn’t just an ops function, it’s the glue that holds the revenue org together and plays Switzerland in helping driving alignment. The one statement that I've been reminding myself of recently is we help turn strategy into execution and build the path to turn execution into Revenue.

Good RevOps Builds. Great RevOps Drives Impact.…That’s the real difference….