A chief revenue officer (CRO) is an integral member of the executive management team and works closely with a chief executive officer (CEO) to drive revenue. Apart from revenue leadership, they also play a critical role in implementing revenue operations technologies to sustain long-term growth and retention.
In this post, we’ll share with you the following:
- What does a chief revenue officer do?
- Chief revenue officer job description
- Chief revenue officer salary
- Skills of a chief revenue officer
- How to become a chief revenue officer
- Why do you have to hire a chief revenue officer?
- Frequently asked questions about chief revenue officer
What Does a Chief Revenue Officer Do
A CRO’s responsibilities are all about growing revenue. They’ll have to develop strategic plans to achieve quotas and provide relevant teams with guidelines to execute those plans. They also handle researching new opportunities to expand the customer base, launch new products, and penetrate new markets to drive more sales.
CRO’s Primary KPIs
- Year over year revenue growth
- Annual and monthly recurring revenue
- Annual contract value
- Net revenue retention
- The average lifetime value of a customer
Chief Revenue Officer Job Description
- Track the revenue pipeline and leads, adjusting as necessary to create sustainable growth.
- Work with the leadership team in the company’s expansion and development plans, including launching new products, entering new markets, and developing business culture.
- Build strong relationships with customers, clients, partners, and other stakeholders.
- Contribute to developing business models, product offerings, and pricing strategies to achieve revenue goals.
- Keep updated with changes in the industry, identify opportunities, and dictate effective strategies that sales and marketing teams can implement to generate revenue most.
Chief Revenue Officer Salary
The salary of a chief revenue officer in the US ranges from $121k to $257k, with a median salary of $90,642, according to PayScale’s data. Note that this number depends on factors like years of experience, skills, education, and business situations of the company you want to work for.
Besides salary, a chief revenue officer can receive other benefits like stock options and comprehensive health insurance.
Skills of a Chief Revenue Officer
Here are essential skills of a chief revenue officer:
- Customer-first mindset and makes strategic decisions based on their needs.
- Proven experience in creating business plans, making goal-oriented, data-driven decisions, and executing strategies.
- Demonstrated expertise in scaling and growing a business and must be willing to share how that was done in detail.
- Extensive knowledge of sales, CRM, and marketing.
- Strong thought leadership skills with a proven track record of building, managing, and leading high-performing teams.
- Have the ability to attract top talents, and provide guidance, support, and train staff.
- High level of operational experience in sales and marketing to serve as a role model at team expansion.
- Exceptional communication skills, especially in communicating with other C-Suite exclusives and critical stakeholders.
- Significant understanding and comfortability with data and how to use data to make informed business decisions.
- Able to harness the power of technology and data to improve revenue operations and accelerate business growth.
How to Become a Chief Revenue Officer
To become a chief revenue officer, you’ll need to possess all the skills mentioned above. You’re also often required to have years of experience in sales, marketing, and customer success. Apart from that, some companies require ideal candidates to have a master of business administration (MBA) or a master’s degree from an accredited university with an emphasis on strategic business management.
Why Do You Have to Hire CRO in 2022?
With many changes in sales processes due to Covid-19, it’s time for your business to have a CRO on board.
Think about what a CRO helps you handle: revenue operations infrastructure, go-to-market (GTM) strategies, sales, marketing, and post-sale customer success integration, revenue lifecycle management, and more. Your CRO is critical to optimize your revenue streams from all aspects of your business.
Another reason why hiring an exceptional CRO should be a must is that modern CROs possess valuable tech skills that will be valuable for your business.
For example, they know how to take advantage of revenue operations platforms like Revenue Grid to quickly determine the best prospects and close deals. They’re also familiar with applying automation to cut down repetitive tasks to simplify sales processes, making it easier for your sales and marketing teams to focus on areas that directly generate revenue.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chief Revenue Officer
1. CRO vs. CEO: What is the difference?
A CRO focuses on growing revenue. In contrast, a CEO manages the overall organization. Another difference is that the CRO reports to a chief financial officer (CFO) and/or the CEO while the CEO reports to the board of directors.
2. CRO vs. CFO: What is the difference?
Many people confuse chief revenue officers (CROs) with chief financial officers (CFOs). But they’re totally different.
Unlike a CRO, a CFO is responsible for managing the financial operations of a business. They’ll report directly to the CEO.
3. CRO vs. VP of sales: What is the difference?
VP of sales leads a sales team and handles tasks like managing deals, coaching the team, and recruiting new talents. Most of the time, they report to CRO.
