The State Of Rev Ops: Q4 2022
2022 has been quite a tumultuous year for organizations everywhere. I wanted to take the time to communicate what I’ve seen this year.
One part of 2022 that was very pronounced was the spending freeze that took place during Q2. The NASDAQ fell apart, startup valuations decreased, and fear of further economic downturn struck the market.
As a result, most organizations slashed budgets for non-essentials, which included anything from growth and expansion to other net new initiatives. A lot of initiatives organizations were once very excited about got side-tracked or tabled. As we moved through Q3, people realized that the world is not over, and organizations are now starting to re-look at their budget cycle and trying to figure out how they're going to continue to promote growth and start these new initiatives. New initiatives are tied to spending, and as salespeople, you're always trying to sell into new initiatives or growth unless you're doing some sort of rip-and-replace.
In Q3 we saw (across hundreds of organizations) that most buyers right now are talking about 2023. And that is with very good reason. Budgets are resetting, and folks are in meetings right this very moment, talking about budget for 2023.
If you are not positioning your demand gen program to do two things right now: take advantage of meeting deadlines and budgetary deadlines for end of Q4, and focus on 2023 planning, you're probably missing the boat.
One of the things that we're encouraging all of our clients to do is to take a long look at your demand gen program.
What are you saying to the market?
Are you saying the same something that you did at the beginning of the year? Because the world has changed, the environment is different.
Something that often goes overlooked is the undeniable fact that your demand-gen channels need to be aligned with what the market wants. Your sales and marketing efforts also need to be categorized based on the cost of acquisition metrics and the cost per metrics that you need to accomplish to have a financially productive demand gen program.
Lastly, your pipeline management process has to accommodate this new type of demand that you're bringing in. If you close deals in 30 days or less before you might be closing deals in 120-150 days now, because that sales cycle is going to elongate.
There's a lot of things to think about, but these are some of the macro observations that I've been seeing over the past six months.
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Building a winning sales and marketing program is more difficult than ever.
If your organization is struggling with its demand generation efforts, we're here to help. Request a free consultation today to speak with our team regarding how we can help you grow.