CROs: When Opportunity Becomes the Enemy of Scale

Episode #263:Mark Greenaway, former Chief Revenue Officer at Crownpeak, explains why opportunity itself can become the biggest barrier to scaling revenue. He shares how spreading go-to-market teams too thin weakens execution, increases customer acquisition costs, and reduces long-term growth potential. Mark discusses how disciplined focus, cross-team alignment, and early trust-building enable CROs to scale efficiently while protecting customer retention and profitability.“If you get your focus right, your approach right, and your proposition right, and you approach the customer with insight into their organization, their challenges, and how you can help them, there isn’t going to be a need to turn your entire sales organization and approach upside down.” - Mark GreenawayIn this episode, Mark explains how CROs can protect scale by aligning marketing, sales, and customer success around a tightly defined ideal customer profile. He shares why saying no early protects profitability, how trust drives expansion and retention, and why modern CROs must orchestrate the entire revenue ecosystem rather than optimizing individual functions in isolation.Follow Mark Greenaway on LinkedInFollow host Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn