Soft Skills Drive RevOps - with guest Dayna Neumann at United Direct Solutions:

A conversation with Dayna Neumann, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at United Direct Solutions, reveals how emotional intelligence and relationship-building are the secret sauce behind successful revenue operations. See the full transcript here.

Most RevOps professionals obsess over tech stacks, data models, and automation workflows. But what if the real competitive advantage isn't in your CRM configuration—it's in your ability to communicate, build trust, and lead with vulnerability?

That's the surprising insight from my recent conversation with Dayna Neumann, who has been doing revenue operations since before it even had a name. As Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at United Direct Solutions, she's spent decades proving that the "soft" skills are actually the hardest—and most valuable—to master.

The RevOps Pioneer Who Started Before It Was Cool

Dayna's journey began in 1998 at Quad Graphics, where founder Harry Quadracci believed in cross-departmental training. Through their executive program, she gained experience across all departments, developing what she calls an understanding of "operationally the entire enterprise."

This early exposure taught her that revenue operations isn't just about aligning sales, marketing, and customer success—it's about understanding how every piece of the business connects. And those connections? They're built by humans, for humans.

Dayna’s been in RevOps before people were calling it RevOps. But her approach was never purely technical. It was relational from the start.

Why "Soft Skills" Aren't Soft at All

Perhaps the most powerful moment in our conversation came when Dayna addressed the career advice she'd give her younger self:

"All of the internal training that I did—understanding how my brain works, understanding what emotional regulation is, understanding that perception is reality, understanding some of the what would be considered soft skills were not necessarily feminine, they were entirely human."

Working in male-dominated industries early in her career, Dayna faced pressure to downplay these skills. But today, she sees them as the foundation of effective leadership and successful RevOps implementation.

Think about it: What good is the most sophisticated marketing automation platform if your team doesn't trust each other enough to share data? How effective is your sales enablement tech if your reps feel micromanaged rather than empowered?

The "soft" skills—emotional regulation, communication, trust-building—these are what make the company and tech stack actually work.

Everyone's in Sales (Whether They Know It or Not)

One of Dayna's core philosophies challenges how we think about sales roles: "I now have this mantra of everyone's in sales because... everybody's selling something. You're selling an idea, you're selling your experience for that next job, you're pitching your business."

This mindset shift has profound implications for RevOps teams. Instead of viewing sales as one department among many, or a non-technical team that just “wings-it” to success, successful RevOps professionals understand that every team member is involved in revenue generation. Marketing sells ideas internally before campaigns launch. Customer success sells renewal value. Even finance sells budget priorities.

When you recognize that influence and persuasion are universal skills, you start building RevOps processes that enhance human connection rather than replacing it.

The Vulnerable Leader Advantage

Perhaps counterintuitively, Dayna's most powerful leadership insight centers on intellectual humility:

"If I'm the smartest person in the room, I'm in the wrong room... the best leaders and the most endearing leaders who people really want to follow are the ones who continue to have curiosity and recognize that they are very very good at a lot of things but they're not experts at everything."

This vulnerability isn't weakness—it's strategic. In RevOps, you're constantly dealing with changing technology, shifting market conditions, and cross-functional challenges. The leaders who succeed are those comfortable saying "I don't know, tell me more."

This approach also builds the psychological safety necessary for effective data sharing and process improvement. When team members feel safe admitting what isn't working, you get the honest feedback needed to optimize your revenue engine.

Technology as an Amplifier, Not a Replacement

Don't mistake Dayna's focus on human skills as resistance to technology. United Direct Solutions leverages sophisticated AI tools including Gong for conversation intelligence and Crystal Knows for personality-based communication insights.

But notice how they're using these tools: not to replace human judgment, but to enhance human connection. Gong helps Dayna be "in a lot of places at the same time" without adding management layers. Crystal Knows helps team members communicate more effectively with each other and with prospects.

"It's not about replacing people," Dayna explains. "It's about making those investments that you already have produce more for you without stressing the system so much that everybody's burnt out."

The key insight? Technology amplifies existing capabilities. If your team already excels at relationship-building and trust-creation, AI tools will make them superhuman. If they struggle with basic communication and emotional intelligence, no amount of technology will solve the fundamental problem.

Staying Competitive in Mature Industries

United Direct Solutions operates in direct mail—a business many consider outdated in our digital world. Yet they've thrived for 40+ years by staying "output agnostic" and maintaining what Dayna calls a learning ethos:

"The minute you stop learning, you stop growing, and you become stagnant, and that's dangerous."

Their approach offers lessons for any RevOps team in a competitive market:

• Understand your customers' industries as deeply as your own technology

• Stay curious about emerging trends and tools

• Be nimble as market conditions shift

• Focus on being communication execution partners rather than just vendors

• Build trust through transparency and consistent delivery

The RevOps Culture Connection

For eight years, United Direct has used the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) framework, which Dayna credits as "an incredibly useful part of the growth at United Direct Solutions."

But the real insight isn't about which framework to choose—it's about recognizing that successful RevOps requires intentional culture-building. You need "a platform and a process with which to make those decisions together and honor and respect other people's work."

RevOps isn't just about operational efficiency. It's about creating an environment where different departments can collaborate effectively, share data openly, and maintain alignment even when priorities shift.

The Future of Human-Centered RevOps

As AI and automation continue evolving, the temptation will be to focus entirely on technical capabilities. Dayna's experience suggests a different path: the organizations that win will be those that use technology to enhance human connection, not replace it.

This means RevOps professionals need to develop both technical and emotional intelligence. You need to understand data modeling and empathy. Workflow automation and conflict resolution. API integrations and active listening.

The future of RevOps isn't about choosing between human skills and technical skills—it's about recognizing that sustainable revenue growth requires both.

Key Takeaways for RevOps Leaders

1. Invest in emotional intelligence training for your entire revenue team

2. Create safety that encourages honest feedback about what's working and what isn't

3. Use technology to amplify human capabilities rather than replace them

4. Build cross-functional relationships before you need them

5. Stay curious about both emerging technology and changing human behavior

6. Remember that everyone is in sales—design processes that enhance everyone's ability to influence and persuade

The Bottom Line

Dayna Neumann's decades of experience reveal a fundamental truth: successful RevOps isn't about having the best technology stack. It's about having the best people, equipped with both technical capabilities and human skills, working in an environment that encourages trust, curiosity, and continuous learning.

The soft skills aren't soft at all. They're the hard foundation that makes everything else possible.

In a world increasingly dominated by AI and automation, the organizations that will thrive are those that remember: revenue operations is ultimately about humans buying from humans. Technology can make those interactions more efficient, more personalized, and more scalable. But it can't make them more human.

That's still our job.

Want to connect with Dayna Neumann? Find her on LinkedIn or learn more about United Direct Solutions at UDSolutions.com