The RevOps Leadership Handbook Vol 1

Featuring perspectives from the Salesloft RevOps team on alignment, forecasting, and systems evaluation. 

The rise of revenue operations

Forrester analysts wrote, “RevOps teams are at the heart of driving growth and efficiency.”

LinkedIn found that RevOps leaders were #1 on their list of fastest-growing job titles.

Yes, RevOps is in high demand — but there’s more to this story than growth numbers and job titles.

Many organizations still don’t fully understand what RevOps can and should do. 

While RevOps can be transformative, it’s not a magic bullet for inefficiency or misalignment. RevOps isn’t about “fixing everything” or plugging gaps in sales processes. It’s about driving strategic alignment with a long-term, disciplined approach.

At Salesloft, we’ve learned through our team’s experience that RevOps works best when it focuses on building sustainable processes, simplifying complexity, and driving clarity for the business. 

The mini guides in this handbook don’t answer every question a leader might have, but they are designed to help you get started in a few key areas.

Part 1: How to Strengthen Strategic Alignment

Part 2: How to Build a Strong Forecast Foundation

Part 3: How to Evaluate Complex Tech Stacks

Part 4: RevOps Leadership Foundations Checklist

Part 1: How to strengthen strategic alignment

Alignment is often discussed as the foundation of RevOps success. However, achieving it once is not enough — the real test lies in maintaining alignment when business priorities inevitably shift. 

Relying on continuous meetings and check-ins won’t solve alignment issues. Over-communication for the sake of it often creates noise, not clarity. Instead, the focus needs to be on creating systems that enable alignment without overwhelming teams.

Through our team's experience at Salesloft, we’ve identified practical steps for achieving and maintaining alignment that actually drive results.

Steps for effective alignment (without creating noise)

1. Unify goals and key performance indicators (KPIs): 


Start with metrics that reflect collective success. At Salesloft, we focus on:

• Bookings, net ARR, and gross revenue retention: indicates health
of the business and potential to grow revenue
• Average Sales Price (ASP): signifies the ability to capture bookings per customer
• Win rates: tracks sales effectiveness by showing how often deals are successfully closed
• Sales cycle length: identifies sales process efficiencies or bottlenecks
• Opportunity creation: gauges the health of the pipeline

2. Leverage data for actionable insights and transparency:

Dashboards should tell a story, not just display numbers. We’ve implemented 
shared dashboards that keep everyone on the same page, improving 
decision-making across teams.

3. Early engagement with sales leaders:


Early buy-in from sales leaders is essential to smoother execution. But it’s not always realistic to wait for full alignment. Sales leaders have their own pressures, and waiting for them to fully align can stall progress. Instead, focus on small wins to demonstrate early impact and gradually bring them into alignment.

4. Build a strong alliance with Customer Success:

One strategic move we made at Salesloft was to reintroduce the Client Account Executive role, focused solely on upselling and expanding our current client base. With strong leadership from our VP of Sales, we aligned compensation design and quota-setting around clear metrics like ASP and win rates, turning the role into a game changer for our bookings and productivity.

Let the annual plan
serve as the centerpiece
of your efforts

A well-constructed annual plan is the backbone of the RevOps strategy. It provides a clear path for team alignment, market engagement, and sales execution.


Our RevOps team at Salesloft has found that successful annual plans not only guide alignment, but also help continuously
adapt to changing market conditions.

The key components of a strong annual RevOps plan

The role of pipeline coverage and bookings linearity

Pipeline coverage and ensuring linearity throughout the quarter are foundational responsibilities for RevOps leaders. Managing these
 two factors ensures that revenue targets are met, while avoiding
 an end-of-quarter rush to hit numbers.

Pipeline coverage answers the question, “Do we have enough deals
 in the pipeline to meet revenue targets?”

Bookings linearity addresses, “How are we pacing to our forecast,
 and is this in line with historical trends?”

Our team has found that by using intent data to capture signals early in the buyer’s journey, it’s possible to accelerate leads into pipeline and identify deal strategies and talk tracks that resonate with buyers.

Regularly monitoring pipeline health also helps identify areas that may need additional resources. For example, if historical data shows that 3x pipeline coverage is needed to meet goals, but the current coverage is only 2x, RevOps should pivot to ramp up generation efforts.

The goal of bookings linearity is to track the progress towards quarterly targets and ensure a healthy pace towards the goal. Processes that monitor coverage can help smooth the chaotic "hockey-stick" effect of quarter-ends, where the bulk of deals close in the last few days of the quarter, straining internal resources. Processes that ensure consistent coverage can help avoid the chaotic "hockey-stick" effect, where the bulk of deals close in the last few days of the quarter.

Strategies for managing pipeline coverage and bookings linearity:

1. Use intent data to engage leads early, before they official enter the pipeline.
2. Track pipeline coverage through forecasting models and identify gaps or risks early.
3. Align marketing and sales to maintain steady lead flow, avoiding bottlenecks.

Conversion rate optimization

RevOps plays a pivotal role in optimizing the lead qualification process, ensuring that marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) are properly vetted before being passed to sales. Improved qualification processes lead to higher conversion rates, allowing sales teams to focus their efforts on high-value leads.

Our RevOps team has seen that small, data-driven adjustments in how leads are nurtured and qualified can lead to significant improvements
in conversion rates. One particularly effective tactic is A/B testing sales messaging and marketing engagement strategies to see which approaches yield the highest conversion rates.

Additionally, clearly defined service-level agreements (SLAs) between marketing and sales ensure alignment on lead handoff criteria and timing, reducing the risk of valuable leads slipping through the cracks.

Tactics to improve conversion rates:

1. Strengthen lead qualification by setting clearer criteria for marketing-to-sales handoffs.
2. Leverage A/B testing in sales outreach and messaging to identify the most effective approaches.
3. Utilize lead scoring models to prioritize high-intent prospects, ensuring sales focuses on the leads most likely to convert.

Reducing Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC)

Lowering customer acquisition costs (CAC) while maintaining growth is
 a key priority for RevOps leaders. To achieve this, teams must focus on aligning marketing and sales efforts to target high-value prospects that are more likely to convert.

At Salesloft, we focus on data-driven segmentation to identify and prioritize leads with the highest revenue potential and the lowest cost
 per acquisition. This approach reduces the pursuit of unqualified leads
 and keeps CAC in check.

Tips for lowering CAC:

1. Target high-value leads using data analytics and segmentation strategies.
2. Shorten sales cycles by streamlining internal processes and improving collaboration through automation.
3. Focus on customer retention and expansion by upselling and cross-selling to existing clients, which reduces the need for new customer acquisition efforts.

How does Salesloft help improve team alignment?

Revenue tools were supposed to fix the chaos in your sales process, but instead they left you guessing which data and signals to act on right now. Salesloft changes that. Without leaving the workflow, everyone from reps to RevOps can make immediate decisions that are tied to the outcomes you want.

Need help prioritizing requests? Use a RevOps roadmap template.

Assessing your company's operational maturity is crucial to identify gaps in sales processes and systems. Once identified, prioritizing projects to address these gaps is essential.

The RevOps Roadmap offers a structured approach to align operational improvements with executive goals while managing ad hoc requests. Here's how to begin.

Part 2: How to build a strong forecast foundation

Forecasting is frequently treated as the “holy grail” of RevOps, but
 many overlook the fact that most forecasts are still, to some extent, extrapolations. Even with sophisticated tools, there will always be an element of uncertainty. The key is managing that uncertainty effectively.

Forecast reviews and pipeline adjustments based on real-time data
are key to staying on track. Forecasting is a discipline of its own, and getting it right takes continuous refinement.

By combining both sales and RevOps perspectives, businesses can
create forecasts that not only track performance but also predict growth opportunities.

RevOps forecasting: Focuses on consolidating data across the business to create a holistic view of how the company is performing.

Sales forecasting: Provides in-depth, deal-specific insights that enhance the overall picture but often focuses on immediate, short-term performance.

The essential building blocks of an accurate forecast

Compare performance across time periods

Whether quarter-over-quarter or year-over-year, it’s essential to compare performance across time periods. This helps identify trends, strengths, and gaps in your pipeline, allowing for more informed forecasting.

Key action: Ensure you have access to pipeline snapshots at given points in time. This can be set up using your CRM system, auto-stamping reports, version control, etc.

Assess pipeline coverage

Regularly monitor whether there are enough deals in the pipeline to meet revenue targets. Historical data often points to a 3x coverage ratio, meaning you need three times your target in the pipeline to reliably hit booking goals. This ensures you account for expected drop-offs or losses during the sales process.

Key action: Set up pipeline reports in your CRM that track snapshots over time, allowing you to compare pipeline coverage at different points in the time period (quarter, year, month, etc.). Break these reports out by segment to see which parts of your business are well-covered versus exposed, and this insight will allow you to make data-driven decisions about whether to ramp up generation efforts or adjust deal prioritization.

Combine quantitative and qualitative data

Use quantitative data like deal scores, pipeline health,
 and deal stage progress to assess the overall health of the pipeline. Supplement this with qualitative insights from your sales team, such as deal notes, rep confidence, and feedback on specific opportunities.


These soft inputs help reveal the story behind the numbers, identifying risks or opportunities that purely quantitative data might miss.

Key action: Set up a process to regularly collect rep insights on key deals through tools like notes fields or deal reviews, and integrate these insights with your CRM data to spot discrepancies between numbers and real-world outcomes.

Conversion rates

Use this metric to measure how effectively your team
 is winning opportunities in the applicable time period.
 A declining conversion rate could indicate potential problems with sales tactics or product-market fit, while
 an increasing rate could show positive momentum.

Key action: Build reporting that tracks how much of your pipeline at certain points in time was won rather than lost or pushed to the following period. Calculate these rates across different segments, deal stages, and verticals. Apply these rates to your open pipeline to generate a weighted forecast. Lastly, look for patterns that could inform strategy adjustments, such as focusing on segments with the highest win rates.

Sales cycle length

This metric is a critical indicator of your team's efficiency. Longer cycles may point to inefficiencies or a need for better qualification processes. However, reducing the sales cycle too drastically can result in rushed deals or lower-quality engagements. Use your sales cycle length as an indicator for how much runway you have left in your current period. For example, if there are 30 days left in the period and your average sales cycle is 21 days, you can expect current pipe gen to still be applicable to the current period.

Key action: Set alerts in your CRM when deals exceed average cycle lengths. This will give teams an opportunity
 to address bottlenecks early, adjust strategies, or reprioritize deals before they become lost opportunities. Track your sales cycle by segment over time, so you can gauge how changes to the sales process affect deal execution.

Opportunity creation

Regularly tracking new opportunities helps RevOps
 teams avoid the feast-or-famine effect, where too many deals arrive at once, or worse, none at all. Ensure that your opportunity creation rate aligns with the growth targets and revenue goals for the quarter.

Key action: Implement regular tracking of opportunity creation using rolling 7-day or 30-day averages. This allows you to spot downward trends early and take action to increase pipeline generation efforts before it impacts revenue targets. Also, set up historical reporting to show pipeline generation overlaid against headcount. This metric will allow you to see if pipeline generation is improving/declining due to headcount changes or due to other conditions.

How to take your forecast from good to great

1. Triangulation and pressure testing
 You don’t just want a forecast; you want a forecast that holds up under scrutiny. Triangulate different data points from across the business, including deal scores, pipeline health, deal stage progress, and qualitative inputs like rep confidence. By regularly pressure testing your forecast, you can spot outliers and adjust quickly, whether deals are moving faster than expected or stalling.

2. Repitition and frequency

Forecasts need to be reviewed regularly, often daily, so that potential issues are caught early. Building “muscle memory” by reviewing forecasts frequently helps teams spot trends or anomalies faster and adjust strategies in real time. Regular reviews keep all teams aligned and give leadership an accurate view of the business.

3. Flexible forecasting models

RevOps leaders must create models that are both accurate and adaptable. Overly complex models can quickly become obsolete in a shifting market. Focus on models that are based on a few key inputs — such as pipeline health, deal size, and sales velocity — that can easily
 be adjusted as the business evolves.

4. Handling unexpected changes and outliers

RevOps must anticipate and adjust for unexpected changes, like a large deal suddenly appearing in the pipeline. Regularly pressure-test your models and manually inspect outliers to avoid skewing the forecast. Flexible models allow teams to quickly make adjustments, ensuring the forecast remains reliable.

How Salesloft helps you build accurate forecasts

Salesloft enhances RevOps forecasting by offering customizable dashboards and tools for deal gap identification. These features help RevOps leaders quickly identify pipeline risks and take action. For example, Salesloft’s deal notes provide insights into upcoming key meetings, helping leaders anticipate shifts in the forecast. Additionally, the ability to view pipeline coverage by team allows for early detection of inconsistencies and more accurate adjustments.

Part 3: How to evaluate complex tech stacks

The temptation to add more tools to your tech stack can be overwhelming, but more isn’t always better. Too many companies find themselves with bloated tech stacks that don’t integrate or add real value. Having the latest tool is less important than having the right one for your stage of growth. Our team at Salesloft has seen that tech should simplify processes, not complicate them.

Here are practical steps for a thoughtful, systematic technology
evaluation process that ensures your tech investments are aligned with your long-term goals.

Practical steps for a thoughtful technology evaluation

1. Start with a business case:
 Adopting technology without a clear business case often leads to wasted resources. Fear of missing out (FOMO) often drives tech adoption, but the real question is: What problem are we solving with this tool?

2. Develop user stories:
 Too often, tools are selected without a clear understanding of how they’ll fit into daily workflows. It’s crucial to map out exactly how different teams will use the tool, not just assume it will integrate seamlessly into existing processes.

3. Conduct an end-to-end demo:
 Perform a thorough demo that simulates real-world scenarios. This helps you spot potential pitfalls or gaps before implementation.

4. Use scorecards:
 Just keep in mind that they should be used as part of the decision-making process, not the whole process. Biases can easily influence how features are weighted, leading teams to fall in love with unnecessary bells and whistles.

Consider a scorecard that contains these elements at a minimum:

• Functionality and user experience
• Integrations with existing tools
• Security and compliance features
• Cost and scalability

5. Ask these key questions Does this tool fit our long-term goals? Will this tool scale with your business, or is it just a quick fix? A tool that grows with your company will offer more value over time.

How well does it integrate with what we already have? It’s critical that the tool integrates smoothly with your existing customer relationship management (CRM) system, marketing tools, and reporting systems. If a tool doesn’t mesh well, it will create silos, not efficiency.

What kind of innovations does the vendor offer? Look for vendors that regularly roll out updates. This shows they’re committed to evolving their product, which is crucial for staying competitive in a fast-changing market.

What is the employee sentiment at the vendor company? Vendor culture can impact the level of support and service you’ll receive. Determine whether the tool is a point solution or a long-term value driver as your business scales.

Prioritizing technology requests

RevOps leaders often juggle numerous tech requests from different departments. Prioritizing these requests based on their impact on the business is crucial to making effective decisions.

1. Assess business impact

How directly will the request contribute to revenue? A tool or solution that
directly ties to key revenue metrics should take priority.

2. Evaluate cost and effort

Is the solution easy to integrate, or does it require extensive resources? Simple integrations with high impact should be fast-tracked.

3. Shift focus as needed

Business needs evolve, so priorities must too. Regularly adjust focus based on shifting needs and strategies.

4. Stay aligned

Our RevOps team has found that holding regular meetings with department heads allows us to review the technology backlog and make informed decisions about what to prioritize and implement.

Driving technology adoption

No technology is effective unless it’s fully adopted across the organization. RevOps leaders must create a structured plan for training, ongoing support, and monitoring to ensure high adoption rates.

Here’s how we approach adoption at Salesloft:

Build consistency


Standard dashboards for every team ensure everyone works from the same data set, creating alignment and efficiency.

Provide ongoing training


It’s not enough to train teams once. Regularly offer training sessions and resources to ensure teams are comfortable with the new system.

Communicate regularly


Successful adoption relies on consistent communication. Regular feedback collection and adjustments ensure the technology meets user needs over time.

Celebrate wins

When advocating for new technology with your finance team, celebrate wins and highlight improvements in performance, cost reductions, or enhanced productivity. Creating a positive feedback loop eases future tech investments.

How Salesloft delivers faster time to ROI

Committing to a new system can be daunting when that change comes with necessary implementation time. That’s why Salesloft delivers the industry’s fastest go-live time and ROI, with unmatched stability and customer support, so your team can spend more time growing revenue and less time waiting for your technology to work.

Part 4: RevOps leadership foundations checklist

Strategic alignment

Forecasting

Tech stack evaluation

When you’re ready to take control of your RevOps process, Salesloft offers solutions that:

Accelerate revenue growth with full transparency into your entire revenue process, giving you the data and insights you need to make timely decisions.

Improve team productivity by streamlining workflows and automating routine tasks so your reps can focus more on selling.

Maximize the value of your growing tech stack through AI-driven insights, bi-directional CRM syncs, and tools that scale with your business.

Dig deeper into our RevOps-focused solutions.