RevOps Reporting: From Strategy to Execution
A conversation with Tyler Will, VP of Revenue Operations at Intercom.
Ever built a dashboard that no one ever looked at? You poured hours into it—cleaned the data, crafted the visuals, launched it with flair—and… crickets. We’ve all been there. But for Tyler Will, VP of Revenue Operations at Intercom, that moment of silence is a signal. It’s the difference between reporting for reporting’s sake and reporting that actually drives business action.
In this episode of The Revenue Lounge, Tyler pulls back the curtain on how to transform data into compelling narratives that power decisions. From organizing your RevOps team to infusing business acumen into analytics, here’s your crash course in reporting that actually lands.
Structuring RevOps for Impact, Not Chaos
Tyler doesn’t treat RevOps as a reactive clean-up crew. At Intercom, he’s built a 30-person function intentionally divided into five tightly aligned pods: Core Ops, Planning & Comp, Go-to-Market Analytics, Strategy & Initiatives, and Systems. Each team plays a distinct role, but they’re united by a shared mission—to not just collect data, but to convert it into forward-looking decisions.
This structure is what allows Tyler’s team to build reporting muscle across the GTM funnel. Sales planning? There’s a team for that. Forecasting? Covered. Marketing funnel analytics? Embedded. It’s a system designed for flow, not friction.
Reporting Starts Long Before the Dashboard
One of Tyler’s biggest lessons? Reporting should never be treated as an afterthought. Too often, teams invest months in strategic projects—new comp plans, revamped lead routing, or territory carving—without ever defining how success will be measured.
Instead, Tyler’s team builds reporting into the project DNA from day one. That means defining business goals up front, assigning someone to own program execution (even unofficially), and scheduling reviews that extend beyond launch. Reporting, in this model, isn’t just a rearview mirror. It’s the GPS.
“Too many projects end at go-live. We build to execute beyond the launch.”
Dashboards Don’t Deliver Value—People Do
Tyler acknowledges a universal RevOps pain: building dashboards that no one uses. The problem isn’t the tool—it’s the handoff. Sales leaders and frontline managers aren’t always trained to extract insight from data. So just delivering a dashboard isn’t enough.
That’s why his team doesn’t just build tools. They teach people how to use them. They host sessions, create walkthroughs, and embed reports into the team’s operating cadence. And most importantly, they create accountability. If there’s a pipeline review next Tuesday, you’re expected to know your numbers.
“If sales leaders aren’t using the data, that’s on us. We need to teach them how.”
Turning Numbers into Narrative
Data by itself doesn’t change behavior. What Tyler emphasizes is the need to translate data into a compelling story—one that informs, provokes, and leads to decisions. He uses a simple framework to coach his team:
What? (The observation)
So What? (Why it matters)
What Now? (What we do about it)
This isn’t about throwing more charts into a deck. It’s about surfacing meaning. If pipeline is down 30%, what does that mean for Q4 targets? What can the team do to close the gap?
“Turning a table into bullet points doesn’t make it an insight.”
Business Acumen: The Missing Link in Analytics
Analytics teams often sit in their own world, crunching numbers without context. Tyler sees this as a major failure mode. His goal? Erase the line between analysts and operators. At Intercom, they’re embedding analysts directly into core GTM teams—whether that’s top-of-funnel, mid-pipeline, or renewals.
He also encourages hiring people with hybrid skills—consultants who can pull data but also drive decisions. The ultimate goal is to stop treating analytics like an academic shop and start treating it like a business partner.
“You can’t be stuck in an ivory tower. Analysts need a pulse on the business.”
How Cadence Builds Proactivity
Tyler’s approach to reporting isn’t ad hoc. It’s driven by a deliberate cadence that ensures his team is always a few steps ahead. Weeks before a quarter starts, his team is already deep diving into next quarter’s pipeline. Mid-quarter, they revisit forecasts and fine-tune outlooks.
This cadence creates predictability. It gives leaders enough time to act—not react. Whether it’s campaign planning, resourcing, or sales execution, this forward-looking posture helps Intercom stay agile.
“We’re not just reporters. We’re pattern recognizers surfacing risks before they explode.”
Working Without Perfect Data
Sometimes, you just don’t have the data you want. But that shouldn’t stall decision-making. Tyler leans on scenario modeling and sensitivity analysis to fill in the gaps. For example, what ROI would we get if we reduce churn by 2%? 4%? 6%? These projections give leaders a sense of risk and upside—even when certainty isn’t available.
This is also where co-creation matters. Instead of building a theoretical case in isolation, Tyler’s team sits down with stakeholders and builds the assumptions together. That shared ownership leads to greater buy-in.
“Even without clean data, we ask: What would we have to believe for this bet to pay off?”
How Do You Know It’s Working?
There’s no neat dashboard that measures the ROI of reporting. But Tyler looks for three signals:
Are people using the dashboards?
Are teams acting on the insights?
Are results improving over time?
It’s not just about engagement—it’s about impact. Did your QBR attendance go up? Did outbound volume increase after an insight was shared? Even if the RevOps team doesn’t get the credit, these shifts validate the value of your work.
“If QBRs doubled after your analysis, the insight landed—even if someone else took the credit.”
Where AI Fits In
AI isn’t here to replace RevOps teams—it’s here to liberate them from the grunt work. Tyler believes AI can play a massive role in surfacing trends, anomalies, and summaries that would otherwise take days to prepare. That frees up analysts to do what they do best: interpret and act.
The opportunity isn’t to automate insight, but to accelerate the journey to it.
“AI should be the engine. Humans steer the wheel.”
Final Word
RevOps isn’t just about capturing activities. It’s about connecting the dots—and more importantly, helping others see them. Tyler Will’s reporting philosophy combines systems thinking with human insight. Whether you’re building your first forecast model or struggling to get your dashboards noticed, his lessons offer a north star:
Start with the story. Build for action. Teach people how to use what you give them. And always, always connect data to decisions.
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More Resources
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Delve into the complexities of engaging buying groups and unveiling strategic approaches to conquer the challenges that arise. In Sales, the key to accelerating deals lies in understanding the nuances of buying group dynamics.
5 Steps to Navigate Buying Groups in 2025: A RevOps Guide
5 Steps to Navigate Buying Groups in 2025: A RevOps Guide RevOps 10 min In today’s business environment, B2B buying is never just one person. According to Forrester Research, more than half of global business buyers purchase in complex buying scenarios that include more people, more departments, and generally higher price points. And this buying group can be made up of 7 to 20 people! Unlocking the power of buying groups is a crucial aspect of the B2B landscape. This blog is a synopsis of our conversation with revenue operations leader, Nandini Karkare. She is currently the SVP of RevOps at Zywave. Nandini suggests strategic steps to navigate through the realms of Revenue Operations and helps uncover the strategies, insights, and best practices that constitute a comprehensive guide to mastering the dynamics of buying groups. Read on to get actionable tips on how you can navigate buying groups in 2025 (and beyond). And implement the learnings to create a winning GTM motion. Here are the 5 steps Nandini recommends: 1. Decode Your Buying Groups The buying groups typically consist of members from departments and they all contribute different aspects. It is critical to understand the scope of decision-making including the people who play the most significant roles in making the call. Gartner’s report on B2B Buying highlights that 77% of B2B purchases involve a buying group of four or more people. PS: The key stakeholder can turn out someone altogether different from who you had building a relationship with all along. a. Capturing Buying Group Members Effective buying group management means considering not just decision-makers but influential stakeholders across departments. Misidentifying key players or focusing solely on the main contact risks derailing the sale. (i) How can you map the entire buying group efficiently? Leverage internal and external data to identify the key players Segment the Group by Role and Influence (ii) Not everyone in the buying group holds equal power or influence. Segment them into categories: Decision-makers (who give the final heads-up) Influencers (who sway the decision) Users (who use the product and provide feedback) Budget owners b. The Role Transition Within a Buying Group Moving the focus from a buying group to a renewal or expansion committee includes knowing precisely who remains in the relationship, as well as who becomes more active as an account grows. (i) New roles may emerge in a Buying Group Technical or operational leaders may become more influential post sale, since they are now using the product. (ii) The focus shifts from buying to renewal The interaction should be more about the return on investment (ROI) of the product placed on the market, ongoing value delivery, and ongoing needs. (iii) Alignment between the buying groups and renewal committee Leveraging the same enthusiasm and relationships generated at the first-buying stage helps in anchoring the transitions and preventing any drop-offs in engagement. Related Resource: Navigate Enterprise Buying Committees: Strategies for Driving Alignment c. Understand the Personal and Collective Priorities of a Buying Group As per McKinsey & Company, B2B buying decisions increasingly require engagement across departments, with 60% of purchasing committees including members from outside traditional procurement, like IT and HR. (i)Alignment Between C-Suite and Technical Teams Decisions aren’t Made in a Vacuum Collaboration between C-suite and technical teams ensures a holistic approach to solving customer problems, creating stronger, more sustainable relationships Their cross departmental collaboration can help with: (ii) Alignment on Strategic Goals C suite executives need technical assistance to translate their strategic vision to reality that also aligns with company-wide objectives. (iii) Technical Validation These insights guide the C-suite in making informed decisions that fit technical infrastructure and future-proofing. (iv) Cross-functional Communication Bridging the gap between these two groups involves continuous, open communication, ensuring that technical evaluations don’t delay business goals but instead support them cohesively. iii. Understand the Product Take product demos, listen to sales calls, and use tools that show how the product is sold. This helps in understanding the customer needs better. iv. Dive into Your CRM Understand your CRM (whether Salesforce or HubSpot) to assess how the data is organized. This is to check whether it’s easy to use, and identify immediate improvements. The CRM should be the central source of truth, with other tools supporting it. The data should be unified with easier adoption for the teams. v. Build Trust Internally Establish trust within your teams by listening carefully, asking questions about how RevOps can help, and addressing quick fixes to show you’re there to help. Having this trust shows them that you’re here to support their success. Quick wins, such as small fixes that make people’s jobs easier, helps in establishing credibility early. 2. Establish Clear KPIs i. Understanding Team KPIs It is important to ask you stakeholders about the KPIs that matter to understand their goals and what their expectations are. ii. Aligning KPIs Across Teams Different departments oftentimes work in silos. RevOps should strive to align these departments and check if these KPIs match the overall business objectives. Gaps must be closed if their KPIs don’t align. iii. Setting RevOps KPIs As you approach the end of the first 30 days, start establishing RevOps-specific KPIs that match company goals, which may involve metrics like revenue increase, conversion rates, or improvements in overall efficiency. 3. Tech Stack Audit Deep dive into the existing tools that your company is using. Identify all redundancies, and find opportunities to streamline the entire tech stack. i. Map Out Tools Compile a list of all tools used by teams, noting their purpose and how they work with the CRM. ii. Evaluate Use and Cost Determine if tools are actively used or if there are duplicates. Look for cost-saving opportunities by consolidating tools when possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVDJ9KI1tGw&t=869s Next 30 days – Alignment and Control The next 30 days marks a shift from discovery to alignment. The goals should be to create cohesion between departments (e.g., Sales, Marketing) and laying down effective controls. The improvements need to be implemented without overwhelming the teams. This phase combines