🎙️ Episode Summary

In this episode, we welcome Lorenzo Saccardi, our first guest from Italy, now based in Madrid. He shares his journey from digital transformation consulting to becoming Head of Revenue Operations at Smartness — and what truly defines a modern RevOps role today.

→ Degree in Economics
→ Started in consulting, focused on digital transformation
→ Moved into CRM and B2B marketing projects
→ Got hands-on with RevOps topics before the term even existed (~2018/19)
→ Completed an MBA — a transformative experience he recommends, even for startup professionals
→ Joined Scalapay (Italy’s first BNPL unicorn) in 2021
→ Moved to Spain in 2023 and joined Smartness in April 2025

Lorenzo describes Smartness as:
→ Originally launched as a dynamic pricing tool (Smart Pricing)
→ Now a growing product and services ecosystem for the hospitality industry: hotels, vacation rentals, campsites
→ Products include: pricing tools, property management systems, AI chat tools, marketing services
→ Mission: Help hospitality businesses regain control over pricing, distribution, and margins — instead of relying heavily on platforms like Booking.com or Airbnb
→ Ideal customer profile: Hospitality businesses with 10+ rooms or 30+ apartments, and a growth-driven, entrepreneurial mindset

According to Lorenzo:
→ RevOps offers a “helicopter view” — you spot inefficiencies across departments and connect the dots
→ A large part of the job involves finance — especially linking revenue, subscription, and cashflow
→ Interestingly, he reports to the Chief Experience Officer, not the CRO or CFO — because customer experience depends on how well internal processes work
→ This setup helps maintain a more balanced view across sales, onboarding, and customer success

Lorenzo shares some tactical insights:
→ As Smartness moved upmarket, the sales approach had to evolve — larger clients mean more complexity and different buying processes
→ Enablement is a huge focus — giving the sales team the tools and knowledge they need. But it’s hard to keep up with constant change
→ Example: In hospitality, you can always call a hotel, but the person answering is rarely the decision-maker. So reps must frame conversations in a way that creates urgency and motivates that person to escalate the call

→ Think of RevOps as the glue between sales, marketing, finance, and customer success — not just a revenue enabler, but a process optimizer
→ If you're in a fast-growing business, invest early in infrastructure so processes can scale with the company
→ In data-driven industries like hospitality, owning your pricing and channels is a major profit lever
→ Sales enablement isn’t a “nice to have” — it needs to be a core strategic function from day one

🧠 Who is Lorenzo?🌍 What does Smartness do?📌 Why RevOps is exciting🎯 Sales & Enablement💡 Key Takeaways