They just moved to a tool you plug into

Why does the tech switch play work?

A tool change is one of the few moments a company is willing to rethink everything around it. Every connected tool, report and process has to be moved or rebuilt.

What counts as a tech switch?

At least the first two, ideally more:

• A tool appears on the company's website or in its job ads for the first time.
• It appeared within the last 60 days.
• Stronger: a competing tool disappeared in the same window, such as Pipedrive out and HubSpot in.
• Stronger still: a job ad asks for experience with the new tool, which means they are staffing the move.

What looks like the signal but is not

Trials and tests

A script can appear for a two-week trial. Prefer tools that also show up in job ads, or stay for more than a few weeks.

Leftovers

Old scripts often stay on a site long after a switch. A tool that is still detected is not always still used.

One team's tool

One department adopting a tool is not a company-wide switch. Check which team the job ads are for.

Job ads that list everything

Some ads list every tool the team has touched. Weigh tools named as required over nice-to-haves.

How to run it, step by step

Six steps in the same five-part frame as every play. Each step says what you are after, why it matters and how to do it with any tools; the Breaknorm boxes show the shortcut.

1. 01Signal

   Pick the tools you work with

   Goal. The platform your service or product depends on, and the tools it usually replaces.

   Why. The play only works where the switch creates work for you. Pick the tool you plug into, and the competitors companies typically leave to get there.

   How.

   • Name the tool you build on, integrate with or implement.
   • List the tools people usually move away from to get there.
   • Limit to the company size and countries you serve.

   See which tools are detectedlist_filter_values

   list_filter_values({ "filter": "tech" })Copy

   You end withA short list: the tool you want to see added, and the tools you want to see removed.

2. 02Signal

   Catch the change in the last 60 days

   Goal. Companies where the new tool appeared recently, ideally with the old one gone.

   Why. Timing is the whole play. Inside the first two months, the migration is still being planned and vendors are still being chosen.

   How.

   • Look for the new tool on the website and in job ads, first seen in the last 60 days.
   • Rank higher when a competing tool disappeared in the same window.
   • Rank higher again when a job ad asks for the new tool.

   The filters behind itsearch_companies

   {
     "describe": "logistics and shipping software",
     "tech": { "added": ["hubspot"], "removed": ["pipedrive"], "within_days": 60 }
   }Copy

   You end withA list of companies mid-migration, with what they left, what they chose and where you saw it.

3. 03Who

   Find the owner of the migration

   Goal. The one person accountable for the move.

   Why. Migrations have one owner. They feel every broken field and missing integration, and they choose who helps.

   How.

   • CRM: RevOps or sales ops. Marketing tools: marketing ops. Infrastructure: IT or engineering.
   • If a job ad is staffing the migration, the hiring manager on that ad is your contact.
   • At small companies, the founder or head of sales often runs the move.

   Find the ownersearch_people

   { "function": "revops", "level": ["head", "manager"], "company": "routivo.de" }Copy

   You end withOne named owner per company.

4. 04Find

   Get an email that is verified

   Goal. A working address for each owner, checked before you send.

   Why. Ops people are the first to notice a bounce, and bounces hurt the domain you send everything else from.

   How.

   • Find the address from the name and the company domain.
   • Verify it at the mail server before it goes into a sequence.
   • Hold contacts whose address cannot be confirmed.

   Find and verify with Breaknormfind_email · verify_email

   find_email({ "name": "Lena Brandt", "domain": "routivo.de" })Copy

   You end withA verified email per owner.

5. 05Say

   Help with the part of the move that breaks

   Goal. A message about their migration, with something useful for it.

   Why. The owner is deep in a project with a deadline. Help with the part that usually goes wrong is welcome; a pitch for something else is not.

   How.

   • Say what changed and where it is public: a job ad, an integrations page.
   • Name the part of that specific migration that usually hurts.
   • Offer a concrete fix for it and ask if you can send it.

   You end withOne message per company, built on the before-and-after.

6. 06Measure

   Track how far into the move they are

   Goal. A view of which stage of a migration replies best.

   Why. Early in a migration, people are choosing partners. Late in it, they are fixing what broke. Your offer fits one stage better than the other.

   How.

   • Tag each company with days since the switch.
   • Compare replies for switches under 30 days with 30 to 60 days.
   • Keep the ones that did not answer: the next integration project comes after go-live.

   Push new switcheswebhook

   POST https://hooks.your-tool.com/… ← one row per new switchCopy

   You end withA weekly list and a note on which stage replies.

A worked example, start to finish

One company, through every step. The company and the person are invented; the steps are the real ones.

1. Signal

   Routivo makes route-planning software in Hamburg and has about 45 people. You implement HubSpot, and you watch for companies leaving Pipedrive.

2. Signal

   Pipedrive disappeared from Routivo's site and HubSpot appeared on October 2. Two open roles now ask for HubSpot experience.

3. Who

   Lena Brandt runs RevOps and is the hiring manager on one of those roles.

4. Find

   [email protected] comes back valid from the mail server.

5. Say

   The message names the move and offers a field-mapping checklist for Pipedrive to HubSpot.

6. Measure

   Tagged as 22 days since the switch, so the reply can be compared with later-stage migrations.

Prompt

Which logistics companies moved to HubSpot in the last 60 days?

Added HubSpot

Dropped Pipedrive

RoutivoRoute planning · Hamburg · 45 peopleSwitched Oct 2

BeforePipedrive

NowHubSpot, named in 2 job ads

OwnerLena Brandt · RevOps · valid

n8n webhook38 eventsthis week · example

ReplayILLUSTRATIVE · EXAMPLE DATA

What to write to a team in the middle of a migration

A short email that gives before it asks: something useful for the situation they are in, not a meeting request. Why each line is there:

When not to run this play

• You don't work with the tool they moved to.
• The switch was more than about three months ago; the migration is done.
• The tool appeared only on one landing page or for a short trial.
• Your message says you found their tracking code. Point to job ads or public pages instead.
• You pitch a replacement for the tool they just chose.

How to measure whether it works

Track a few numbers per batch and compare them over time. What counts as good depends on your market, so the trend matters more than any benchmark.

Reply rate by days since the switch

Under 30 days versus 30 to 60. Partners often do better early; fixes do better later.

Reply rate by tool pair

Some moves create more work than others. Compare by what they left and what they chose.

Yes rate to the offer

How many say yes to what you offered.

Meetings per 100 companies

The number that tells you whether the play is worth the weekly time.

From our data

Figures from Breaknorm's own technology and hiring data, refreshed every 1 to 7 days.

Checklist

1. The tool you work with, and the tools it replaces
2. New tool first seen in the last 60 days
3. Competing tool removed, or the new tool named in a job ad
4. Trials and leftover scripts filtered out
5. Contact: the owner of the migration
6. Email verified at the mail server
7. Message names the move and offers help with the part that breaks
8. Replies tracked by days since the switch

Questions about this play