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How to Prioritize Sales Tech Investments and Avoid ...
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As your team evaluates the tools in your current stack, look for redundancies and opportunities for consolidation. For example, John shared an anecdote about one company: “One will have SalesLoft and one will have Outreach … They both do the same thing at this current moment. Why?” By consolidating similar tools, you can reduce costs, improve ease of use, and create a more cohesive sales process. “This demonstrates how vendors are working together to offer more integrated solutions that reduce complexity for sales teams.” Typically, if you need to figure out integrations, there are three routes you can take. First, check the vendor website. Often they will have a page that includes all of the integrations they support.
Regularly reassess your tools and vendors to ensure they are keeping pace with your evolving sales strategies and the broader market. “By taking inventory of your current tools, aligning them with your business goals, maximizing their potential, and prioritizing adoption, you can create a leaner, more powerful tech stack that drives real results.” As you move forward, continue to reassess your tools, explore consolidation opportunities, and stay informed about industry trends. The right investments, coupled with proper adoption, will set your sales team up for success.
The first step in avoiding tech stack bloat is to get a clear view of your current situation. As John Eitel, Chief Sales Officer at Demandbase, mentioned, “I think one thing you’ll quickly see is some overlap and some intersect. So, the beginning of bloat.” The reality is, many companies are unaware of just how much redundancy exists within their tech stack. Tools designed for marketing often overlap with those used by sales teams, leading to inefficiencies and wasted budget. “Collaborate with your sales operations, marketing, and procurement teams to ensure no tool is overlooked.” After compiling a full list, the next step is to evaluate usage and adoption. As Lily Youn Jaroszewski, Head of Growth at Gradient Works, explained, “I usually kind of force a hiatus anytime I go into a company—no more tools until we’ve got this assessment done and we also see what the adoption is.” It’s critical to understand whether your sales team is fully utilizing the tools at their disposal. If not, figure out why and address the gaps before investing in new technology.
3. Leverage existing technology before buying new tools. “Many tech buyers are unaware of the full capabilities of the tools they’ve already purchased.” Cuyler added to this point, saying, “From a CS perspective, indexing all of those requests that come in and making sure that the answer is easily discoverable for existing customers is critical.” Leveraging customer success teams can help you uncover underused features. Sometimes the solution you need is already within your existing tech stack.
After compiling a full list, the next step is to evaluate usage and adoption. As Lily Youn Jaroszewski, Head of Growth at Gradient Works, explained, “I usually kind of force a hiatus anytime I go into a company—no more tools until we’ve got this assessment done and we also see what the adoption is.” It’s critical to understand whether your sales team is fully utilizing the tools at their disposal. If not, figure out why and address the gaps before investing in new technology. “2. Define clear goals before investing in new tech.” One of the biggest mistakes companies make is buying tech without aligning it to clear business goals and not having a clear implementation plan before making a purchase. Lily shared her approach: “My first step is to look at our existing tech stack. Can we actually solve this and achieve this goal with our existing tech stack?” Before rushing to buy new tools, define your specific goals. Are you trying to increase meetings, improve data quality, boost retention, or automate routine tasks? Then, evaluate if your current tech stack can help you meet these objectives.
The first step in avoiding tech stack bloat is to get a clear view of your current situation. As John Eitel, Chief Sales Officer at Demandbase, mentioned, “I think one thing you’ll quickly see is some overlap and some intersect. So, the beginning of bloat.” The reality is, many companies are unaware of just how much redundancy exists within their tech stack. Tools designed for marketing often overlap with those used by sales teams, leading to inefficiencies and wasted budget. “To combat this, take inventory of the tools your sales team is currently using.” After compiling a full list, the next step is to evaluate usage and adoption. As Lily Youn Jaroszewski, Head of Growth at Gradient Works, explained, “I usually kind of force a hiatus anytime I go into a company—no more tools until we’ve got this assessment done and we also see what the adoption is.” It’s critical to understand whether your sales team is fully utilizing the tools at their disposal. If not, figure out why and address the gaps before investing in new technology.
The first step in avoiding tech stack bloat is to get a clear view of your current situation. As John Eitel, Chief Sales Officer at Demandbase, mentioned, “I think one thing you’ll quickly see is some overlap and some intersect. So, the beginning of bloat.” The reality is, many companies are unaware of just how much redundancy exists within their tech stack. Tools designed for marketing often overlap with those used by sales teams, leading to inefficiencies and wasted budget. “Collaborate with your sales operations, marketing, and procurement teams to ensure no tool is overlooked.” After compiling a full list, the next step is to evaluate usage and adoption. As Lily Youn Jaroszewski, Head of Growth at Gradient Works, explained, “I usually kind of force a hiatus anytime I go into a company—no more tools until we’ve got this assessment done and we also see what the adoption is.” It’s critical to understand whether your sales team is fully utilizing the tools at their disposal. If not, figure out why and address the gaps before investing in new technology.
The first step in avoiding tech stack bloat is to get a clear view of your current situation. As John Eitel, Chief Sales Officer at Demandbase, mentioned, “I think one thing you’ll quickly see is some overlap and some intersect. So, the beginning of bloat.” The reality is, many companies are unaware of just how much redundancy exists within their tech stack. Tools designed for marketing often overlap with those used by sales teams, leading to inefficiencies and wasted budget. “This will help you uncover any “rogue purchases” or underutilized tools that are adding unnecessary complexity.” After compiling a full list, the next step is to evaluate usage and adoption. As Lily Youn Jaroszewski, Head of Growth at Gradient Works, explained, “I usually kind of force a hiatus anytime I go into a company—no more tools until we’ve got this assessment done and we also see what the adoption is.” It’s critical to understand whether your sales team is fully utilizing the tools at their disposal. If not, figure out why and address the gaps before investing in new technology.
To combat this, take inventory of the tools your sales team is currently using. Collaborate with your sales operations, marketing, and procurement teams to ensure no tool is overlooked. This will help you uncover any “rogue purchases” or underutilized tools that are adding unnecessary complexity. “After compiling a full list, the next step is to evaluate usage and adoption.” 2. Define clear goals before investing in new tech.
To combat this, take inventory of the tools your sales team is currently using. Collaborate with your sales operations, marketing, and procurement teams to ensure no tool is overlooked. This will help you uncover any “rogue purchases” or underutilized tools that are adding unnecessary complexity. “It’s critical to understand whether your sales team is fully utilizing the tools at their disposal.” 2. Define clear goals before investing in new tech.
To combat this, take inventory of the tools your sales team is currently using. Collaborate with your sales operations, marketing, and procurement teams to ensure no tool is overlooked. This will help you uncover any “rogue purchases” or underutilized tools that are adding unnecessary complexity. “If not, figure out why and address the gaps before investing in new technology.” 2. Define clear goals before investing in new tech.
1. Assess your current tech stack. ““I think one thing you’ll quickly see is some overlap and some intersect. So, the beginning of bloat.”” To combat this, take inventory of the tools your sales team is currently using. Collaborate with your sales operations, marketing, and procurement teams to ensure no tool is overlooked. This will help you uncover any “rogue purchases” or underutilized tools that are adding unnecessary complexity.
2. Define clear goals before investing in new tech. ““My first step is to look at our existing tech stack. Can we actually solve this and achieve this goal with our existing tech stack?”” Additionally, consider your company’s future needs. As your organization grows and evolves, your tools must be able to scale with you. “A tool you needed three years ago may not fit your needs anymore. Where you’re at, you’ve now become a bigger company, a mid-market company, or have a more complex go-to-market,” John said.
Lastly, a clear implementation plan might seem preemptive but if you start thinking about that before you purchase, you can increase your time-to-value and identify potential pitfalls, whether that’s based on the product you are buying and/or your processes. “3. Leverage existing technology before buying new tools.” One of the smartest steps you can take before buying new technology is to maximize the tools you already have. As Katie Pariseau, Director of Sales Enablement at TrustRadius, pointed out, “Whenever I have a problem that I think one or two of the solutions we already invest in should be able to solve, I reach out to CS [customer success].” Many tech buyers are unaware of the full capabilities of the tools they’ve already purchased. Sometimes, a quick conversation with customer support or a deep dive into their help documentation can reveal features you didn’t even know existed.
3. Leverage existing technology before buying new tools. “One of the smartest steps you can take before buying new technology is to maximize the tools you already have.” Cuyler added to this point, saying, “From a CS perspective, indexing all of those requests that come in and making sure that the answer is easily discoverable for existing customers is critical.” Leveraging customer success teams can help you uncover underused features. Sometimes the solution you need is already within your existing tech stack.
3. Leverage existing technology before buying new tools. ““Whenever I have a problem that I think one or two of the solutions we already invest in should be able to solve, I reach out to CS [customer success].”” Cuyler added to this point, saying, “From a CS perspective, indexing all of those requests that come in and making sure that the answer is easily discoverable for existing customers is critical.” Leveraging customer success teams can help you uncover underused features. Sometimes the solution you need is already within your existing tech stack.
Additionally, consider your company’s future needs. As your organization grows and evolves, your tools must be able to scale with you. “A tool you needed three years ago may not fit your needs anymore. Where you’re at, you’ve now become a bigger company, a mid-market company, or have a more complex go-to-market,” John said. “Lastly, a clear implementation plan might seem preemptive but if you start thinking about that before you purchase, you can increase your time-to-value and identify potential pitfalls, whether that’s based on the product you are buying and/or your processes.” 3. Leverage existing technology before buying new tools.
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is buying tech without aligning it to clear business goals and not having a clear implementation plan before making a purchase. Lily shared her approach: “My first step is to look at our existing tech stack. Can we actually solve this and achieve this goal with our existing tech stack?” Before rushing to buy new tools, define your specific goals. Are you trying to increase meetings, improve data quality, boost retention, or automate routine tasks? Then, evaluate if your current tech stack can help you meet these objectives. “As your organization grows and evolves, your tools must be able to scale with you.” Lastly, a clear implementation plan might seem preemptive but if you start thinking about that before you purchase, you can increase your time-to-value and identify potential pitfalls, whether that’s based on the product you are buying and/or your processes.
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is buying tech without aligning it to clear business goals and not having a clear implementation plan before making a purchase. Lily shared her approach: “My first step is to look at our existing tech stack. Can we actually solve this and achieve this goal with our existing tech stack?” Before rushing to buy new tools, define your specific goals. Are you trying to increase meetings, improve data quality, boost retention, or automate routine tasks? Then, evaluate if your current tech stack can help you meet these objectives. “A tool you needed three years ago may not fit your needs anymore.” Lastly, a clear implementation plan might seem preemptive but if you start thinking about that before you purchase, you can increase your time-to-value and identify potential pitfalls, whether that’s based on the product you are buying and/or your processes.
2. Define clear goals before investing in new tech. “One of the biggest mistakes companies make is buying tech without aligning it to clear business goals and not having a clear implementation plan before making a purchase.” Additionally, consider your company’s future needs. As your organization grows and evolves, your tools must be able to scale with you. “A tool you needed three years ago may not fit your needs anymore. Where you’re at, you’ve now become a bigger company, a mid-market company, or have a more complex go-to-market,” John said.
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