When “Best Practices” Break: A Lesson in Scaling RevOps

Recently, I had a conversation with a VP of Sales who had transitioned from a 1,000+ person sales org into a startup. Like many leaders in their position, they entered the new role with a clear plan:

“I came in expecting to implement best practices. But now I just want to make things work.”

That statement has stuck with me — not just because it was honest, but because it represents a common inflection point in growing companies.

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

In early-stage companies, speed and survival often outweigh long-term systems. Tools are duct-taped together, dashboards are built on top of inconsistent data, and internal processes are driven more by “what works right now” than by scalable infrastructure.

That’s not a bad thing. In fact, many companies find product-market fit and early growth because they’re flexible. But as they grow, that flexibility becomes fragility.

Common symptoms:

• Reps entering data in different ways
• Reporting that breaks every time you update your pipeline
• A Frankenstein CRM no one trusts
• New hires spending more time learning “how things are tracked” than actually selling

At a certain point, the cost of not having a foundation becomes greater than the cost of slowing down to build one.

When to Focus on Impact vs. Infrastructure

One of the core responsibilities of Revenue Operations is knowing when to prioritize:

• Speed vs. structure
• A “good enough” process vs. a repeatable one
• Results now vs. data quality that enables results later

There is no universal answer — but there are patterns. A few rules of thumb I’ve seen across clients:

If you’re...Prioritize...<20 people in GTMMaking things work, fast20–50Documenting what’s working, flagging what’s breaking50–200Standardizing fields, systems, and definitions200+Building for visibility, predictability, and cross-team scale

Why “Best Practices” Alone Aren’t Enough

The phrase “best practices” gets thrown around a lot. But a practice is only “best” if it fits your business model, tech stack, and growth stage.

That’s why we approach RevOps design from first principles. Instead of just layering in what’s worked elsewhere, we ask:

• What do your reps actually need to do their jobs?
• What should be automated vs. manually controlled?
• What will break if you double headcount tomorrow?

Then we build from there — starting lean, layering in sophistication, and never losing sight of why the process exists in the first place: to drive revenue, not just to track it.

Final Thought

You don’t need a perfect system. You need one that evolves with you and won’t break when you scale.

If you’re stuck in the “messy middle” — too big for chaos, too small for over-engineering — you’re not alone. We’ve helped dozens of teams get unstuck by designing systems we’d actually want to use ourselves.

Curious where your RevOps maturity stands? Let’s talk.

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