Capitalizing on Opportunities
Organizations are capitalizing on digital and ecommerce opportunities. As a result, organizations are focusing on revenue creation as they evolve towards greater, sustained revenue growth. The Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) streamlines cooperation between sales and marketing functions. Most importantly, a CRO implements the right tools, metrics, and strategies in order to improve the organization’s revenue growth. For these reasons, the CRO is becoming an increasingly critical hire. Here are the top three things to consider when hiring your next Chief Revenue Officer:
1. Strategic, Goal-Oriented Vision
A CRO must possess a longterm perspective on sales and marketing in order to optimize consumer experience and increase revenue. For this reason, knowledge of sales leadership is necessary to the success of a CRO. A Chief Revenue Officer is, in essence, a forward-thinking sales leader. A CRO artfully transforms initial traction into sustained revenue growth. However, the role of the CRO isn’t just an expanded version of the VP of Sales.
A CRO needs to possess a strategic, goal-oriented, high-level vision. This is notably different from the short-term vision possessed by other sales leaders. The CRO’s vision determines how effectively the CRO can manage partner- and channel- development. Furthermore, the CRO’s vision determines how effectively the CRO can evangelize the organization at events. The CRO’s vision determines whether they can effectively negotiate contracts and develop budgets that meet organizational goals. The Chief Revenue Officer’s vision must lead to strategies that bring in consumers, increase sales, and ultimately boost revenue.
2. Extensive Marketing Experience
In addition to possessing the knowledge of a sales leader, a CRO must also have extensive marketing experience. Your new Chief Revenue Officer must have broad experience in several marketing domains. These include programmatic advertising, native advertising, and cross-channel marketing. As a result, your new CRO should leverage the latest trends in marketing and advertising. This ability allows your CRO to effectively drive your organization’s revenue growth.
For these reasons, extensive marketing experience is key to the success of a Chief Revenue Officer. When searching for your next CRO, look for an established track record containing three critical things. Firstly, your CRO should demonstrate a history of successfully managing sales teams. Secondly, your new CRO should demonstrate an established history of scaling revenues. Finally, your new CRO should demonstrate an established history of building lasting C-level relationships. These three things suggest the future success of your new CRO.
3. Cross-Functional Teamwork Capabilities
A Chief Revenue Officer coordinates several revenue-generating functions. Subsequently, the role of the CRO integrates the organization’s revenue-generating departments. The CRO aligns the sales and marketing functions. Thus, an effective CRO has a functional understanding of several teams and can enable productive cross-functional teamwork. The CRO implements structures and strategies which ultimately achieve stable revenue growth for the organization.
Stable revenue growth results from the deliberate, combined efforts of multiple aligned functions. A CRO facilitates business development, sales development, direct sales, marketing, and customer service in order to achieve stable revenue growth. A successful Chief Revenue Officer aligns all of these coordinated functions in order to achieve maximum revenue growth.
In Conclusion
Few C-suite roles are as interdisciplinary as that of the Chief Revenue Officer. A CRO integrates and aligns an organization’s revenue-generating functions in order to optimize revenue growth. When searching for your next Chief Revenue Officer, ensure that they have three critical things. Firstly, your new CRO should have a strategic, goal-oriented vision that is aligned with organizational needs. Secondly, your new CRO should have an established track record of extensive marketing experience. Finally, your new CRO should have productive cross-functional teamwork capabilities. Contact us for more information on finding your new Chief Revenue Officer.
