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RevOps: Q4 Release 2024

Setting the Scene: Organisational Changes & Items Not Included in This Release

Before delving into the specifics of the Q4 CRM release, it's important to highlight two critical areas that will shape how we approach both this release and our ongoing CRM strategy.

Organisational Changes: SDR Team Shift to Marketing

Objective: As part of a strategic shift, the SDR team will now be under the marketing department to improve inbound lead management.

Impact:

SDRs: Responsible for managing inbound form fills without calendar bookings and net new MQLs without an assigned owner. (+ g2 Campaign)

Low Touch AEs: Continue managing inbound calendar bookings and MQLs they already own, while also being equipped with a new tool (Apollo) for outbound cold strategies to meet quotas when inbound falls short.

This change is crucial for streamlining the handling of inbound leads and ensuring that we can better align both sales and marketing in managing the MQL lifecycle.

Items Not Included in This Release

While this release includes significant updates, there are a few key features that we have deliberately deferred to later releases:

Tracking of Invoice Data (from Xero): The tracking of invoice data used to report on retention and expansion revenue will continue to be managed through Vitally for now, rather than being incorporated into HubSpot.

Granular Form Routing & Attribution Reporting: These features require an Enterprise HubSpot licence, and as such, are not part of the Q4 release. These enhancements may be introduced in Q1 next year or as ad-hoc additions prior, dependant on capacity.

These exclusions allow us to focus on the foundational elements of this release, ensuring a streamlined and efficient rollout, with room for scalability in future updates.

Key Features of the Release

1. Activation of Lead Object in HubSpot

Objective: Implement the lead object to track Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) based on a fixed object creation date that cannot be modified.

Benefit:

Creates more consistent tracking of MQLs, avoiding potential discrepancies caused by dates that can change (i.e., became dates).

Provides future scalability by establishing a solid data foundation.

Impact on Teams:

Marketing: Streamlines MQL tracking and ensures uniformity in lead data for analysis.

Sales: Reliable data allows for more predictable handoffs and reporting.

2. Update to Deals Object

Objective: Modify the deals object to enable more accurate funnel reporting, implement pipeline rules, and adjust deal probability for improved forecasting capabilities.

Key Updates:

Pipeline Rules: New rules will be introduced into the deals object to ensure proper qualification and deal stage management. This will standardise the movement of deals through the pipeline, providing clearer visibility and accountability.

Deal Probability Adjustment: The probability of deals closing will be updated to account for a shift in the definition of a "closed won" deal. The closed won date will now be based on the employee signed date, rather than the agreement signed date, ensuring more precise forecasting and pipeline management.

Benefit:

Provides clearer insight into deal progression, ensuring the sales pipeline is reflected accurately for both current and projected revenue.

Establishes consistency in how deals are tracked and forecasted, resulting in more accurate reporting.

Impact on Teams:

Sales: Direct impact on sales managers and account executives (AEs), providing them with better visibility into deal stages, performance tracking, and overall pipeline health.

Marketing: Allows marketing to align with sales goals more effectively by providing insights into deal progression and sales performance metrics.

3. Sales Engagement Platform (Apollo)

Objective: Make Apollo available to the Low Touch Account Executives (AEs) for outbound, multi-channel messaging, enabling them to engage in cold outbound strategies when falling short on quota.

Benefit:

Provides AEs with an expanded toolkit for reaching prospects, compensating for any potential shortfall in their quotas.

Multi-channel engagement supports more comprehensive outreach, helping Low Touch AEs drive additional pipeline.

Impact on Teams:

Sales (Low Touch AEs): Gain access to Apollo, which allows for personalised cold outbound messaging across multiple channels. This provides them with additional resources to generate leads and achieve sales targets.

Marketing: Further collaboration with sales on the types of messaging used in outreach, ensuring alignment with inbound marketing campaign objectives.

Required Support and Potential Delays

DNS Upgrades for Apollo: To ensure Apollo is fully functional, we require DNS upgrades. Support from Tony (Head of Sales) is needed to coordinate with our co-founder, Emily, and ensure the upgrades are completed with Seeto (IT partner) once Emily returns from annual leave.

Risk: If this is delayed, it could push back the Apollo release for the Low Touch AEs.

Next Steps & Action Items

Marketing Department (Jim & Irina):

Adjust routing processes accordingly.

Coordinate with SDR as they move under marketing for inbound MQL management.

Sales Department (Tony):

Ensure timely DNS upgrades with Seeto, coordinating with Emily post-leave to avoid delays.

Prepare Low Touch AEs for Apollo access and their expanded cold outbound responsibilities.

Communicate the new pipeline rules and deal probability adjustments to ensure smooth adoption.

SDRs:

Familiarise with new inbound sources and create compelling sequences to convert them into deals.

Low Touch AEs:

Begin planning cold outbound strategies using Apollo.

Closing Remarks

This Q4 release represents a significant step forward in improving data consistency, tracking and acquisition performance. By aligning both the marketing and sales functions more effectively, we expect more streamlined operations and enhanced forecasting capabilities.

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