Sales & Customer Success SMB (51-200 employees)

Chief Revenue Officer at SMB

Leads all revenue-generating functions—sales, marketing, and customer success—with direct accountability for business growth.

In LATAM SMBs, the Sales Manager reports directly to the owner or CEO

Regional economic cycles directly affect deal closings

Network within the vertical industry has tangible value

Generic profile Startup (1-50 employees) Enterprise (201-1000 employees) Global (1001+ employees)

Ideal OCEAN+ Profile

Ideal range

Openness

75 93

At SMBs (51-200 employees), openness to trying new channels and sales strategies

Conscientiousness

72 87

At SMBs (51-200 employees), discipline in pipeline management and follow-up

Extraversion

77 93

At SMBs (51-200 employees), the energy to build relationships and close deals

Agreeableness

52 69

At SMBs (51-200 employees), the balance between assertive persuasion and active listening

Emotional Stability

80 95

At SMBs (51-200 employees), resilience in the face of constant rejection and long sales cycles

Structure & Rhythm

45 63

At SMBs (51-200 employees), building long-term relationships with clients

Strengths and Red Flags

Strengths

Integration of sales, marketing, and customer success into a unified revenue engine
Setting pricing, product, and market strategy at the executive level
Managing long-term relationships where personal trust matters more than the formal contract
Generating expansion revenue from existing accounts without a dedicated customer success team

Red Flags

Manages functions in silos without real revenue integration
Prioritizes short-term results at the expense of long-term pipeline health
Doesn't document pipeline or activities in a CRM; everything lives in their head
Avoids conflict with problematic clients instead of renegotiating terms

Interview Questions

How did you integrate sales, marketing, and customer success into a cohesive revenue engine? What friction did you encounter and how did you resolve it?

Evaluates: Systems thinking and cross-functional leadership

Describe a strategic pricing or business model decision you made. What data did you use, what risks did you weigh, and what was the outcome?

Evaluates: Openness and strategic accountability

How do you balance attention to existing accounts with opening new ones?

Evaluates: Time management and pipeline prioritization

Tell me about an account at risk of churn. What did you do?

Evaluates: Emotional intelligence applied to retention