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Priority Vertical · 2 of 4
Credit Unions & Financial Services
Credit unions are a greenfield opportunity. Many are standing up PMOs from scratch with no incumbent tool. Compliance favors audit trails and structured workflows.
Org profile
- Mid-size credit unions and community banks (100–500 employees)
- Marketing teams of 3–10 people, sometimes with a separate PMO
- Regulatory environment drives documentation and approval trail requirements
- Multiple stakeholders across departments make budget decisions
- Conservative buying culture. They want to see peer institutions using it
Buyer personas
The Marketing/PMO Director (Primary Champion)
Standing up a PMO function for the first time, or replacing a tool that failed. Sees the problem clearly. Challenge: getting the rest of the org to commit to a tool.
“I would say everything on your screen right now.”
The Operations Manager
Cares about process standardization, audit trails, cross-department visibility. Less interested in creative workflow features, more interested in reporting and compliance.
The IT/Security Lead (Gatekeeper)
SOC 2, data handling, SSO. Plus additional regulatory scrutiny around financial data.
Pain points
- No project management system at all (MAPS: everything in email and spreadsheets)
- Standing up a PMO from scratch with no playbook
- Need audit trails for compliance but no structured way to document decisions
- Multiple departments submitting requests with no triage system
- Price sensitivity comparing to Asana/ClickUp at $12/user
Compliance as a blocker (and how sales should frame it)
SOC 2 Type 2, SSO/MFA, and HIPAA-grade security are Enterprise-tier only. Two paths when marketing wants Starter/Team but compliance wants SOC 2:
Path 1 · Frame security as the reason to go Enterprise
“Your compliance team is going to ask about SOC 2 and SSO. Those are included in our Enterprise plan, which also gives you the collaborator model so you're not paying for every person who needs to review or approve. Enterprise isn't features you don't need — it's the security layer your compliance team requires.”
Path 2 · If Enterprise isn't in budget, be honest
Workzone still provides secure cloud hosting, role-based permissions, and audit trail functionality at every tier. Ask: “Does your compliance team require SOC 2 certification from vendors, or are they looking for general data security practices?”
Don't let compliance surprise you
Surface it early. “I know compliance is important in financial services. Let me walk you through what we offer at each tier so we can get your IT team comfortable upfront.”
Sales triggers
- New PMO initiative
- Regulatory audit that exposed process gaps
- Marketing team restructure or growth
- Digital transformation initiative
- Mention of “standing up a process” or “building from scratch”
- Compliance review requiring documented project workflows
Objection handling
“Your pricing is higher than what we're seeing”
Two paths: (1) basic needs → Starter at $8/user. (2) intake/approvals/portfolio → collaborator reframe for Enterprise, or Team ($20) vs Asana Business ($24.99). Do this BEFORE price creates resistance.
“We need to bring in more stakeholders”
Don't leave the champion selling alone. “Would it help if I joined a 20-minute call with your VP/CFO to walk through the ROI?”
“Our compliance team needs to vet this”
Good. Surface early. Ask if SOC 2 is formally required or general security practices.