There was a time when "marketing" and "sales" functioned like two runners in a relay race: one sprinted the first leg (demand gen), passed the baton (leads), and the other picked it up and sprinted to the finish line (closed won). Clean. Sequential. And, in my opinion, completely outdated.
High-growth B2B companies are realizing that this linear handoff model no longer fits how buyers actually buy. The customer journey isn't a straight line—it's a maze of touchpoints, revisits, and internal consensus-building (plus, unfortunately, ghosting). In this reality, marketing and sales can't afford to operate as separate silos. They need to operate as one. Enter Revenue Operations.
RevOps isn't just a fancy way of saying "operations for everyone." It's a discipline that integrates the data, tools, and processes across marketing, sales, and customer success to optimize revenue generation holistically. In other words, it's the glue.
So what does that glue actually do?
1. Shared Metrics = Shared Accountability
RevOps forces the hard conversations about what success looks like across the funnel. Instead of marketing celebrating MQLs while sales complain about lead quality, shared metrics (like pipeline velocity or customer acquisition cost) ensure everyone's aligned.
Gartner emphasizes that focusing on cross-functional KPIs drives alignment and shared success (Gartner). For example, Adobe implemented RevOps and improved their pipeline accuracy by aligning teams around revenue-based goals instead of department-specific metrics.
2. Unified Tech Stack = Seamless Handover
How many deals die in the no-man's-land between CRM and marketing automation? RevOps architects tech stacks that eliminate friction between systems and ensure data integrity from first touch to closed deal.
HubSpot's RevOps team has shared that their consolidated tech stack improved data reliability and lead handoff efficiency by 25%. Similarly, Snowflake created a RevOps team to unify GTM systems, reducing lead response time by over 30% (HubSpot).
3. Process Rigor = Predictable Growth
By designing and enforcing standardized processes across go-to-market teams, RevOps introduces a level of operational discipline that makes growth not just possible, but repeatable.
At ZoomInfo, a dedicated RevOps unit implemented consistent lead qualification and routing rules across SDR and AE teams, boosting conversion rates by 18%. Jon Miller of Engagio highlights that this process clarity is crucial for scaling ABM motions across larger teams (MarketingProfs).
4. Continuous Insights = Constant Optimization
RevOps teams aren't just messing with dashboards. They provide real insight; identifying bottlenecks, testing hypotheses, and closing the loop between strategy and execution.
Demandbase has shown that teams using their Insight Engine have increased pipeline contribution by 21% thanks to actionable RevOps insights. At Segment, real-time attribution modelling helped the marketing team double down on channels that delivered SQLs efficiently (Demandbase).
5. Customer-Centricity = Real Differentiation
One of the most important shifts RevOps enables is the move from a product-centric to a customer-centric model. No longer is success measured by feature launches or product specs. Instead, it's about delivering value at every engagement. According to Gartner, companies that focus on customer experience outperform their competitors by nearly 80%. Forrester similarly highlights that B2B buyers now expect the same level of personalized engagement they get as consumers.
Drift’s RevOps overhaul helped them personalize the buying experience at scale, resulting in a 25% increase in booked meetings. They focused their entire GTM approach around buyer intent and timely engagement.
I guess it's, actually, much more than glue.
The best part is that, when done right, RevOps doesn’t just align marketing and sales—it unlocks their collective potential. Campaigns get sharper. Follow-ups get faster. And customers feel like they’re working with a team that actually gets them.
If your marketing and sales teams are still tossing leads over the wall and crossing fingers, it's time for something better. Build the bridge. Or better yet, fire up the RevOps engine.
Because in 2025, alignment isn't just a nice-to-have. It's a key to unlocking results.