In today’s market, a chief revenue officer (CRO) is critical to maximizing revenue across all areas of a business. But how is this leadership role different from the others?
The chief revenue officer leads — not manages.
The chief revenue officer is surrounded by mid-level or front-line managers who get the work done. This is not the onus of the CRO. The CRO is leading these managers and the rest of the organization to greater opportunities, to more-sustainable revenue performance. They ask, “What can we accomplish?” and then strategize on how to reach these feasible goals. The CRO has a willingness to think big, balanced by a realistic outlook of what can be accomplished with available resources.
The chief revenue officer provides a vision.
Your CRO does not sit in a corner office all day. They work with operational teams on sales governance, keeping a pulse on the current situation, the accounts and the pipelines. As a leader, they have tools in place and a cadence of review to measure if the numbers are leading to the goal. They connect with employees and encourage teams with a vision for the future of the company — and clearly share that vision with all the teams who will manage the details of that vision.
The chief revenue officer completes the c-suite team.
The CRO is not the end-all for revenue performance — they are one of a team of leaders. They work with the CEO and the rest of the executive team to ensure actions and efforts are coming together to meet revenue goals. Because revenue performance is more than just selling to find success.
If your company could benefit from a chief revenue officer but is hard-pressed to find the right person for the job, contact us to learn more about the Office of the CRO.