“We went back to spreadsheets”
COO · Work management and collaboration
A COO whose last project tool lasted three months before everyone went back to spreadsheets has good reason to be sceptical. Don't say your tool is different. Ask why the last one failed: what the spreadsheet does that the tool didn't.
Practise it before the real call
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What the buyer says
We tried a project tool before. Within three months we were back on spreadsheets.
How to handle it
Listen
Hear "back on spreadsheets". The spreadsheet won because it did something people valued, and that's the useful information.
Acknowledge
Agree that a tool people abandon is wasted money, and that spreadsheets win for good reasons.
Explore
Ask what the spreadsheet does that the tool didn't: flexibility, speed, seeing everything on one page, no training. Ask who stopped using the tool first, and why. Ask what it would need to do to be worth switching.
Respond
Answer the reasons they gave, specifically, and show how your product handles each one. Suggest starting with one team that has a clear reason to switch, and agree how you'd measure whether it sticks.
Say this
“That's frustrating. A tool nobody uses is wasted money.”
Say this
“What does the spreadsheet do that the tool didn't?”
Say this
“Who stopped using it first, and why?”
Variations
- Head of Operations: “Our last rollout lasted a quarter. Then everyone gave up.”
- Team Lead: “My spreadsheet does the job. I don't need another login.”
Questions people ask
How do you respond when a buyer says their team went back to spreadsheets?
Agree that an abandoned tool is wasted money. Ask what the spreadsheet does that the tool didn't and who stopped using it first, then answer those reasons and start with one team that has a clear reason to switch.
Why do teams go back to spreadsheets after buying project tools?
Spreadsheets are flexible, fast and familiar. If a new tool is slower, more rigid or needs more effort to keep up to date, people drift back to what they know.
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”
- “Every team uses a different tool”
Practise it before the real call
Free to start. No credit card.