How to know which tool is right for your RevOps team
If you have worked in Revenue Operations for more than a few quarters, you have probably lived through some version of tool sprawl. It starts innocently. A new CRM plug-in here, a data enrichment tool there, a shiny forecasting platform your VP of Sales heard about on LinkedIn. Each purchase solves a specific problem in the moment. Six months later, you are juggling five systems that do the same thing, integrations are breaking, and no one can agree on which dashboard to trust.
Tool sprawl is not just a technology issue. It is a strategic one. The more disconnected tools you add, the harder it becomes to maintain clean data, consistent processes, and clear accountability across the customer journey. The irony is that most of these tools were purchased to make things easier.
Why Tool Sprawl Happens
RevOps teams often sit at the intersection of every go-to-market function, so they see gaps before anyone else. When Sales complains that CRM data is incomplete, or Marketing cannot get attribution right, it feels efficient to plug the hole with a new vendor. The problem is that each new tool brings its own data model, its own workflow, and its own version of the truth.
Without a deliberate evaluation process, you end up with tools purchased reactively instead of strategically. This happens when:
Teams buy tools in silos without consulting RevOps.
Vendors sell a big vision that does not match your actual maturity level.
There is no clear framework for measuring value after implementation.
A healthy RevOps tech stack is designed around strategy and process first. The tools should come last, chosen to support a documented operating model rather than patchwork fixes.
Step 1: Define the Problem, Not the Product
Before evaluating any vendor, clarify the problem you are solving. Write it down. Is it data accuracy, lead routing speed, forecasting accuracy, or pipeline visibility? Be specific. The goal is not to find the “best tool on the market” but the tool that best fits your organization’s current stage and priorities.
Domestique’s framework for RevOps starts with planning, process, tooling, data, and enablement, in that order. Tooling sits in the middle for a reason. It is the bridge between strategy and data, not the starting point. If your process is broken, no software will save it.
Step 2: Map the Existing Stack
Create a map of your current tools, including what function each serves, who uses it, what data it touches, and what other systems it integrates with. You will often discover redundant tools or features you are already paying for elsewhere.
For example, a company might be using three different enrichment tools across Marketing, Sales, and CS, each pulling similar data from different sources. Consolidating into one tool not only reduces cost but improves data consistency.
This mapping exercise also exposes ownership gaps. If no one can tell you who manages your intent data platform or what success looks like for your sales engagement tool, that is a signal you are operating without governance.
Step 3: Create a Vendor Evaluation Scorecard
When it is time to evaluate vendors, use a consistent scorecard that covers these categories:
Strategic Fit: Does the tool align with your documented go-to-market strategy and operating cadence?
Integration: How well does it connect with your CRM, marketing automation, and data warehouse?
Ease of Use: Can your team actually use it without relying on a system admin every time?
Data Impact: Will it improve the quality, completeness, or timeliness of your data?
Cost vs. Value: What measurable outcomes will justify the spend within 6 to 12 months?
Support and Enablement: What resources are available for onboarding, training, and troubleshooting?
Scoring vendors this way turns evaluation from a sales pitch into a structured decision. It also makes it easier to communicate recommendations to leadership using objective criteria.
Step 4: Start Small and Measure Adoption
Even the best tools fail if people do not use them. Start with a pilot, define clear success metrics, and track adoption early. Look for leading indicators like login frequency, data quality improvements, or increased conversion rates before expanding licenses.
RevOps should own the post-purchase measurement process. Create a quarterly review cadence where you evaluate tool performance against the original business case. If a tool is not delivering, address it directly. That might mean additional enablement or, in some cases, decommissioning.
Step 5: Build a Governance Model
Tool sprawl is ultimately a governance issue. Set clear guidelines for who can buy new tools, how they get approved, and how their impact will be measured. Create a centralized database of all tools in use, their costs, owners, and renewal dates.
Many organizations also benefit from forming a “Tech Council” made up of leaders from Sales, Marketing, CS, and RevOps. This group reviews proposed purchases and ensures that each aligns with the overall GTM strategy and capacity plan.
The Forward View
As RevOps matures, the focus is shifting from more tools to better tools. The most effective organizations are simplifying their stacks, consolidating data, and optimizing around usability and insight rather than feature count.
A well-designed RevOps stack should feel invisible. It should power your go-to-market engine quietly and predictably, without constant maintenance or new logins to manage. When technology decisions are grounded in strategy and data governance, your systems stop being a distraction and start becoming a real advantage.
Avoiding tool sprawl is not about saying no to innovation. It is about building a culture of intentionality—where every tool has a purpose, every process has an owner, and every data point tells the same story.
