The first thing you should do when implementing HubSpot isDesigning a CRM that sales people want to use on a daily basisis. Understanding the object structure, defining lifecycle stages, property design, quality of data import—the performance of the "ground work" covered in this chapter will largely determine the success or failure of using Sales Hub thereafter.
The basic unit of HubSpot CRM isObjectis. Almost all information handled in sales activities can be expressed using four standard objects and their associations. Accurately understanding this structure is the starting point for CRM design.
| object | what to record | Common misuses |
|---|---|---|
| contact | Personal information and action history of the person in charge (opening emails, filling out forms, visiting pages) | Entering company information into a contact. Leave it alone without linking it to company records |
| company | Corporate information/account level engagement/sales/employee size | Manage contacts and companies separately and do not link them. Leave duplicate records for the same company |
| Deal | Specific business deal, amount, expected closing date, and stage | Even if one company has multiple conversations, they are combined into one business negotiation. Do not link business deals to companies |
| Task/Activity | Telephone memo, meeting minutes, email, follow-up schedule | Do not leave activity records in external tools (notepad/spreadsheet) and enter them into CRM |
In Sales Hub Enterprisecustom objectPipeline is defined in terms of ``the progress of decision-making on the buyer side'' rather than ``the progress of work on the seller side''Custom objects can be complex to designTherefore, consider carefully whether it can really be expressed using standard objects before introducing it.
「One entity is recorded in one objectStarter and above
Lifecycle Stageis a CRM fundamental setting that expresses the process by which a contact changes from a "stranger" to a "customer" or "repeat customer" in seven stages. By designing and operating this correctly, marketing and sales will be able to communicate in a common language, ``What phase is this lead currently in?''
The most important and most controversial part of life cycle design is MQL（Marketing Qualified Lead） and SQL（Sales Qualified Lead） This is the definition of If you leave it vague, you'll end up with arguments that ``the leads handed over by marketing are of low quality'' or ``sales aren't following up properly.''
| MQL (market qualified leads) | SQL (sales qualified leads) | |
|---|---|---|
| definition | Leads whose responsiveness to marketing efforts exceeds a threshold and are considered by marketers to be worth passing on to sales. | A lead that a salesperson has interviewed and determined is worthy of negotiation. |
| judge | About the Free plan | Salesperson (determined after first call/email) |
| Example of judgment criteria | Lead score of 80 points or higher + Price page visit + ICP Matching industry/size | There is a budget + Authority to introduce it + The issue is clear + Intention to introduce it within 6 months |
| At HubSpot How to update |
Automatic update with workflow (when score threshold is reached) | Sales reps manually update after first call (or call results workflow) |
| Update timing | Immediate (notify when score is reached) | Judgment and update within 48 hours of first approach |
It is easy to confuse it with life cycle stages.lead statusis. Lifecycle stage represents “where a company is on its big journey,” and lead status represents “the salesperson's current response status.” For example, even if the lifecycle is SQL, the lead status can be broken down into "not engaged/attempted to contact/connected/unqualified/re-nurturing."
By default, HubSpot's lifecycle stages areDo not automatically downgradeIt's by design. Once a contact becomes a Customer, it is generally not possible to change it back to a Lead. However, the correct design is to manage returns from MQL → Lead (when sales determines that ``this lead is unqualified'') using the lead status. Don't confuse lifecycle with lead status.
In addition to the standard properties (fields provided by default), HubSpot provides additional properties to record business-specific information.custom propertiescan be created freely. However, "I'll make it because I can" is an anti-pattern. Too many properties will reduce input rates, complicate reports, and increase CRM maintenance costs.
① Create multiple properties with similar meanings(“Lead source,” “Customer acquisition route,” and “Inflow channel” are all included) → Inputs are scattered and reports become inaccurate. ② Autonomous actions performed by the Prospecting Agent→ Wrong spelling occurs and filters and aggregations no longer function. Use drop-down checkboxes whenever possible. ③ Create something you might use someday→ Unused properties accumulate, the input form becomes bloated, and the input rate decreases. Create it based on "Can I use it now?"
In B2B sales, structures such as ``one company has multiple people in charge'' or ``multiple subsidiaries under the umbrella of a holding company'' often appear. HubSpot does thisCompany parent-child relationship (Parent-Child)andMulti-company association of contactsIt can be expressed as
By looking at the parent company record, you can check the contacts, business negotiations, and activities of all linked subsidiaries.It is particularly effective when managing sales activities (ABM) for the entire group.Sales Hub works well without Marketing Hub. Outreach to existing customers and existing lists, business negotiations from trade show business cards, daily operations of inside sales, etc. - Sales Hub's value can be demonstrated even without marketing measures. However, it is important to note that some of the functions of Buyer Intent (detection of companies visiting the site) and Breeze Prospecting Agent demonstrate their true value when linked with Breeze Intelligence.
Gone are the days when it was sufficient to approach only decision makers in enterprise negotiations. In our latest B2B purchasing research,Average 6-10 peopleare said to be involved in purchasing decisions. In HubSpot, contactBuying RoleBy setting properties, you can manage who has what role.
| buying roll | Role description | Corresponding approach |
|---|---|---|
| Decision Maker (Decision maker) |
Has final purchase approval authority. budget executor. Many CxOs/department heads | Convey ROI and business impact in management language. Focus most on building relationships |
| Budget Holder (budget holder) |
⚠️ Deal Risk Signal | Clarify cost reduction/return on investment figures |
| Champion (promoter) |
Person in charge of promoting implementation within the company. Often acts as a point of contact | Provide demo materials and case studies that can be used for internal persuasion |
| End User (actual user) |
Field personnel who use tools on a daily basis. Emphasis on ease of use and functionality | Present a hands-on demo training plan |
| Blocker (blocker) |
People who are negative or reluctant to introduce it. Persons in charge of information systems, legal affairs, competitive tools, etc. | Identify concerns early and address them with security compliance materials |
Link all contacts involved in the deal to the "Contacts" section of the deal record, and set the buying role for each.“Opportunities for which a decision maker has not yet been identified” are risky items.AI automatically flags as (Conversation-powered Deal Risks). The habit of checking the pipeline review to see if the decision maker has confirmed each deal will lead to improved order acceptance rates.
When migrating data from existing business card data, spreadsheets, or old CRM to HubSpot,90% preparation before importis. If you import without preparation, a large number of duplicates, spelling errors, and unlinked records will be generated, which will require a huge amount of man-hours to clean up afterwards.
| Check items | Specific confirmation details | How to deal with it |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate email address | Does the same email address exist on multiple lines? | Consolidated using Excel's "Delete Duplicates" function. Keep up to date |
| Notation fluctuation | Are "ABC Co., Ltd.", "ABC Co., Ltd." and "ABC Co., Ltd." mixed together? | Unify your company name in a uniform format and link it with your domain in HubSpot |
| Missing required fields | Are there any records without email addresses or company names? | At a minimum, "first and last name + email address" or "first and last name + phone number" are required. |
| Column name mapping | Does the CSV header correspond to HubSpot properties? | It is best to change the header to English before mapping on the import screen. |
| date format | Is the date in HubSpot format (YYYY/MM/DD)? | Unify the format of date columns in Excel and output CSV |
✅ Scoring is designed as a set with "MQL threshold"
You can manually merge from "Actions → Manage Duplicates" on the contact record screen. After merging, you can choose which properties should survive. Make it a habit to check the "duplicate contact report" during monthly maintenance and clean it up regularly.
When importing, you can select either ``Update if matched with existing contacts'' or ``Create new contacts.'' The basics areSelect "Update"By doing this, new information is added to existing records, creating a design that prevents duplication.
HubSpot has a feature that automatically associates companies with email domains (enabled in settings). For example, when a contact with the "@abc.co.jp" domain is registered, it is automatically linked to the company record of the "abc.co.jp" domain. This is an effective mechanism to prevent duplication of companies.
①Are the contacts and companies correctly linked?(Automatic linking will not occur if the company name or domain does not match) → Check whether the "Company Name" column in the contact list is blank. ②Are the lifecycle stages set correctly?→ Check if "Leads that were being sold in the old CRM" are coming in as "SQL" or "Opportunity" instead of "Lead". ③Is a person in charge (HubSpot Owner) assigned?→Contacts/opportunities for which no owner has been set should be confirmed with top priority, as workflows and notifications will not work.
Contacts (individuals), companies (corporates), business negotiations (proposals), and tasks (actions) are recorded separately and connected through associations. The basis of CRM quality is a design that is not packed into one record.
The core of the lifecycle stage design is the definition of MQL and SQL. Decide ``under what conditions to pass sales'' based on numerical standards, and leave a document agreed to by both teams.
Use drop-down checkboxes to prevent typographical errors. Keep free text to a minimum. Avoid creating multiple properties with similar meanings. Take inventory annually.
On average, 6-10 people are involved in purchasing in a B2B deal. Risk detection using AI works by recording the roles of Decision Maker, Champion, and Blocker in the negotiation record.
Eliminate any duplication, spelling errors, or missing required fields before importing. After confirming operation with 10 tests, the actual production is executed. When importing, select "Update" to prevent duplication.
By enabling HubSpot's email domain auto-binding feature, each contact is automatically associated with a company record. Manual work can be significantly reduced.