Comparing Costs: Hiring a CRO vs. A Revenue Team

When generating revenue is a business priority, companies can choose between having an in-house revenue team or hiring a chief revenue officer (CRO). Either one can help create effective revenue-generating strategies, but they differ in costs.

This guide explores the following issues around the cost of hiring a CRO versus a revenue team.

• Financial implications of working with a CRO
• Comprehensive investment in assembling a revenue team
• How to evaluate long-term return on investment (ROI)

Find out if a fractional CRO or a revenue team fits your budget. Could fractional sales management be a good fit for your company? A lack of sales management leadership could be the only thing holding you back. Let’s go!

The Direct Financial Implications of Hiring a CRO

A CRO has a more focused role. They oversee and optimize all the revenue-related activities in a company. The goal of CROs is to maximize revenue to drive business growth. Hiring one involves the following financial commitments:

• Salary and bonuses: The CRO's base salary is a significant financial commitment. CROs also receive performance-based bonuses, which can be substantial and tied to revenue targets or other key performance indicators. Salary obligations may continue if the CRO’s employment is terminated, in the form of a severance package.
• Benefits: Like any senior executive, CROs have health insurance, retirement plans, and other perks. These can add significantly to the overall compensation package.
• Performance-based equity: CROs receive equity or stock options as part of their compensation package. This helps align their interests with the company's long-term success.
• Recruitment costs: The process of hiring a CRO involves recruitment costs including advertising, headhunter or recruitment agency fees, background checks, and interview expenses.
• Onboarding and training: Once hired, the CRO requires onboarding and training, which may involve additional expenses for orientation programs, executive coaching, or industry-specific training.
• Variable costs: The CRO has access to discretionary budgets or funds. They use them for business development, marketing campaigns, or other revenue-related activities.
• Additional resources: Depending on the CRO's strategy, they can request other resources. For example, they may decide to expand the sales or marketing teams, invest in new technology, or engage fractional marketing specialists. All of these incur additional costs.

The business must carefully assess these financial commitments and weigh them against the potential benefits of having a CRO.

Comprehensive Investment in a Revenue Team

An in-house revenue team brings collaborative ideas to the table. Each member has varying experiences from different companies and industries. Some members specialize in sales, branding, customer success, marketing, and revenue operations. Assembling a full revenue team involves several expenses, including:

• Salaries and benefits: The most substantial cost is the salaries and benefits of team members. Salaries vary according to roles and experience levels, such as sales representatives, marketing specialists, data analysts, and customer support staff.
• Recruitment costs: Hiring multiple team members incurs recruitment expenses. These expenses include job postings, interview processes, background checks, and possibly relocation or signing bonuses.
• Training and development: New team members need training and development programs. These programs have internal and external training costs.
• Technology and tools: A team needs technology, software, and tools to perform their roles effectively. CRM systems, marketing automation platforms, analytics tools, and the like can be a significant expense.
• Office space and equipment: Depending on the company’s setup, they must provide office space, equipment, and supplies for team members. These incur real estate and infrastructure costs.
• Marketing and advertising: Campaigns to generate leads and promote products or services require a budget. This covers advertising, content creation, and campaign management.
• Travel and expenses: Companies must provide travel expenses for client meetings, conferences, and networking events if the revenue team has field sales or business development roles.
• Commissions and incentives: Sales team members can receive commissions or incentives according to their performance.
• Benefits and perks: The revenue team has employee benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and other perks such as wellness programs, allowances, etc.
• Consulting and outsourcing: If the company chooses to outsource revenue-related functions such as content or social media marketing, this  can involve fees and service costs.
• Software licenses and subscriptions: Ongoing software licenses and subscriptions for tools such as CRM, email marketing, and marketing analytics have recurring expenses.
• Legal and compliance: Ensuring the revenue team operates within legal and regulatory boundaries might require legal counsel or compliance-related expenses.
• Performance-based bonuses and incentives: Incentive programs related to revenue targets or performance metrics can add to the variable costs.

To create an effective revenue team, organizations must budget for these expenses. There is a higher upfront cost to organizing a team, but the specialized expertise of each team member can bring a potential return on investment (ROI) in increased revenue and profitability.

A revenue team provides cost savings in the long run by optimizing sales and marketing efforts, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently toward high-return activities. A well-coordinated revenue team can identify and address customer issues more effectively, reducing churn and the need for costly customer retention efforts.

Evaluating Long-Term ROI: Beyond Just the Numbers

ROI is not just about the numbers. Companies must look at the bigger picture and evaluate the long-term ROI of a CRO versus assembling a revenue team. They must include the following factors:

   1. Hiring a CRO

CROs provide a long-term impact on revenue by improving leadership and reducing risks.

• Leadership impact: A CRO provides centralized, solid leadership, which drives more immediate revenue growth through a strategic vision.
• Single point of accountability: A CRO assumes sole accountability for revenue-related decisions. This can streamline decision-making.
• Costs: While a CRO's salary and benefits can be substantial, they can be more cost-effective than an in-house revenue team.
• Risk management: Their expertise can identify and mitigate risks related to revenue generation.

   2. Assembling a Revenue Team

An in-house revenue team offers diversity, scalability, and marketing growth. Here are the long-term effects on revenue of having a revenue team:

• Diverse skill sets: A revenue team offers a range of expertise, creating comprehensive revenue strategies and innovation.
• Collaboration: Team members can collaborate and distribute work, reducing the risk associated with a single point of failure.
• Scalability: A revenue team can scale up or down as needed, providing resource allocation flexibility.
• Long-term growth: Choosing a revenue team over a CRO initially costs more but offers better long-term growth due to diverse skills and broader revenue strategies.

Summing Up

To evaluate long-term ROI, businesses must consider revenue growth, cost savings, and the organization's specific goals and culture. A CRO can offer a strong ROI if the company prioritizes rapid revenue growth and streamlined decision-making. Meanwhile, a revenue team can be better if they need a more diverse skill set, flexibility, and long-term adaptability.

The decision must align with the company's unique needs and strategic vision. Considering both short-term costs and long-term growth, combining both approaches can optimize revenue generation and ROI.

Learn more about how a CRO and a revenue team can improve your business or organization. Contact Digital Authority Partners for the latest fractional CRO trends and strategies.