2 Quick Tips to Prepare for HubSpot CRM Integration

Integrating HubSpot CRM is a smart business move. One of HubSpot’s greatest strengths is the diverse swaths of data it makes reportable for smart sales decisions. All of this data is accessed on a user-friendly platform that is easy to learn and capitalize on. When we connect that power to other business systems, we’re furthering the extent of our analytical capabilities and our understanding of our business processes.

Before we get into the two quick tips on HubSpot CRM integration, I have these preliminary comments: When integrating any solution, whether it’s HubSpot CRM or otherwise, it’s crucial to A. make sure the data in both solutions is clean and properly organized first and B. include internal stakeholders in the process to make sure the resulting integration provides the benefits every team requires. With that, let’s get into our two tips.

Tip #1: Be Mindful of the Data You’re Integrating

At first glance, it may seem like a good idea to just integrate everything between HubSpot CRM and another solution, but this isn’t best practice. Passing the wrong types of data or too much data can actually be counterintuitive to your goals.

So, how do you decide which information is important to the integration and which isn’t? Our best recommendation is to sync only the data that is used for segmentation, personalization, or reporting purposes. In HubSpot CRM, there are several places where that type of information may be stored:

  • Contacts, which represent individual people in your CRM, are always a must-have integrating object. Shared data from contact records creates a better understanding of buyers’ journeys, sales interactions, and other crucial relationships. Companies often choose to use their CRM system as their single source of truth for Contact information. Any new or updated contacts in the CRM would then be shared with systems like ERP, Help Desk, MRP, Field Service and more.
  • Companies can be associated with multiple contacts within an organization and are also a common integrating object, especially if one of your goals is the ability to create segmented lists.
  • Quotes given to contacts interested in your services are worth consideration for integration, particularly if you’re integrating HubSpot CRM with a financial tool like an accounting system or an ERP.
  • If your organization is not using the HubSpot Service Hub and your team wants the ability to see metrics around customer support requests and resolutions, it may be worthwhile to integrate those external Tickets into HubSpot.
  • Product libraries are often used to generate quotes, create reports from, and add to deals. If reporting on Products is a necessity, you may want to integrate it with a financial solution to tie the revenue to the sales process. Products are often entered into the ERP. The integration would keep the product list current in HubSpot for Quotes and Deals.
  • Deals in HubSpot CRM represent your open opportunities with a contact or company. Integrating Deals is not always necessary but could have some reporting benefits depending on what you’re looking to gain insight on. For example, when deals are closed won, they could create an invoice in the ERP.
  • It is very helpful for account reps to see the financial transactions in their customers’ records.  This prevents them from having to ask if an invoice has been delivered, paid etc. and gives them a holistic view of their customers. That’s why some companies integrating HubSpot CRM may choose to include Sales Orders/Invoices as an integrating object.

Tip #2: Go in With a Detailed Plan

When it comes to integration, it’s all about the planning. The most successful integrations are those that begin with a solid, detailed plan. That plan should be created based on business processes, how teams work together, and what teams need to be more efficient. It also requires getting into the weeds of the individual fields and specifying which information must be shared between the systems.

To tie it all together, each system must be prepped to be able to hold that information. For example, sometimes the fields or entities don’t exist in the other system and must be created. An integration partner can help create those entities, or you could choose a “canned” integration. However, just as a contractor builds you a house to your specifications, an integration partner builds you an integration to fit your business needs. You are the one who must benefit from the integration once their work is complete, so, make sure your integrator fully understands your business goals and crafts the resulting integration meets those demands.

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