7 Top CRO Tips on Annual Planning

Annual planning playbook tips from top Chief Revenue Officers.

Feb 03, 2025

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7 CRO tips for smarter annual planning

1. Set core goals and bet on “S-Curves”

Owner’s 2025 plan revolves around two key elements:

Core Initiatives: A set of seven essential strategies that, if executed well, will drive the planned revenue growth (for Owner in 2025, 2x revenue growth).
S-Curve Bets: Three experiments designed to unlock future growth beyond the current year. They also future-proof the existing year.

“S-Curve bets help us anticipate market saturation or operational bottlenecks before they happen. If demand gen slows, conversion rates drop, or outbound outreach hits a wall, these bets ensure we have new growth drivers ready.”

2. Plan for attrition – talent planning is just as critical as revenue planning.

A major mistake companies make is assuming 100% of their team will hit 100% of their quota, which rarely happens.

Key capacity planning elements:

Losing a mid-market rep can cost a company 35-40% of their quota capacity for the year. Even with a talent bench ready, ramp-up time significantly impacts revenue attainment.
Quota buffers should range from 5% to 35%, depending on the company’s growth stage and risk tolerance.
Retaining top performers is essential. As the job market heats up, assuming all top talent will stay is risky.

"If you lose a top performer, their quota still needs to be met. Without a strong talent bench and retention strategy, you’re scrambling to reallocate pipeline and onboard a replacement—losing valuable momentum."

3. Design a plan with the future in mind, where you want to be

Help Scout’s annual revenue plan is a collection of activities that drive toward Iconiq’s Enterprise 5. By using these benchmarks, we ensure that the capital we’re allocating toward growth initiatives is efficient and keeps a longer-term view in mind:

ARR Growth: How quickly are we growing and which growth levers do we need to add?
Net Dollar Retention: How well are we retaining revenue?
Rule of 40: How are we managing spend relative to our growth?
Net Magic Number: How efficient is the Sales and Marketing spend?
ARR Per FTE: How efficiently is the team scaling to support the revenue?

This plan is made possible by clear inputs (key activities) and outcomes (results) that drive the company towards those key metrics.

“A revenue plan without clear inputs and outcomes is not a plan.”

4. Set unreasonably ambitious goals (but know your team)

The best companies set aggressive goals – not because they always hit them, but because ambitious targets drive outsized outcomes.

That said, goal-setting is situational:

Winning teams thrive on stretch goals. If a team has strong momentum, pushing for aggressive targets fuels performance.
Struggling teams need confidence-building goals. If a team had a tough year, setting more attainable (but still difficult) targets can rebuild belief and execution discipline.

"Building a growth company is an unreasonably hard thing to do. The goals need to mirror that."

5. Stay the course, communicate and make progress visible

Most companies announce their key initiatives early in the year and only revisit them quarterly. This isn’t enough.

Best practices for visibility:

Frequent updates in all-hands & team meetings. Tie back discussions to initiatives—what’s coming up, what conflicts with them, and what needs realignment?
Celebrate early milestones. Momentum matters. Showing progress keeps teams engaged and aligned.
Make deliberate course corrections. If an initiative needs to be dropped, communicate why, what was learned, and where the focus is shifting.

"Stick to it. Too many companies change course too often – adjust deliberately, based on data and feedback."

6. Align internal and external partners

Successful annual planning goes beyond the revenue team and requires alignment across all key stakeholders.

At GitHub, primary GTM plays serve as the foundation for not just Revenue, but also Product, Marketing, Finance, and other teams - all internal and cross-functional partners. These plays ensure that all functions are driving toward the same objectives.

External partners are just as critical. A well-aligned channel strategy ensures partners understand key objectives and GTM motions, making them more effective in the market.

GitHub runs a virtual Partner Kickoff, leveraging content from their Revenue Kickoff, so partners show up to customers fully aligned and prepared to add value.

"When internal teams and external partners are aligned, the entire GTM motion becomes more effective”

7. An annual plan is a living document

An annual plan is a hypothesis, not a rigid contract. The best CROs adapt based on market feedback, internal insights, and evolving priorities.

"No one expects their annual plan to be 100% right. The best planning processes treat the plan as a testable hypothesis—adjusting as new data emerges."

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