The Ultimate Guide to Building a RevOps Roadmap A conversation with Briana Yarborough, Co-founder at C-Model. The role of Revenue Operations (RevOps) has become non-negotiable for companies aiming to achieve sustainable, scalable growth. Yet, many leaders still grapple with one foundational question: How do you actually build a RevOps function from scratch? In this in-depth interview, we sat down with Briana Yarborough—a top RevOps leader and co-founder of CModel, a revenue intelligence platform—to understand the how, when, and why of RevOps. With over 15 years of experience across FP&A, strategy, tech stack augmentation, and GTM operations, Briana lays out a clear and actionable roadmap for building a high-impact RevOps engine. Facebook Twitter Youtube What is Revenue Operations? “Revenue Operations is about aligning the entire organization across the customer’s journey. We strategize, create processes, and surface insights that guide executive decisions.” According to Briana, RevOps is both an art and a science. It bridges the often-disconnected functions of sales, marketing, customer success, and finance. The goal? Unified execution and predictable revenue. Core Components of RevOps: Strategy & Planning Process Design & Optimization Tech Stack Management & Integration Data Architecture & Governance Reporting & Forecasting Cross-Functional Alignment When Should You Start RevOps? “Start as early as possible—even if it’s just one person. Otherwise, you’re left cleaning up a data mess by Series B.” Too often, companies delay implementing RevOps until they’re well into their growth journey. The result is fragmented data, misaligned teams, and inefficient processes. Briana recommends embedding a RevOps mindset early—even during the product-market fit stage. Early RevOps involvement leads to: Scalable GTM infrastructure Fewer downstream cleanup projects A culture of accountability across departments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNHmq5wPP1g&t=197s How to Build RevOps in the First 90 Days Briana suggests starting with a structured 30-60-90 day plan. The focus? Understand the business, build trust, and design a scalable roadmap. Days 0-30: Discovery & Diagnosis Conduct a stakeholder roadshow Audit the current state of processes, data, and tech Identify “band-aid” fixes and their root causes Document strategic goals and operational pain points Days 31-60: Design & Roadmap Build a quarterly RevOps roadmap Prioritize based on business impact Create alignment with department heads Validate assumptions and historical pitfalls [Template: Quarterly RevOps Roadmap] Quarter Focus Area Initiative Metric Stakeholder Q1 Tech Integration CRM + ERP Data Sync Forecast Accuracy +15% Sales Ops Q2 Process SDR Handoff Optimization MQL-to-SQL Conversion Marketing Q3 Data Hygiene Account Matching Cleanup Reduced Duplicate Rate RevOps Days 61-90: Execute & Align Launch operational cadences (pipeline reviews, forecast calls, QBRs) Implement early wins Begin long-term enablement and reporting projects [Infographic Idea: Operational Cadence Calendar] A visual calendar showing strategic meetings throughout the quarter: forecast updates, planning cycles, enablement syncs, GTM kickoff, etc. Building a Strong Data Foundation “Integrated systems and unique identifiers are key. Without them, you can’t see the full customer journey.” Bad data is the silent killer of GTM productivity. Briana stresses the importance of connecting your tech stack early. Whether it’s your CRM, ERP, BI tools, or product data sources, everything must flow into a unified data warehouse. Steps to Achieve Clean Data: Connect CRM + ERP with APIs Implement Unique Customer Identifiers to link interactions across systems Define KPI Relevance by Business Model (e.g., SaaS vs. Marketplace) Align Contract Structures and SKUs   Metrics That Matter “RevOps should prioritize metrics that directly tie to business performance and revenue predictability.” Business Performance Metrics: ARR / MRR CAC / CLV Net Revenue Retention (NRR) Forecast Accuracy Sales Cycle Length GTM Effectiveness Metrics: Pipeline Coverage Ratio Opportunity Win Rate Sales Productivity Metrics Lead Conversion Rates Customer Metrics: Product Usage Trends Onboarding Time CSAT / NPS Scores   The Future of RevOps: What Lies Ahead “We’re heading toward full GTM Suites that replace 30+ tools with one revenue platform.” Briana envisions a world where RevOps is no longer stitched together with dozens of point solutions. Instead, we’ll see: All-in-one GTM operating systems AI-driven revenue intelligence Real-time strategic forecasting Higher C-level representation (CROO, SVP of Revenue Intelligence)   Advice for Aspiring RevOps Professionals “Join communities. Get certified. Be curious. Reach out to people who inspire you.” Communities to Join: Pavilion (RevOps School) RevOps Co-op RevGenius Certifications to Explore: Salesforce Trailhead (CRM Fundamentals) HubSpot RevOps Certification Pavilion Revenue Architecture Program Getting Started: Shadow a sales or marketing ops team Learn to use tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Looker, and Clari Conduct informational interviews Traits That Make a Strong RevOps Leader: Strategic Thinking Adaptability Data Fluency Stakeholder Empathy Process-Driven Mindset Final Thoughts: RevOps as a Career Path “RevOps is as close as you can get to the front seat of revenue without carrying a quota.” RevOps offers a unique intersection of data, strategy, and operations. It’s the nerve center of the modern GTM team. Whether you’re looking to scale a function or step into the space yourself, Briana’s roadmap offers a powerful foundation to get started. Want to hear more stories from revenue leaders? Subscribe to The Revenue Lounge podcast to never miss an episode! More Resources

Building & Scaling a High-Performing RevOps Team A conversation with Roman Gruhn, VP of RevOps at Multiverse. “You’re not hired to keep things the same. You’re hired to lead change—deliberate, strategic, and scalable change.”— Roman Gruhn, VP of Revenue Operations, Multiverse Revenue Operations (RevOps) has become more than a supporting function—it’s the strategic backbone of go-to-market (GTM) alignment. Yet, building and scaling a RevOps function at an enterprise level is a complex task, often underestimated. It requires more than just systems knowledge or analytical ability. It requires leadership, empathy, and adaptability. In this episode of The Revenue Lounge, we spoke with Roman Gruhn, VP of RevOps at Multiverse. With a background that spans computer science, management consulting, and GTM strategy at high-growth companies like MongoDB and Remote, Roman brings a rare mix of technical depth and business acumen. This blog distills his insights into a detailed, actionable guide for enterprise RevOps leaders navigating complexity, change management, cross-functional alignment, and AI integration. Facebook Twitter Youtube Roman’s Career Arc: From Code to CRO Support Roman began his journey in computer science but quickly realized his interests were broader. His transition into management consulting helped him develop an eye for process design and organizational effectiveness—skills that proved invaluable when he entered the SaaS world at MongoDB. “When I joined MongoDB, I didn’t know much about sales. But I brought a consultative mindset and a systems-thinking approach that helped me learn fast,” Roman recalls. At MongoDB, he moved through roles in strategic sales support, Chief of Staff for the CRO, and eventually into leading sales operations and sales tech—building operational infrastructure for a company in hypergrowth mode. Later, at Remote, he was tasked with rebuilding and maturing the RevOps function to support rapid scale. Now at Multiverse, Roman is applying those lessons in an exciting domain: upskilling the workforce for the AI age. Step 1: Understand Before You Act When stepping into a new RevOps leadership role, Roman’s first instinct is not to make immediate changes. “You have to sit on your hands at first. Don’t assume. Just listen. Every meeting is a puzzle piece.” He compares the early days to solving a 1,000-piece puzzle. You gather fragments through conversations, team meetings, and documentation, slowly forming a picture of how the GTM engine operates—and where it’s breaking down. 🔍 90-Day Discovery Framework Phase Key Actions Weeks 1–4 1:1s across GTM, product, finance, delivery. Map existing systems and flows. Weeks 5–8 Identify major friction points and redundancies. Use AI to theme-sort notes. Weeks 9–12 Validate hypotheses. Prioritize initiatives. Create early roadmap.   This structured discovery approach is critical—especially in enterprise environments where systems are deeply entangled and historical decisions carry invisible context. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJU6mTi9h9Y What an Enterprise-Ready RevOps Function Looks Like Roman emphasizes that effective RevOps requires deliberate design—not just reactive firefighting. He breaks down the core pillars of a scalable RevOps framework into five focus areas: 🏗️ 5 Pillars of Scalable RevOps Function Area Description Strategy & Planning Fiscal planning, territory modeling, quota frameworks Systems Architecture CRM scalability, automation, permissioning, compliance Analytics & Insights Forecasting, KPI dashboards, attribution modeling Process Optimization Deal desk operations, lead-to-revenue process, lifecycle automations Project Delivery Strategic rollouts, cross-functional projects, system launches   “You’re not just building for today. You’re building for repeatability and future scale,” Roman notes. This framework helps RevOps leaders understand where to invest resources, hire talent, and measure impact. Organizational Design: Generalists vs. Specialists One of the most debated questions in RevOps is whether to hire generalists or specialists. Roman’s take? It depends on scale. “When you’ve got 20 sellers, you need utility players. When you’ve got 150+, you need dedicated owners across planning, systems, analytics, and more.” 📊 Org Design by Sales Team Size Sales Headcount RevOps Team Structure 10–30 1–2 Generalists handling all ops functions 30–80 Add dedicated owner for systems or analytics 80–150+ Specialists across strategy, data, systems, enablement 150–300+ Regional pods + Centers of Excellence (COEs)   Roman also encourages internal mobility within the team. For example, someone in a systems role might rotate into analytics or planning—ensuring talent remains agile and engaged. Hiring the Right People: It’s About Mindset Roman is clear: technical skills matter, but soft skills are non-negotiable. RevOps professionals operate in a dynamic environment where agility is a must. ✅ Must-Have Soft Skills in RevOps Curiosity: A hunger to explore new tools, processes, and possibilities. Coachability: Willingness to learn—and unlearn. Conviction with humility: Bring strong opinions, but adapt when data says otherwise. Energy & Drive: RevOps is high-volume, high-context. Grit matters. Pragmatism: Know when “good enough” is good enough. “You want people who can think big—but also say, here’s a V1 that gets us moving,” Roman explains. How Roman Measures RevOps Success Unlike sales or marketing, RevOps doesn’t own a revenue number. But Roman has developed a layered KPI framework to track team performance and impact. 📊 Roman’s RevOps KPI Stack Layer Metrics Support Health Ticket volume, SLA adherence, time-to-resolution Project Delivery On-time delivery, stakeholder satisfaction, issue volume post-launch GTM Impact Rep productivity, territory equity, attainment distribution Stakeholder Feedback Internal CSAT, sentiment from regional VPs, escalation volume   Roman also looks at qualitative indicators, such as whether GTM leaders see RevOps as a blocker or enabler. “You don’t want to be the function of ‘No.’ You want to be the function of ‘Here’s how.’” Aligning Metrics Across GTM One of the biggest pitfalls in enterprise GTM teams is siloed metrics. Marketing chases MQLs. Sales chases bookings. CS chases renewals. RevOps must drive shared understanding. “Everyone says they’re aligned. But when you peel back the onion—they’re not. They’re just measuring their own kingdoms.” 🔗 Cross-Functional Metrics Table Metric Defined By Used Across Notes Pipeline Coverage Sales Ops Sales, CS Tied to forecast accuracy and headcount planning Marketing Sourced Marketing Ops Sales, Finance Requires shared attribution model Expansion Revenue CS Ops Sales, CS, Product Impacts GTM, product feedback loops, and planning   Roman recommends creating a centralized “metric dictionary” that includes definitions, owners, and dependencies to reduce ambiguity and finger-pointing.

A 30-60-90 Day Playbook for First-Time RevOps Leaders A conversation with Hassan Irshad, Director of RevOps at FEVTutor. Revenue Operations (RevOps) isn’t just a support function anymore. It’s the strategic engine that powers alignment, productivity, and visibility across the go-to-market (GTM) teams. And for first-time RevOps leaders stepping into the role, the first 90 days are absolutely critical. Your success depends on how well you can listen, diagnose, align, and act. In this deep-dive, Hassan Irshad—former Director of RevOps at FEVTutor and a veteran in building RevOps functions from the ground up across multiple B2B SaaS organizations—shares a tactical, proven playbook for the first 90 days in the job. Structured into three phases, this playbook helps new leaders set up a high-impact, scalable RevOps engine. Facebook Twitter Youtube Phase 1: The First 30 Days — Discovery and Trust-Building Hassan calls this the “Discovery Phase,” and it’s arguably the most important segment of your 90-day plan. Here, the goal isn’t to solve every problem. It’s to understand the lay of the land, build stakeholder trust, and uncover real pain points. “Think of yourself as a doctor. If you don’t listen well enough, you’ll misdiagnose the pain.” Start by meeting with stakeholders across departments: Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Finance, Product, and HR. Identify their KPIs, their blockers, and their goals. Create a document that captures all your findings—Hassan refers to this as the “Lay of the Land” doc. At the same time, shadow end users. Sit with BDRs, AEs, and CSMs. Watch how they use tools. How do they enter data? Where do they get stuck? Walk through your CRM. Is reporting intuitive or a tangled mess? Don’t stop there. Run a detailed tech stack audit. Map every tool in the ecosystem. What integrates with CRM? What’s shelfware? What’s overused or underused? Hassan emphasizes talking to users, not just system owners. You should also: Immerse yourself in the product: attend demos, listen to sales calls. Map existing processes: selling, onboarding, renewals. Identify low-hanging fruit for early wins: improve field logic, add help text, or train users on hidden CRM features. Key Objectives: Establish trust Conduct a stakeholder audit Perform a tech and process audit Map current workflows Identify quick wins 💡 Action Items: Task Description Stakeholder Interviews Meet leaders from Sales, Marketing, CX, Finance, HR, and Product. Understand their KPIs, pain points, and top priorities. Create a “Lay of the Land” Document A central repository of org structure, current GTM processes, key workflows, and metrics. Shadow GTM Teams Sit with BDRs, AEs, and CSMs to understand how data is entered, how tools are used, and where bottlenecks occur. Tech Stack Audit List every tool in use, usage rates, integrations, costs, redundancies, and gaps. Process Mapping Map the end-to-end selling, marketing, and renewal processes. Identify handoffs, duplication, and inefficiencies. Product Immersion Attend a demo, listen to sales calls, and understand the sales pitch and product-market fit.   ✅ Quick Wins Template: Win Type Example Usability Fix Clarify error messages in CRM workflows Dashboard Build Build a simple commissions dashboard for reps Training Conduct a quick session on a misunderstood feature Phase 2: Days 31-60 — Alignment and Control This is the phase where you start “flexing your RevOps muscles,” as Hassan puts it. While discovery continues in some areas, you now begin putting controls and alignment mechanisms in place. Hassan calls this phase “Alignment and Control.” “You need to be the catalyst for cross-functional collaboration. Nobody else is connecting the dots across sales, marketing, and CX.” Start with KPI alignment. You’ll have already collected the individual KPIs in Phase 1. Now, assess whether those KPIs roll up into the broader company strategy. If they don’t, that’s a red flag—and your opportunity to bring the teams together. Hold cross-functional syncs to align Sales, Marketing, and CS around shared quarterly goals. Create dashboards and reporting frameworks that reflect this shared accountability. Also, start implementing operational controls: Are close dates in CRM accurate? Is forecasting behavior consistent? Are stage definitions clear? Don’t impose controls abruptly. Hassan suggests using logic and transparency. Example: If a rep uses spreadsheets to track deals, propose a CRM-based inline-editable report that feels like a spreadsheet but ensures visibility. And begin vetting your tools: Is a forecasting tool duplicating features available in Salesforce? Are reps logging into a tool? Can licenses be consolidated? Key Objectives: Improve GTM team collaboration Put control mechanisms in place Begin strategic alignment Validate process improvements 💡 Action Items: Task Description Cross-Functional Alignment Facilitate regular syncs between Sales, Marketing, and CX to align on quarterly goals. KPI Rationalization Align individual department KPIs with the company’s strategic objectives. Identify siloed or conflicting goals. Governance Setup Define request intake processes, project documentation standards, and response SLAs. Control Implementation Use logic and data to drive compliance (e.g., inline editable reports to update close dates instead of spreadsheets). Change Management Prep Identify stakeholders who will sponsor or resist change. Begin conversations to create buy-in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVDJ9KI1tGw&t=1343s Phase 3: Days 61-90 — Vision and Execution By now, you’ve earned trust, understood the landscape, and started building momentum. Phase three is about turning that momentum into long-term strategy and execution. Hassan calls this the “Vision and Execution” phase. “You’re now setting the foundation for your long-term roadmap. Think beyond tickets—think strategy.” At this point, you should be ready to publish a two-quarter RevOps roadmap. This roadmap includes: Strategic initiatives tied to revenue goals Operational improvements already underway Planned enhancements to the tech stack This is also the time to start tracking and showcasing impact. Go back to the baselines you gathered in Phase 1. Show how time-to-insight improved, or how a forecast accuracy initiative reduced missed commits. Make your work visible. Remember, this is also where change management becomes critical. Stakeholders may resist new processes. Hassan advises using your discovery-phase insights to preempt resistance. Understand their motivations and frame changes as value drivers. Key Objectives: Publish a roadmap Begin implementation Showcase wins Plan for continuous improvement 💡 Action Items: Task Description Publish a RevOps

Building a Unified Revenue Engine: How Druva Aligns GTM and RevOps for Growth A conversation with John Hultman, Chief Revenue Officer at Druva. The path to revenue growth isn’t paved solely by sales excellence—it’s constructed through the strategic orchestration of all go-to-market (GTM) functions: sales, marketing, and customer success. John Hultman, CRO of Druva, shares his playbook for building a cohesive GTM engine by unifying data, engagement metrics, and operations under a single strategic vision. From tackling disjointed KPIs to uncovering hidden churn signals and designing intent-driven expansion plays, John offers a masterclass in what it means to lead with RevOps in the modern age. Facebook Twitter Youtube Why Alignment Across Revenue Teams is Non-Negotiable “Everybody looks at metrics vertically—‘I’m green’—but you’re still not hitting the goal. Flip it horizontally. Work backward from the outcome.”— John Hultman, CRO at Druva One of the biggest traps GTM organizations fall into is siloed success. Each team—marketing, SDRs, AEs, CS—operates in its own KPI bubble. While each may hit their own numbers, the company still misses revenue targets. John calls for a complete reorientation: from vertical success to horizontal alignment. Vertical vs. Horizontal KPI FocusBelow is an infographic that illustrates how traditional KPI silos compare to outcome-focused, horizontal alignment across GTM teams: Redefining Metrics: What Actually Moves the Needle Instead of tracking surface-level KPIs like MQLs or number of meetings, John aligns his teams around what truly impacts revenue: Metric Why It Matters Marketing-Generated Bookings Ties campaigns directly to revenue outcomes Lead Follow-Up Time Reveals AE responsiveness and SDR effectiveness Opportunity Stage Duration Detects pipeline friction points Expansion Rates Measures long-term account growth Churn Risk Scores Early indicators of customer dissatisfaction   By standardizing these metrics across departments, teams can see where things break down and act fast. “It’s not about the quantity of pipeline. It’s the quality and the conversion that matter.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQlouc3eOpw Breaking Through the Noise: New Realities in Prospecting Prospecting is harder than ever. According to industry data shared at B2BMX, first meetings are down 30–50% year-over-year. Buyers are overwhelmed by outreach—emails, cold calls, DMs—and are increasingly unresponsive. John’s solution? Shift the lens from quantity to cost-effectiveness: Analyze Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) across different motions (MQLs vs OEM vs MSP vs Channel). Explore non-traditional channels that drive better ROI. Focus on signal-based marketing instead of shotgun-style outreach. “A traditional MQL model is expensive. Every touch—tools, SDR, data cleansing—adds up.” The Power of Buying Groups and Intent Signals B2B buying is no longer a one-person show. Recent research from 6sense shows the average buying group includes 11 stakeholders. But traditional CRMs typically capture only one. “Buying signals help us understand if something’s heating up—or if churn is around the corner.” Druva uses platforms like ZoomInfo and 6sense to: Detect intent across personas Identify expansion opportunities Predict churn within current accounts These platforms provide visibility not just into net-new accounts, but also within existing customers—surfacing signs of disengagement or interest in new products. Scaling Expansion with Dedicated Teams Druva’s go-to-market strategy separates new logo acquisition from expansion: Team Focus Area Hunters Land new accounts and manage first renewal Farmers (Expansion AEs) Drive adoption across additional workloads   Expansion AEs work closely with CSMs, partners, SEs, and TAMs to ensure full account penetration post-sale. “I was unsure about the split at first—but now I’m a believer. The expansion team builds deep relationships that unlock full value.” Retention is a Science: Detecting Risk Before It’s Too Late John outlines a multi-layered approach to protect recurring revenue: Risk Signals Druva Tracks: Decline in product usage Surge in support tickets Large-scale data exports (potential migration) Absence from events and webinars Lower NPS or QBR engagement Cadence by Segment: Customer Tier Engagement Model Enterprise Quarterly QBRs, 6-month renewal prep Mid-Market Biannual reviews SMB/Long-Tail 120-day renewal triggers via AE or renewals rep   “We built AI propensity models to flag expansion and churn risks. These are crucial for staying ahead.” Data Without Insight Is Just Noise “Salesforce is our source of truth—but it’s not about the data. It’s about how you simplify and standardize it.” Druva pulls data from multiple sources—Salesforce, Sigma, Clari, Atrium—and aggregates it into simplified dashboards. Standardization ensures teams debate strategy, not whose numbers are right. John’s RevOps team is tasked not just with collecting data—but surfacing actionable insights. Pipeline Visibility: A Continuous Feedback Loop John’s pipeline framework includes three lenses: Lens Use Case In-Quarter Pipeline Immediate revenue forecasting Next-Quarter Pipeline Forward visibility to avoid chase mode Source Breakdown Channel health by OEM, Direct, Partner   The RevOps team cuts data by geo, function, and team to uncover root causes of pipeline issues—before they impact revenue. Strategic Account Planning and Re-engagement Expansion depends on reaching beyond the initial champions. Druva ensures sellers don’t just rely on admins or tool users—they map out all key stakeholders and re-engage them as new opportunities emerge. “They may have disengaged—but they’ll re-engage when the right workload comes up. That’s where good account planning pays off.” Managing Change Across GTM Functions Unifying teams under one strategy isn’t just a data challenge—it’s a people challenge. “You can’t just communicate once. You need continuous communication with context—why we’re doing this, why now, and how it helps them.” John emphasizes: Setting a shared North Star Explaining the “why” behind every change Making everyone feel part of the journey The New Buyer Journey: Less Time with Sales, More Time in Research “Buyers spend 9 out of 12 months doing research—without ever talking to your sales team.” This shift forces GTM teams to: Use intent data to intercept buyers early Provide helpful content during research Equip sellers with consultative tools—not just decks   Golf outings and 5-hour lunches are over. Buyers want speed, value, and insight. Final Thoughts: Strategic Growth in a Changing World “You get pulled into the day-to-day. You have to fight for time to think strategically.” For John, success as a CRO means balancing operational excellence with long-term vision—aligning every function under one strategy, and enabling teams with the right data,

Bridging the Gap Between Data and Action: A Strategic Guide for GTM and RevOps Leaders A conversation with Sarah Flaccavento, SVP Strategic Initiatives at Alphasense. “Data is only as good as the insights it drives.” – Sarah Flaccavento In an age where data flows through every department, dashboard, and decision, organizations still struggle to turn that abundance into action. While most teams claim to be data-driven, the truth is that data often ends up siloed, unused, or misunderstood. Sarah Flaccavento, SVP of Strategic Initiatives at AlphaSense, believes that the ability to translate data into actionable insight is what separates good companies from great ones. In this detailed guide, drawn from her episode on The Revenue Lounge, we unpack the frameworks, prioritization techniques, and change management strategies she uses to create force-multiplying change in complex organizations. Facebook Twitter Youtube Section 1: From Gut Instinct to Insight-Driven Execution “Insight is the answer to a question—and it’s actionable.” – Sarah Flaccavento Data by itself is just noise. The real magic happens when teams identify patterns, contextualize them, and act on them. Sarah defines an insight as something that not only tells you what is happening but also guides what to do next. Data Insight Raw numbers, metrics, activity logs Meaningful answers to questions Requires interpretation Tells you what to do next Often siloed and overwhelming Cross-functional and directional Measures what happened Predicts or influences what will happen Key takeaway: Without connecting data to context and action, teams risk analysis paralysis. Real transformation starts when leaders ask better questions and turn patterns into priorities. Section 2: Prioritization Framework – WSJF (Weighted Shortest Job First) One of the core methodologies Sarah uses is WSJF—a prioritization framework from Agile’s Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). It helps identify high-impact projects based not only on ROI but also on urgency and effort. “The most important piece WSJF adds is time criticality. ROI alone isn’t enough.” – Sarah Flaccavento How WSJF Works: WSJF = (Size of Prize / Difficulty) x Time Criticality Component Explanation Size of Prize What’s the potential upside (revenue, customers, impact)? Difficulty How complex is the execution? Time Criticality If you wait, does the opportunity disappear? Will competitors get there first? Example: Instead of targeting trillion-dollar law firm opportunities (high ROI, low urgency), Sarah’s team focused on launching generative AI search. Why? Because the need was immediate, the pain was clear, and nobody else was solving it yet. Sarah asks her team to independently score initiatives using the Fibonacci sequence for each parameter. This fosters debate and forces thoughtful decision-making. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRyreib4-TU&t=3278s Section 3: Strategic Planning in 3 Tiers “You should be planning for three horizons at any given time.” – Sarah Flaccavento Sarah outlines a three-level planning model that balances execution with vision: Infographic: Strategic Planning Tiers Horizon Focus Examples Quarterly Fully fixed execution plans Launch AI search, Expand into HK Biannual (6M) Defined problems, flexible on how Solve pricing friction, Partner launches 1-3-5 Year Big bets and long-term missions Become the insights platform of record She recommends: Locking in execution for 1 quarter Having flexible priorities for 6 months Planning vision 1, 3, and 5 years out Reviewing monthly, publishing quarterly To track this, Sarah uses an Excel-based WSJF matrix and hides past columns until it’s time to review. This avoids emotional decisions and encourages accountability through data. Section 4: Creating a Culture of Data Ownership “You should never walk into a meeting with a question. You walk in with a recommendation—based on data.” – Sarah Flaccavento Sarah has built a culture at AlphaSense where data ownership is democratized, not centralized. Everyone—from reps to execs—is expected to: Bring hypotheses, not open questions Make recommendations, not just escalate problems Own inputs to company-wide decision-making The result? Data becomes everyone’s responsibility. People come prepared, speak with clarity, and decisions move faster. [Data Entry] → [Insight Generation] → [Recommendation] → [Execution] → [Feedback Loop] Sarah enforces this through: Visible use of rep-generated data in strategy meetings Celebrating usage of Salesforce notes and Gong insights Running pre-meetings with dissenters to ensure open discussion and buy-in Section 5: Salesforce: A Directional Input, Not the Whole Truth “Salesforce is a powerful, directionally accurate input to decision-making.” – Sarah Flaccavento Sarah acknowledges Salesforce as a valuable, but not infallible, data source. It excels at tracking pipeline stages and opportunity hygiene. But when it comes to customer segmentation or behavior, it often lacks nuance. Instead, her team triangulates insights from: Salesforce reports Gong transcripts Product usage data QBR feedback Pro Tip: Make the rep’s input meaningful by closing the loop. Highlight the impact of win/loss notes in company-wide decisions. Section 6: Case Study – Rethinking Pricing & Packaging AlphaSense’s pricing model originally reflected the cost of aggregating premium data. However, the market wanted flexibility—not rigid per-seat pricing. “Fear drives a lot of detraction. But data addresses that fear.” – Sarah Flaccavento Sarah’s team: Started with one FS customer segment Validated demand with usage and growth data Adjusted pricing to align with value delivered Result: AlphaSense closed the largest FS and corporate deals in company history. Each segment got a tailored model based on data-backed buying behavior. Section 7: Failing Fast in GTM “Failing fast is about making problems smaller and smaller.” – Sarah Flaccavento Instead of big bets that take quarters to prove, Sarah advocates: Breaking big hypotheses into tiny experiments Testing assumptions early (e.g. Do they have this problem? Will they pay to solve it?) Learning if it’s a true failure or just “not now” [Big Idea] → [Micro-Test] → [Data Validation] → [Fail / Scale / Postpone] This mindset saves time, protects resources, and keeps momentum high. Section 8: Data as a Cultural Operating System “If data isn’t in your company DNA, it will get in your way.” – Sarah Flaccavento Sarah closes with this imperative: data must be part of the cultural fabric. Not just a RevOps job. Not just a dashboard. But something that: Informs every strategic bet Validates every resource allocation Shapes every customer interaction Whether it’s pricing,