Building a Revenue Engine in 2025 - Part I

Last week I was tempted by an incredible offer.

A recently Series—B funded SaaS approached me asking to build out their revenue engine. Great technology, real powerful backers…

Here’s the interesting part: they had a CRO but they wanted the SVP of Revenue Strategy & Operations to design the revenue engine from the ground-up

…and they wanted me to be the SVP.

I had questions about agreeing to build an engine that another (the CRO) would live or die based upon… without ever meeting the CRO. So while I waited to meet with them my mind started to race.

How would I build this engine if I accepted the opportunity?

I looked at their goals, their current team and their tools.

Reasonable goals, solid team and tooling.

My mind goes to revenue engine compartments and overall design right away. Here’s what I have to work with:

• Salesforce

• SalesLoft

• Common Room

• Gong

• Apollo

• LinkedIn Sales Navigator

This is a solid set of tools, covering CRM, sales engagement, conversational intelligence, sales intelligence, and prospecting.

I went to work on a plan that focuses on leveraging each tool's strengths and integrating them for maximum effectiveness.

I. Core Components of The Revenue Engine

Before we dive into the tools, let's define the key parts of the revenue engine:

• Lead Generation (Top of Funnel): Attracting potential customers.

• Lead Qualification (Middle of Funnel): Determining if a lead is a good fit and likely to buy.

• Opportunity Management (Middle/Bottom of Funnel): Nurturing qualified leads through the sales process.

• Closing Deals (Bottom of Funnel): Converting opportunities into paying customers.

• Customer Retention/Expansion (Post-Sale): Keeping customers happy and growing their account value.

• Analytics and Reporting: Reviewing past data to make more informed decisions.

II. Mapping Tools to the Revenue Engine Compartments

Lead Generation (Top of Funnel)

Tools: Apollo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator

We’re going to use Apollo's database to identify target companies and contacts based on your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Focus on firmographics (company size, industry, location), technographics (technologies used), and job titles.

Create targeted lists of leads within Apollo. Leverage filters extensively to ensure high-quality leads.

In addition to lead discovery Apollo (and tools like it) can be used for lead enrichment by adding information onto existing leads that you may have.

Another great place to BOTH discover and engage with leads is LinkedIn.

Use Sales Navigator's advanced search filters (keywords, industry, company size, seniority, geography, connections, groups, etc.) to find highly specific individuals.

Don't just "connect and pitch." Engage with prospects' content, participate in relevant groups, and build genuine connections before sending sales messages.

Use InMail strategically for personalized messages to prospects you've identified as a strong fit. Reference their profile but don’t just use AI to zap them with nonsense.

Take 30-seconds. They will sense the difference, and that will differentiate you over the course of thousands of outreach attempts.

LNKD is great because you can conduct account research, study prospects and even look at the messaging and other tactics being used by competitors, key account lookalikes and more.

Lead Qualification (Middle of Funnel)

Tools: Salesforce, SalesLoft, Gong, Common Room

Creating leads is key but we have to organize them and bring the right ones further down the funnel.

Define clear lead statuses (e.g., New, Contacted, Qualified, Unqualified) and track progress through these stages.

In every engine I build I implement a lead scoring system in Salesforce based on data from intelligence providers, LinkedIn, and engagement metrics. Assign points for:

• Job title (decision-makers score higher).

• Company size/industry fit.

• Engagement with your content (website visits, email opens, form submissions).

• Apollo data (e.g., company revenue within your target range).

• Technology stack alignment

If possible, automatically route qualified leads to the appropriate sales reps based on territory, specialization, or lead score.

SalesLoft (and SEPs like it) are great for creating engagement surface area. Create multi-touch cadences (sequences of emails, calls, social touches) that are personalized based on the prospect's role, industry, and pain points. Don't rely on generic templates. Use persona-specific language.

SEPs natively track email opens, clicks, replies, and call connects, just like they do in SalesLoft. This data feeds into Salesforce lead scoring.

The less often we have to “move” data between systems, the better. Tight, smart integrations are vital to maximizing selling time and maximizing selling effectiveness.

Gong and Conversational Intelligence tooling in general is an incredible resource for sales enablement and revenue engine optimization. These tools allow revenue leaders to analyze recorded calls to identify what language, questioning strategies, and objection handling techniques are most effective in qualifying leads.

As mentioned, use Gong insights to coach reps on how to better qualify leads during discovery calls. We will leverage this to identify patterns in successful and unsuccessful qualification conversations.

Opportunity Management (Middle/Bottom of Funnel)

Tools: Salesforce, SalesLoft, Gong

Just like with the leads, now we must organize the sales pipeline and accelerate it toward Closing. Define clear opportunity stages (e.g., Discovery, Demo, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed Won/Lost). Track key deal information (deal size, close date, probability, next steps, key contacts).

A great way to ensure high-quality communications and great record keeping is to automatically create and assign tasks related to each opportunity (e.g., schedule follow-up calls, send proposals, prepare presentations) based on a historical analysis of the most successful sales and CS engagement patterns.

Here SEP tools shine again.

If I took this gig I’d use SalesLoft to develop cadences specifically designed to move opportunities through the sales cycle. These cadences would address common objections, provide relevant case studies, and reinforce the value proposition.

In the spirit of streamlining we’d also use SalesLoft's meeting scheduler to streamline the process of scheduling demos and follow-up calls.

I’d use conversational intelligence to understand my funnel, not just my sales tactics. Gong can help identify potential deal risks based on conversation patterns (e.g., lack of engagement from key stakeholders, repeated mentions of budget constraints).

Closing Deals (Bottom of Funnel)

Tools: Salesforce, Gong

We are almost there! We need to track contract status and ensure all necessary approvals are obtained. A well-run revenue engine ensure’s reps are logging all closing activities (e.g., final calls, emails, contract signatures) and ideally automates and verifies much of this data entry.

Gong can help identify verbal commitments and potential roadblocks to closing. We can even analyze negotiation calls to identify best practices and areas where reps can improve their closing skills.

Next Steps in Engine Building

So far we’ve put the outlines of the new business engine together… now we need to design customer success to get into revenue retention and expansion.

Expansion is a key area of potential revenue growth that isn’t getting enough attention. We will explore the tools and methods to maximize upsell opportunity detection and conversion.

We’re also going to talk about my favorite: analytics and reporting.

Stay tuned!

👋 Thank you for reading Mastering Revenue Operations.

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I started this in November 2023 because revenue technology and revenue operations methodologies started evolving so rapidly I needed a focal point to coalesce ideas, outline revenue system blueprints, discuss go-to-market strategy amplified by operational alignment and logistical support, and all topics related to revenue operations.

Mastering Revenue Operations is a central hub for the intersection of strategy, technology and revenue operations. Our audience includes Fortune 500 Executives, RevOps Leaders, Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs.