So, you've signed up for HubSpot (whoo!). Now what?
HubSpot is an immensely powerful tool - but it can be daunting when you're just getting started. Let us make your implementation and setup a bit easier with the following best practices.
Here's how to successfully implement your HubSpot CRM!
HubSpot CRM Implementation Checklist
☐ Connect Your Inbox
☐ Install Email Extension
☐ Create and Edit Properties
☐ Import Contacts
☐ Create Filters
☐ Define Your Deal Stages
☐ Website Integration
☐ Invite Your Team
HubSpot CRM Implementation Steps
1. Email Integration
In this phase, you'll be connecting your inbox and installing the HubSpot email extension. Once completed, all of the emails you send and receive will automatically be stored in your CRM.
Connect Your Inbox
What you need:
- A personal email - this should be an email you alone use to send emails to contacts. Most often, your company email address.
- Knowledge of what email provider you use. You can ask your IT department, or you can use MxToolbox to look up your email domain's email service provider.
The specifics of how to connect your inbox depend on what email service provider you're using.
➤ Get Started: Use the HubSpot Connected Email Guide
Install the HubSpot email extension
The HubSpot Sales extension works with your web browser to connect emails you send to your CRM for more detailed tracking. The extension you need will depend on your email host and client. Use this table from HubSpot to find the right version.
| Email host | Gmail or G Suite | Office 365 | Any |
| Email client |
Gmail/G Suite in Chrome |
Outlook on the web Outlook.com* |
Outlook 2019 Outlook 2016 Outlook 2013 |
| Operating system | Mac, PC | Mac, PC | PC only |
| System requirements | N/A | N/A | Microsoft Windows 7,8, or 10 Microsoft Outlook 2013 or 2016 Microsoft Visual Studios 2010 tools for Office Runtime .NET 4.6 or higher |
| Connected inbox required | No** | Yes | No** |
| Centrally deploy/install for multiple users | Available | Available | Not available |
| Quick install links |  |
 |
 |
*If you're accessing your email on Outlook.com, you cannot pin the Office 365 add-in in the inbox.
**Some sales tools cannot be used without a connected inbox.
Remember to do this after you've connected your inbox - otherwise it won't work properly.
2. Create and edit properties
Properties power your CRM and make organization possible. Properties store specific information about your contacts. There are default properties that come with the CRM, and custom properties you can create. The possibilities are endless depending on your organization and how you want to parse out data.
Default properties in HubSpot include:
- Contacts - This property stores a lot of data about your contacts, including: became a lead status, industry, lifecycle stage, last contact date, etc. We strongly recommend looking through the full list of data that HubSpot includes about a contact.
- Companies - This property contains a similar wealth of data to the contact property, but it's focused primarily on the company attached to the contact. This includes data like company size, revenue, location, etc.
- Deals - Deal properties help you track the status of a deal, the associated revenue, and other vital information for both sales and marketing.
- Tickets - HubSpot includes a ticketing feature that your team can use for customer support, sales, and marketing. This property stores data associated with the ticketing system.
Get Started:
➤ Learn About the Default Properties: Contacts | Companies | Deals | Tickets
➤ Organize and Export Properties
➤ Property Field Types in HubSpot
3. Import contacts
This is where the fun begins - now it's time to start importing all your current contacts into HubSpot's CRM. You can important contacts via a spreadsheet or Gmail integration.
This is also the step that often takes the most amount of time and prep work, so be prepared to dedicate some time to getting this done right. Trust us - it's better to spend extra time making sure your data is clean vs. having to spend even more time later doing fixes.
What to do before you start importing:
- Export your contact data out of your current systems
- Get your contacts into a spreadsheet - either in .csv, .xlsx, or .xls
- Clean up your data - remove irrelevant contacts, make sure all data is complete and written out correctly (e.g., "thisguy@gmail.com" not "thisguy@gmail")
- Make sure your spreadsheet is only one sheet (not multiple tabs)
- Include a header row where each column corresponds to a property in HubSpot. Column headers can be organized in any order without affecting the import. You can confirm if a default property already exists to match your header or create a custom property prior to importing. Learn more about HubSpot's default properties for contacts, companies, deals, and tickets.
Get Started Importing:
➤ (For Gmail Users) Sync Gmail Contacts
→Read Now: How to Import Your Contacts Into HubSpot's CRM
4. Create filters & views
Once you have your properties set and your contacts imported, you can begin creating filters and views. Filters and Views lets you work with contacts based on properties.
You can set up filters in any of the following sections within HubSpot:
- Contacts
- Companies
- Deals
- Tickets
- Payments
- Calls
- Custom Objects
➤ Get Started: View and Filter Records
5. Define your deal stages
Deal stages are vital for your HubSpot account - they tell you where eah contact is at in their buyer's journey, and what actions need to be taken. No matter your business, when you're converting a lead to a customer there are specific actions you need to take.
In order to successfully use HubSpot, you need to know what actions your team(s) take to guide a lead to a customer, and what order they happen in. These are then broken down into percentages within HubSpot - with 100% being a close.
By default, HubSpot includes a sales pipeline with seven deal stages:
- Appointment scheduled (20%)
- Qualified to buy (40%)
- Presentation scheduled (60%)
- Decision maker bought-in (80%)
- Contract sent (90%)
- Closed won (100% Won)
- Closed lost (0% Lost)
You can add or remove deal stages as needed for your business. The goal here is to be able to accurately track where a buyer is in their journey, so you can then accurately attribute revenue from deals.
➤ Get Started: Set Up and Customize Your Deal Pipelines and Deal Stages
6. Website integration
HubSpot's website integration allows you to more easily import leads from your site into your HubSpot account, and to get better data on what they're engaging with. This includes both tracking and lead flows, like pop-ups.
Get Started with Website Integration:
➤ Install the HubSpot Tracking Code
➤ (For WordPress Sites) Install and Use the HubSpot WordPress Plugin
→Read Now: Does HubSpot Integrate with Wordpress?
7. Invite your team
Whew - now you've gotten all the hard work done, so it's time for the easy (well, easier) part - inviting your team! HubSpot works best when everyone is using it, so you'll want to make sure your team has access to what they need in the system.
You can add as many users as you want to HubSpot CRM, each with their own level of access. This means your team gets that vital visibility, but they can't start editing and removing things they shouldn't.
Get Started with Users:
➤ HubSpot User Permissions Guide
...Or Just Have a HubSpot Partner Agency Do it All For You
If you've been following along, your head might be spinning. Getting HubSpot implemented is a ton of work. That's why you don't have to go it alone.
Working with a HubSpot partner agency means that you don't need to become an expert in HubSpot to get up and running.
As a Platinum HubSpot partner, we can assist you with Onboarding, Inbound Marketing, Service and CRM.
Onboarding Programs for New HubSpot Users
- Customized for you, based on your business, processes and goals
- Full onboarding offerings for all Hubs
- Personalized, custom training
- First-tier tech support offered at no charge after onboarding
- Prices start at $4,000 scoped individually based your needs
Fix-It Programs for Current HubSpot Users
- Thorough examination of current HubSpot Hub(s)
- Clean-up of data and contacts
- Creation of lists, workflows and sequences as needed
- Identify opportunities for integration
- Help you get the most out of your HubSpot account
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