an argument for not changing your tech stack

It turns out that changing our CRM may not save us money, even though the annual cost of running a different tool is significantly less.

Maybe I’m a slow learner, because this only hit home for me recently.

We’re looking at changing our CRM. Sales are a big part of how we’re building revenue momentum, so our CRM is at the heart of what we do.

I’m not a fan of Hubspot. I used to be, but now it feels like a chore to use and there’s this constant, low-level feeling that they want us to pay more and use more and add more people to use more of the tools (which include everything go-to-market now).

So I asked our team if we should switch. I found some great alternatives. And then two conversations changed my mind about switching.

Both conversations happened with people selling other CRMs. They both told me that I should plan for an 8-week transition period between CRMs. Both told me that it costs a lot of time to set up a CRM properly -- and we should set it up properly or risk wasting more time.

* It takes time to properly change tools. Time migrating from one tool to the next means less time building revenue.

* Momentum is a terrible thing to waste. Momentum compounds when handled well. Focusing on the tools over the outcomes we’re after can kill momentum and future gains.

* The efficiency and momentum gains better be worth the change.

That’s the real decision: is this change going to help us speed up or will it cost us so much momentum that we have to spend months clawing it back?

I don’t mean to overstate the impact of a piece of software on any business. Using the right tools in the right ways can push growth.

But if you’re struggling with a decision to change tools, take stock of the real cost. Saving a few bucks a month on a different CRM may actually cost a lot more than the subscription price.

Peter

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