HubSpot makes it easy to get started with their software. Sign up, choose your products, pay your bill, and you're ready to go! HubSpot even offers guided onboarding to help hit the ground running. Couple this with a multitude of blog posts composed to get you started, HubSpot is a robust marketing automation solution.
Unfortunately, not discussed is the difficulty of managing change within your organization. Pittsburgh Internet Consulting has worked with an entire spectrum of clients, some who adopt and implement HubSpot wholeheartedly. Others, who need a little push in the right direction and a few who have had great difficulty making the switch over to HubSpot. Change is never easy, and managing change is just as tricky.
With this in mind, we sat down and identified the "5 ways you will be wasting money on HubSpot" due to poor change management within your organization:
1. Expect HubSpot to do everything
(Silver-Bullet-Syndrome)
The first way to waste your money on HubSpot is to expect that HubSpot will fix everything. We call this the silver-bullet-syndrome. HubSpot is the silver-bullet your business has been searching for to cure all that ails your business. Once installed, HubSpot will fix your sales process, any lazy sales associates, and grow your business instantly. HubSpot is a tool, and like any other tool, to produce results, it must be used correctly (see #5).
Composing excellent marketing emails, following up on leads and properly prospecting are all parts of positioning yourself to get the most out of your HubSpot investment. HubSpot does help grow your business, but if you are expecting HubSpot to magically fix things without putting in work, you are wasting your money.
2. No internal ownership
Without a single person or team to take ownership of HubSpot integration (be prepared for inevitable push-back) within your organization, you're wasting your money on HubSpot. We call this a the office champion. Having an on-site champion is necessary for successful HubSpot integration.
The office HubSpot champion should:
- Be the primary point of contact between your organization and your HubSpot Sales/integration specialist, especially during the first few months.
- Set the company-wide standards for HubSpot. For example: what custom properties are created, setting the sales pipeline and setting up teams, etc. Collaborate with other department leaders for best results.
- Be the "Go-To" person for HubSpot related operations, especially questions, concerns, and possible changes.
- Ensures that HubSpot is being appropriately utilized by all departments.
Without a champion, there is no accountability; without accountability, everyone will use HubSpot according to what they believe is best, or (GASP!) not at all. Inconsistency can fill your clean CRM with dirty data, which reduces the effectiveness of HubSpot, which wastes your money.
3. No Buy-In
Unless you have buy-in from all people, in all departments, you're wasting your money on HubSpot.
Of course, 100% of your team drinking the HubSpot orange Kool-Aid all at once is difficult, but it is undoubtedly a worthy goal. HubSpot makes it easy to collaborate with others - from contact management to emails and blog writing to sales updates.
The toughest part with buy-in is getting them used to the waters. Once they get into the tools and start using them, adoption should begin to happen. If you are finding issues with buy-in, it may be time to talk to your agency or HubSpot rep to bring in some backup.
We have found that, at times, bringing in an outside source can add value to the buy-in process.
4. Holding Onto the Past
If you're trying to use HubSpot with inefficient, old-school methods, you're wasting your money.
Gone are the days of buying large lists, hitting the phones, or sending out a massive, blanket email blast to all contacts in your CRM, HubSpot is designed to help you weed out unqualified prospects, segment your contacts into targeted lists, focus on the most qualified leads, and allow you to create incredible, personal experiences that lead to a lasting business relationship.
If all or part of your team is going to try to run two systems at one time, using Excel to manage contacts and HubSpot, this story will not end well. Trying to continue this double-entry of information will only frustrate you.
If you're not prepared to learn (see #5) and adapt your current methods to use HubSpot as it fits best for your business and your customers, you're wasting your money.
5. No Learning
If you're not learning how to use HubSpot, you're wasting your money. If you're not utilizing the HubSpot Academy Certifications and courses, it's doubly so - because these are free and specifically designed for HubSpot! Understanding the Inbound Methodology and how HubSpot supports inbound is essential to proper use of HubSpot.
Expecting to build a house the first time you pick up a hammer is a ridiculous notion. Learning how to use the hammer is key. The same theory holds for HubSpot.
Not only are HubSpot certifications free, but certain certifications are also transferable for graduate credit towards a Masters' degree in either Corporate and Organizational Communication or Professional Studies in Digital Media at Northeastern University.
HubSpot estimates this will save you about 9% in tuition as well as give you a leg-up in your career.
If you pick up a hammer, expecting to build a house, you won't get very far. Learning how to use the hammer for your specific goal of building a house is essential. Similarly, learning how to use HubSpot for your particular business goals is necessary. Otherwise, you're wasting your money.
