“Every team uses a different tool”
Head of PMO · Work management and collaboration
A Head of PMO whose teams all use different tools doubts that adding one more will help, and they're right that another tool alone won't. Don't promise everyone will switch. Ask what leadership can't see: which question about the portfolio they can't answer today without chasing people.
Practise it before the real call
Free to start. No credit card.
What the buyer says
Every team uses a different tool. Adding one more won't fix that.
How to handle it
Listen
Hear "adding one more won't fix that". The pain is fragmentation and the lack of a single view, not the absence of tools.
Acknowledge
Agree that another tool on its own adds to the problem, and that forcing every team to switch rarely works.
Explore
Ask which questions about the portfolio they can't answer without chasing people: what's late, who's overloaded, where the money's going. Ask how long it takes to put together a status report today.
Respond
If your product can give a portfolio view across teams, including ones that keep their own tools, show exactly how. If it needs everyone to switch, be honest about that, and suggest where to start.
Say this
“That's true. Another tool on its own won't fix it.”
Say this
“Which question about the portfolio can't you answer today without chasing people?”
Say this
“How long does it take to put a status report together?”
Variations
- COO: “I can't get a straight answer on which projects are late.”
- Programme Manager: “I spend every Friday chasing updates from five different tools.”
Questions people ask
How do you respond when a PMO says every team uses a different tool?
Agree that another tool alone won't help. Ask which portfolio questions they can't answer without chasing people, then show how your product gives that view, and be honest about whether teams would need to switch.
How do PMOs get visibility across teams using different tools?
Some standardise on one tool, others connect existing tools into a shared portfolio view. Which works depends on how willing teams are to change, and what leadership most needs to see.
More objections in Work management and collaboration
- “We have to work in our clients' tools”
- “We're cutting software spend”
- “Our productivity suite already includes it”
- “We went back to spreadsheets”
Practise it before the real call
Free to start. No credit card.