Is being a chief operating officer your career goal for 2025? RevOps trends show you’re not alone. One of the top four predictions identified by 80 RevOps professionals has RevOps leaders increasingly transitioning into C-suite roles in the coming year.
If you’re in the throes of optimizing revenue processes, data analysis, and implementing Go to Market that unites sales, marketing, customer success, and product operations, the journey from RevOps leader to COO may not be as far as it seems.
Being well-versed in using AI and data to drive decisions, streamline processes, and ensure cross-functional alignment across all departments is a valuable trait in a COO role. Understanding how all departments interconnect and ensuring they work smoothly together makes you a strong contender for the position.
But if you’re looking for the quickest path to leverage your RevOps experience to take on this next level of leadership, it comes down to four strategic steps.
1. Elevate The Unique and Comprehensive Data Perspective of RevOps Leaders
RevOps leaders serve as the bridge between various departments, ensuring that the CEO and board have the comprehensive insights needed to steer the company towards sustained growth and success.
Unlike other department leaders who often operate within their silos, RevOps leaders can see the complete picture and make data-driven connections that might otherwise remain isolated. This holistic view allows them to identify trends, inefficiencies, and opportunities across revenue generation. By understanding how these functions impact each other, a RevOps leader can recommend strategies that drive overall success rather than optimizing just one area at the expense of another.
This unique perspective is incredibly valuable to the CEO and board. With insights that span multiple departments, they can highlight areas where collaboration can be improved, resources can be better allocated, and processes can be streamlined, ultimately supporting data-driven decisions that enhance overall business performance.
2. Become the CEO’s Trusted Go-To Advisor
In this trusted advisor role, your value extends beyond just reporting numbers. You become a strategic partner who anticipates challenges, identifies opportunities, and provides solutions backed by data.
The race toward more efficient GTM shows 87 percent of cloud companies investing in sales enablement. However, interpreting metrics to ensure Go-to-Market remains on track still requires expertise. The RevOps leader’s insights can drive initiatives that enhance efficiency, optimize resource allocation, and improve overall performance.
By consistently delivering accurate and timely data, you build trust and confidence with the CEO and board, solidifying your position as an indispensable asset to the leadership team. This level of trust and reliance on your expertise ensures that your contributions are recognized and valued at the highest levels of the organization.
3. Focus on Key Metrics for Continuous Improvement
Selecting a key metric to focus on can significantly elevate your standing with management. A recent survey found that 89 percent of RevOps professionals consider metrics and KPIs a top activity.
For instance, 58 percent of companies use overall ARR to measure RevOps’ impact on organization engagement, 53 percent measure operations efficiency, and 46 percent track improvements in sales cycles.
If you concentrate specifically on close rates, you can implement programs that provide your sales team with better training, support, resources, and tools.
By tracking the improvement over time, you’ll have measurable evidence of how your initiatives directly contribute to the company’s revenue growth. This focused approach highlights your strategic thinking and showcases your ability to drive tangible results.
Another metric may illustrate ways to reduce sales cycle times. For instance, streamlining workflows, adopting AI-based technologies, and refining sales methodologies can lead to faster closes and increased productivity.
This analysis can show management how your research accelerates the sales process and enhances overall efficiency, thus reinforcing your value to the organization.
4. Leverage Connecting Data Sets To Support COO-esque Expertise
A successful RevOps leader’s ability to integrate systems and drive efficiency makes them the glue that holds everything together—key traits that make them stand out when looking for a COO role. RevOps leaders are like the architects of revenue generation, working across sales, marketing, and customer success to optimize processes and ensure smooth data flow.
Although their title may not always reflect their function, studies show that 23 percent of RevOps pros have been working in revenue operations for over a decade. They thrive in the data-driven, cross-functional world, ensuring all revenue teams are in sync and delivering results. While a RevOps leader is laser-focused on optimizing revenue functions, a COO is responsible for aligning all aspects of operations—from logistics to human resources to product delivery.
If you’re a RevOps leader with a deep understanding of how data and systems interact across the business, the leap to COO is natural. You’ve already mastered the art of operational efficiency, and the broader strategic perspective needed to steer the company to success could be your next big move.
By leveraging your expertise in connecting systems and data, you can lead the company toward better operational performance, making you the natural next step in the leadership chain.
By Ryan Westwood, CEO at Fullcast and Cody Guymon, COO, GTM Operations
