This week on Revenue Rehab, Brandi Starr is joined by Alan Gold and Paul Peterson, seasoned fractional CMOs who believe fractured C-suite ownership of revenue is costing your company millions, and they’re here to prove it. In this episode, they challenge the widespread idea that multiple executives should own revenue, instead making the case that a single CRO needs to drive accountability, alignment, and results. Gold and Peterson uncover the hidden costs of scattered leadership and reveal why true revenue growth depends on unified strategy, clear lines of ownership, and business-wide metrics. Are they right, or will you challenge their thinking? Dive in and join the debate. 

Episode Type: Problem Solving - Industry analysts, consultants, and founders take a bold stance on critical revenue challenges, offering insights you won’t hear anywhere else. These episodes explore common industry challenges and potential solutions through expert insights and varied perspectives. 

Bullet Points of Key Topics + Chapter Markers: 

Topic #1: Splitting Revenue Leadership Creates Chaos, Not Accountability [02:28] 

Alan Gold argues that dividing revenue responsibility among multiple C-suite leaders leads to dysfunction and wasted budget. He states, “If everyone's in charge, no one's in charge. Period. End,” urging companies to consolidate revenue ownership under a single accountable leader. This challenges the widespread belief that shared responsibility drives alignment and highlights the risk of finger-pointing and lack of true accountability. 

Topic #2: One Revenue Number Alone Does Not Unite the Team [06:25] 

Alan Gold dismisses the idea that giving multiple executives the same revenue goal will align efforts, describing it as “a lot of BS.” He explains that shared metrics do not guarantee unified strategy or execution, insisting that only a single leader, ideally a CRO with broad strategic skills, can effectively drive the revenue engine. This perspective pushes revenue leaders to look beyond revops and metrics, focusing instead on organizational design and true accountability. 

Topic #3: C-Level Career Progression Requires Broader Business Acumen [18:33] 

Paul Peterson addresses the career fears that drive resistance to a single revenue leader, emphasizing that C-suite advancement requires understanding the entire business, not just one function. He explains that to be qualified as CRO, leaders must “actually get good at what my counterpart is doing,” echoing the CEO role as a business integrator rather than a functional expert. This challenges conventional thinking around executive career paths and motivates marketing and sales leaders to develop broader skills if they aspire to top revenue roles. 

The Most Damaging Myth 

The Myth: “If we give each leader the same metrics to be accountable for, so instead of sending everybody in all these different directions, if we still have one number but multiple people, it accomplishes the same thing.” (Alan Gold) 

Why It’s Wrong: Alan Gold explains that this belief actually complicates things further and fails to deliver true alignment. Even with a single shared metric, multiple leaders will continue to pull in their own directions based on their functional backgrounds, resulting in silos, duplicated efforts, and ongoing finger-pointing. Ultimately, this diffusion of responsibility means no one is truly accountable for revenue outcomes. 

What Companies Should Do Instead: Appoint one leader, such as a strategically-oriented CRO, to oversee the entire revenue process. This creates clear accountability, streamlines decision making, and ensures all teams work in harmony toward unified revenue goals. 

The Rapid-Fire Round 

1. What is the first sign that a company is facing a C suite being too big problem, but hasn't really named it yet?  “If the CEO can’t get a straight answer to what the future looks like and what the revenue stream is for the next quarter. Create unified visibility into your revenue forecast.” – Alan Gold
2. What’s one mindset shift that unlocks progress? “It’s the mindset of strategic delegation. Clarify who owns what, and make sure someone is accountable for connecting the dots. Marketing, sales, revenue, customer service. They all have to work together. The real shift is realizing they can’t function independently. One person has to own the alignment.” – Paul Peterson
3. What’s the most common mistake people make when trying to fix this? “Just following what you’ve always done before, instead of stepping back to question whether the current structure and people are right for today’s market.” – Alan Gold
4. What’s the most underrated move that actually works to fix this fast? “Go back to the data: analyze your sales process from prospect to closed revenue, review key metrics like close rate and cost per lead, and make sure someone is asking these questions every day.” – Paul Peterson  

Links: Alan Gold 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanegold/  

• Email: [email protected]  

Links: Paul Peterson 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulpeterson52  

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