What Tool Is Right?

What Tool Is Right?

Over my career, I’ve probably had to use and/or recommend hundreds of different tools to a disturbing variation of success.

So whenever I get asked for a Revenue Tech Stack recommendation, I always say that the individual tool matters less than the way it actually functions within your org's existing ecosystem – process, platforms, and people.

And so, to me, the single most important thing to look out for in your RevTech is its integration capabilities – both technical and otherwise.

Here are the 3 questions I would ask and the scenarios where I’ve seen the most and least success:

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗹𝘆?

👍 Best case scenario: It’s a native tool to that data source or at least has a native integration.

👎 Worst case scenario: The connection requires an additional 3rd-party app or a Frankensteining of code in order to work properly.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘁/𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲?

👍 Best case scenario: The data access requested by the new tool maps neatly with the tool's purview, and data permission requests can be easily explained.

👎 Worst case scenario: An unnecessary/seemingly unconnected level of data access is requested for basic functionality (for example, requires system admin-level permissions to read one field... 😵‍💫). High levels of data have to be sent between platforms and/or at a high frequency.

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘂𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗹?

👍 Best case scenario: Automations and safeguards are built-into initial implementation to circumvent manual checks and balances (beyond an audit phase).

👎 Worst case scenario: Manual intervention is required to ensure basic functionality (i.e proper data flow), multiple platform training sessions needed.

You’ll know when you’re in a worst case scenario when the implementation process starts to drag on and on, and the post-implementation checklist gets longer and longer.

And the best-case scenario for the best case scenario?

Having an empowered RevOps team that can oversee the bigger picture of that ecosystem and make high-level decisions as to what is added/removed/altered.