Revenue Leadership Essentials: Where New Leaders Succeed

What is revenue leadership?

Revenue leadership is a strategic approach to guiding and empowering teams to drive sustainable growth by aligning sales, marketing, and customer success. It involves setting clear goals, fostering collaboration, and focusing on value creation for customers, all while nurturing talent and adapting to changing market dynamics. Effective revenue leaders build strong customer relationships and ensure their teams are equipped to deliver measurable business outcomes.

Stepping into a revenue leadership role presents unique challenges. You want to drive meaningful change while building trust with your existing team.

So, where should you focus your energy to balance these dynamics effectively?

George Eliopoulos, Chief Commercial Officer at Zip Co , shares valuable insights on this critical question.

Step-by-step guide to determine what that revenue engine should look like

Becoming a new revenue leader is both exciting and daunting. From navigating team dynamics to aligning strategies, your decision in the initial months will set the tone for the rest of your tenure. The average VP of Sales tenure has declined dramatically from 26 months to just 19 months since 2018, creating increased pressure for new revenue leaders to produce results quickly.

George highlights that you're only new once, so leveraging this period is vital. Everyone knows what the problems are: For instance, 67% of sales reps don't expect to meet their current-year quotas, while a staggering 84% missed their quotas in the previous year, revealing widespread performance challenges. They're looking to you to solve these challenges and get revenue performacne back on track.

"They brought you in because you're experienced. You know what you're doing. They trust you and they expect you to have some modification or revision of the plan."

But where do you start?

Let's find out.

1. Evaluate and strategize for success in 90 days

In your first three months, focus on thorough evaluation and analysis.

During this period, focus on understanding business dynamics, existing customer relationships, and potential revenue opportunities rather than making immediate changes.

"Your goal is different now. Your job is different. You're thinking long-term. So that requires a patient evaluation of what we need to do to hit those longer-term goals."

• Listen and Learn: Engage in conversations with your team, stakeholders, and customers. Understand their pain points and successes.
• Review Existing Data: Look at sales reports, customer feedback, and market analysis to gain a clear picture of current performance.
• Set the Groundwork for Long-Term Goals: Identify where immediate revenue needs intersect with strategic opportunities for future growth.

Once you have a solid understanding, start to craft a strategy that balances short-term wins with long-term goals.

This dual focus ensures that you're meeting immediate revenue targets while laying the foundation for sustainable growth.

The best way to understand which methods truly succeed is through structured experimentation—test new approaches, measure outcomes, and use your findings to continuously refine your strategy.

2. Unleash team strengths by embracing vulnerability

Create a culture where team members feel safe to express their strengths and areas for improvement. This foundation enables honest dialogue and better performance.

George suggests leading by example: "Change won't always be assimilated by everybody quite the same way. And it won't always be beneficial. But it's gonna happen. It is inequitable. In fact, you represent change. Often, if you're new to the role, you're literally the embodiment of it. It can be scary for folks. So how do you take down those barriers?"

• Admit Vulnerabilities: Share your learning curve and challenges with the team to encourage others to do the same.
• Inspire Honest Dialogue: Facilitate discussions about what team members enjoy and where they need support. This helps in identifying latent strengths and potential areas for development.
• Build Trust Through Action: Use the feedback to make meaningful changes that address team concerns and leverage their strengths.

3. Boost sales by polishing, not overhauling

Before you consider overhauling sales methodologies, focus on refinement. Building on what already works can deliver better results than starting from scratch.

If you have the chance to bring in a sales methodology and you have the chance to bring in, for example, your product and your marketing folks and maybe other teams, well, now you have a chance for the whole org to speak the same language, use the same terminology.

• Consistency is Key: Align your sales strategies with existing practices to enhance their effectiveness.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Engage with marketing, product, and other teams to ensure a unified approach to customer engagement.
• Leverage Existing Tools: Use the tools and systems already in place, optimizing them for better performance rather than replacing them.

4. Commit to leadership and drive change

"If you're the manager above, you need to make sure you're involved and make it as much part of the process."

Leadership commitment determines the success of new initiatives. As George underscores, the presence and active participation of leaders signal commitment and earn respect.

• Champion Growth: Actively support new ideas and changes, showcasing confidence and enthusiasm.
• Address Resistance: Recognize that not everyone will embrace change equally. Work with those who are hesitant, addressing their concerns and involving them in the process.
• Set the Tone: Your attitude toward change influences your team. By staying positive and engaged, you encourage others to do the same.

As a new revenue leader, your ability to evaluate, strategize, and refine existing processes while fostering open communication and demonstrating commitment is critical.

Also, remember to challenge any assumptions you’re making by asking, ‘Do we know this is true, or do we think this is true?’—and use concrete evidence to guide your decisions.

George's insights remind us that success lies in balancing immediate needs with long-term goals, harnessing team strengths, and leading by example.

Your new leader status gives you a unique opportunity to establish processes and build relationships in a way that creates lasting influence and positive results. By approaching each challenge with curiosity and collaboration, you set a tone of trusted partnership across your team and the organization.

How important is a chief revenue officer to a company's growth?

Growth stalls when functions operate on different agendas. Sales pushes for speed. Marketing optimizes for reach. Customer Success measures retention in isolation. The Chief Revenue Officer connects these moving parts—and aligns them to how buyers actually make decisions.

Today’s revenue teams don’t suffer from a lack of talent or tools. They suffer from disconnection. Without clear ownership of the entire revenue engine, pipeline quality erodes, forecast accuracy drops, and post-sale expansion becomes an afterthought. The CRO steps in as the connective tissue—ensuring that Sales, Marketing, Revenue Operations, and Customer Success are aligned not just in metrics, but in mindset.

That alignment shows up in the way deals are qualified, in the consistency of sales conversations, and in the clarity of the customer journey. A shared sales methodology like ValueSelling makes this possible. It anchors teams in the buyer’s definition of value and enables them to manage opportunities through a common framework. This consistency builds trust, improves forecast predictability, and shortens sales cycles.

The impact is measurable. Forrester found that companies with tightly aligned revenue operations see 19% faster revenue growth and 15% higher profitability than those without it (Forrester Research).

The role of the CRO isn’t about hierarchy. It’s about focus. When the entire revenue organization is aligned around solving high-priority problems for the customer, growth follows.

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This article is based on an interview with George Eliopoulos that was recorded on The B2B Revenue Executive Experience Podcast. Listen to the full episode here.