We bought HubSpot. What should we fix first?
Find the first useful change in an unused HubSpot setup: ownership, next actions, data, training and a clearly scoped implementation.
Michael Sebastian
Creative Director
Start with one real sales job your team needs to complete. Find where it gets stuck, then decide whether the fix is a clearer routine, cleaner information, configuration or help using the system.
You do not need to decide on a website rebuild or a new identity to make that first inspection.
Follow one opportunity through the day
Pick a current opportunity and ask the person responsible to show you:
Can the salesperson carry out the next action?
One opportunity
- Where the contact and conversation history live.
- What needs to happen next, who will do it and when.
- How someone covering for them would find that information.
- What happens when the contact does not reply.
- How a manager knows the opportunity needs attention.
Write down the first unanswered question. That is a useful starting point for the implementation brief.
A dashboard full of activity is a different observation from a salesperson being able to carry out the next action.
Decide what HubSpot is responsible for
If you must keep another CRM or operational system, name what each system owns before specifying a connection.
Swipe to see the remaining columns →
| Information | Decision to record |
|---|---|
| Customer or account record | Which system is authoritative, and who corrects it? |
| Sales conversation and next action | Where does the employee work each day? |
| Operational status | What does sales need to see, and how current must it be? |
| Marketing preferences | Where is permission recorded and checked? |
| Conflicting information | Who resolves it before another action is taken? |
A useful answer may be a manual handoff, a native feature or a separately assessed integration. Check actual access, available product features and whether the receiving system saves the right information. Keeping both tools does not establish that they can synchronize everything you want.
Write a small, inspectable scope
Ask a provider to describe the first useful result in words your team can check. For example: “The assigned salesperson can find an opportunity, see the latest conversation, record the next action and identify a missed follow-up.”
What can someone actually do with this record?
Activity noted
- An activity is recorded.
- Next owner: not shown.
- Next action: not shown.
- Next-action date: not shown.
Next action defined
- Find the contact and latest conversation.
- Name the person responsible.
- Record the next action and when it is due.
- Identify a missed follow-up.
Then separate:
- Configuration and any agreed data preparation.
- Documentation and employee practice that are included.
- Your team's inputs, responsible operator and time commitment.
- Software, implementation and any ongoing support costs.
- Work excluded from the first scope.
- The check that determines whether the result is usable.
HubSpot permissions are configurable; do not assume every employee can see or change the same things. Check the actual operator's access when testing the work. HubSpot's permissions guide.
Test the work with the person who will use it
Use a permitted example and ask the employee to complete the agreed task. Include an ordinary exception, such as missing information or an overdue action. Record where help was required, what needs correcting and who maintains the setup afterward.
Choose a starting measure that matches the problem: opportunities without an owner, missing next-action dates, or time spent reconstructing a conversation. Record the baseline first. Revenue is a later commercial outcome, influenced by more than configuration.
When does marketing enter the plan?
If the salesperson lacks a useful answer, the website is attracting a different buyer, or enquiries arrive without needed context, supporting content or website work may belong in a separate scope. Name that gap and the output it needs. Keep the immediate implementation decision understandable.
Your first useful output: one checked opportunity, any unanswered question, and the person responsible for the next step. If the routine already works, keep it.
For help defining that work, see our HubSpot services. Start with the job your team needs to complete and the systems you need to keep.
Source and further reading
HubSpot user permissions: what each person can view, edit and do
Official reference for checking the actual operator’s access. It does not establish your account configuration or implementation results.
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