Start with workflows
- Lead capture
- CRM and pipeline
- Marketing automation
- Booking
- Communications
- Reporting
- Delivery and billing where relevant
Define the system of record
Know where authoritative contact, opportunity and account data live.
Audit overlaps
List tools that perform the same job and identify which integrations are critical versus merely convenient.
Calculate total operating cost
Include subscriptions, usage, admin time, integration maintenance, migration risk and training.
Consolidate deliberately
Replace a tool only when the new system removes meaningful friction. Consolidation for its own sake can create a larger single point of failure.
Choose software
Compare software against this workflow rather than choosing from a feature list alone.