stop doing the “dirty work” for free

Maybe you can turn your cost center team into a revenue generator.

Recently, I had a call with a team of educators, writers, and content specialists. Their day job was managing in-app enablement for their customer base (using Pendo). For years, they were viewed as a typical "cost center" — necessary overhead to keep customers happy.

But then they had a realization. They saw the immense value of what they were doing at scale and identified an opportunity to provide those same services custom for their largest customers.

A managed service was born.

Suddenly, they are hardwired to revenue. They have a sales pipeline. They are collaborating with Sales to close deals. And they have job security.

Why did this work? Because they offered to do the "dirty work" that customers can't or won't do. Or the work that the customer needs but isn't core to their own business.

Have you looked at your own team through this lens? Here are four revenue-generating services based on what you might already be doing:

1. Custom User Enablement & Education

Your team already builds generic help guides. Why not offer bespoke training programs, custom-branded learning portals, or "train the trainer" workshops for your enterprise clients? Large companies will often pay a premium to have you onboard their employees for them.

2. Premium Support Offerings

Standard support is a cost of doing business. But Premium Support is a product. This includes named support engineers, faster SLAs, weekend coverage, or dedicated Slack channels. Customers value speed and access, and they are willing to pay for the "fast pass."

3. Hands-on Administration (Managed Services)

This is the classic "do it for me" model. Many customers buy complex software but lack the internal headcount to run it. Offer a service where your team acts as their admin — configuring rules, managing data, and executing campaigns. You become staff augmentation, which is incredibly sticky.

4. Strategic Consulting

Your team knows best practices better than anyone. Package that knowledge. Offer quarterly strategy audits, workflow optimization reviews, or maturity assessments. Move from "technical support" to "business consulting."

The shift from cost center to revenue generator changes everything. It changes how you are perceived by the board, how you interact with Sales, and how you survive budget cuts.

Look at your current activities and think of ways you could hardwire yourself to revenue. What "dirty work" are you doing for free that your customers would happily pay you to do at scale?

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