What It’s Like to Work in Sales Operations at RapidScale

Have you ever seen certain department name or job title and thought to yourself, I wonder what they do? or, What would my day look like working there?

That’s exactly what I was thinking when I first heard about an opportunity on the sales operations team, a newer group that was developed when I applied to work at RapidScale (part of the Cox family of businesses). Since joining the team, I’ve seen firsthand how sales ops is helping shape the company.  

Each person on the team provides unique strengths and expertise, and we’re all working toward the same goal: building a sales-centric processes culture that positively impacts our sellers — and our bottom line. When our salespeople have the support they need, they can focus their energy on engaging and supporting our clients. 

So, what exactly do we do in sales operations? Join me for a behind-the-scenes look at the invaluable support our team delivers every day.  

Powering the tools and data behind a high-performing sales team 

Nothing hinders a company’s growth more than ineffective processes and software tools. One of the main objectives of the sales ops team is to consider every aspect of the sales cycle and identify areas for growth and improvement, whether it’s implementing a new tool or software solution.

“Sales operations enhances the sales cycle by optimizing technology and providing data-driven insights, which help our sales teams be more efficient and effective in achieving their goals,” explained Denny Heaberlin, senior manager of sales operations at RapidScale.

By providing accurate information on what is or is not working, the sales ops team helps the rest of the sales org quickly realign their focus while maintaining realistic expectations. We continue to provide key metrics on the health of our sales methodology, providing the opportunity to make informed decisions in real-time. 

Streamlining processes and efficiency 

For Brian Baker, director of sales strategy and enablement, a well-organized approach to selling is at the forefront of everything this team does. How? By reinforcing the “best practices in solution selling and streamlining the tools and processes for faster deal closures,” he said.

Inefficient processes can quickly slow a team down. That’s why sales ops is committed to reviewing and improving the policies and procedures our sellers rely on every day to ensure a smoother experience for both our teams and clients.

Along with process improvement, our team supports sales with quality assurance tasks. For example, the sales ops team is responsible for reviewing every new sale and client upgrade to ensure that the information within Salesforce is accurate before a client or project is handed off to the implementation team.

“I think of sales ops as the mortar, and all of our other teams as the bricks,” explained Beth Davis, a sales support specialist on the team. “Sales ops ‘touches’ all the other teams in some capacity, and because of that, has a unique perspective into the big picture.”

Beth owns a lot of important tasks within the team, from managing the sales ops review queue, writing and updating policies and assisting with data cleanup to providing additional training if a seller is struggling.

“In sales operations, we love to support, nurture and deliver what our people need,” Beth said. “Putting all these brains together in an organized way, great things are bound to happen!”

Another group within sales ops that provides crucial support to our salespeople is business development. Business development representatives are proactively reaching out to prospective clients to cultivate strategic relationships with them. Abdy Guevara, one of the business development representatives on the team, explained that this work is what helps grow the sales pipeline and generate sales opportunities for our account executives. 

“I’m always looking for innovative ways to improve my outreach and stand out,” Abdy said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about creating meaningful conversations that lead to booked meetings and, ultimately, revenue.” 

Onboarding and training new salespeople 

Sales ops is one of the first groups a new seller will work with during onboarding. We are committed to curating your first few months at RapidScale so that they are filled with the best training, support and introductions necessary to ensure you have a successful career with us.

But we don’t stop there.

Seasoned sellers can turn to us for additional training on a specific product or service. This type of support includes bi-monthly training courses that will review anything from Salesforce updates to new product offerings.

Tyler Rouse, senior manager of sales training, makes sure that the right sales training and initiatives are being implemented in a way that will positively affect the sales teams.

“My goal is integral in connecting learning experiences to our organizational goals of building relationships with customers,” Tyler explained. “Sales ops is the pillar of today’s learning culture at RapidScale.” 

As you can see, the sales operation team is a critical piece in the overall roadmap to continued success for RapidScale. The work we do impacts how we show up for our salespeople, our clients and the communities we serve.