How to Evaluate & Optimize Your GTM Tech Stack
Article Highlights
There are several factors that may prompt you to build out or re-evaluate your technology stack as a GTM (Go-To-Market) Leader:
- Overly manual sales processes
- Ineffective lead generation results
- Disjointed cross-functional teams
- Blind spots in revenue & performance metrics
Whatever the reason may be, the ultimate challenge is evaluating whether you currently have the right tools in place and selecting new tools to grow your operational capabilities. In a world where new platforms seemingly crop up every day, it can be confusing to boil down your needs and put together an optimal GTM tech stack. Here are some simple steps to help you through the process.
Identify business needs & goals
Keep it simple by first aligning your tech stack goals with your long-term GTM strategy. Are you looking to drive growth through outbound sales? Are you investing in marketing initiatives? Or are you focused on repeat business with your existing customers?
Simply put, your tech stack design should directly correlate with your overall company goals; both in terms of priority and budget.
Conduct an audit of your existing tech stack
Once you’ve identified those business needs, you’re ready to start auditing your existing tech stack. The first step is to take inventory of your current tools and assess the value that each one brings across a broad range of criteria. Here are some criteria you can use when evaluating your existing tools & systems:
Criteria | Considerations |
GTM Strategy – How does this tool drive progress towards my GTM strategy? | Judge your tool through the lens of the core strategies you identified earlier to ensure it is bringing value in the correct areas. |
Effectiveness – Is this tool improving efficiency and effectiveness of our teams? | Use metrics and user feedback to assess the effectiveness of this tool against its key purpose. |
Unique Value – Does this tool provide unique value compared to other tools in my tech stack? | Assess if the tool has a unique purpose. Duplicative functionality can create inefficiency and confusion, especially at an earlier stage. Simplicity is key. |
Integration – How well does this tool integrate with my core systems? And other tools? | Anchor your tech stack around your core systems. Focus on flexibility and bidirectional integration to guarantee you have accurate data where you need it. |
Utilization – Is this tool being utilized to its full capability? | Assess the functionalities of your tool and evaluate utilization against those categories. |
You can use a scoring model from 1-5 and take an average across these five criteria. General rule of thumb is if the tool does not exceed a minimum score average of 3.0, it’s time to evaluate replacements or ask the question if the tool is needed at all. You can use the individual scores to determine if it’s the former or the latter.
Tip: You can weight your scoring by categories you feel are more essential for your org’s success.
Analyze gaps for new tools
Like we talked about earlier, there are more tools than you know what to do with nowadays, and many will promise you everything under the sun. But do you need them all? Unless you have unlimited budget and resources, the answer is probably no.
You can start by analyzing gaps against three key criteria:
- Functional Gaps – Are there missing functionalities that prevent you from achieving your Go-To-Market objectives?
- Efficiency Gaps – Can you identify key processes that could be more efficient with a new tool?
- Scalability Gaps – Can your current stack scale with your business growth and future needs?
If you uncover any gaps in your tech stack when assessing against these criteria, go a layer deeper into these questions and evaluate new tools accordingly.
Select and implement your new tech stack
Now that you have reassessed your tech stack, it’s time to remove your redundant tools and onboard the new ones you have selected. If you are replacing with a comparable tool, make sure to align your off-boarding and implementation dates accordingly.
For any new tool, assess how to best integrate with the rest of your stack and define the system of record and system of action for your users. When should reps be updating the CRM vs the new Sales Engagement tool you’re implementing? How should data be passing through each system?
Tip: To make sure you are setting up the tool in the best interest of your users, consider bringing in a “super-user” into implementation that can provide real-time feedback according to their workflows.
Train & Gather Feedback
Now it’s time to train your users on your new GTM tech stack and gather feedback to optimize the tools further. If possible, leverage users on your training to talk about previous challenges, and success they could envision with this new set-up.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time in Rev Ops, it’s that feedback is key to ongoing tool success. Continue gathering feedback from the reps, leaders and admins that use the platforms, whether it’s using surveys with pointed questions, scheduling group feedback sessions or simply meeting 1:1.
Conclusion
Evaluating and fine-tuning your tech stack is pivotal for maintaining a competitive edge. If done thoughtfully, it will not only help you to cut long-term costs but ensure your operational processes are directly aligned with your overall GTM strategy. Use your tools & systems as the foundation of your Go-To-Market success.
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