.png)
At Why Bravo, we understand that mastering HubSpot can make or break sales efforts, especially in industries like construction, manufacturing, or any other project-centric business.
These industries typically have long sales cycles and multiple decision-makers, making it critical to keep all deal information accurate, timely, and accessible. In this guide, we'll explore some HubSpot hacks that can significantly improve your sales process, enhance CRM functionality, and ultimately boost revenue.
Why HubSpot for Project-Centric Sales?
HubSpot CRM is an ideal solution for project-centric sales teams because it helps sales leaders manage complex sales pipelines with ease. Project-centric industries typically involve lengthy sales cycles, long nurturing periods, and complex buyer interactions. For these reasons, project-based companies need a CRM that allows them to track detailed deal progress across multiple stages, from the initial inquiry through to contract closure.
Using HubSpot to its full potential ensures no deal information is lost, overlooked, or improperly managed. HubSpot’s powerful automations, intuitive deal pipeline tools, and integration capabilities make it the perfect CRM for businesses in this space, as long as it's set up correctly.
However, many teams only scratch the surface of what HubSpot can do, leaving them frustrated with missed sales opportunities, unoptimized processes, and inaccurate forecasting. Below are some essential HubSpot hacks that will help you and your team unlock its full potential and increase your bottom line.
Hack 1: Structure Deal Stages Correctly
One of the biggest mistakes sales teams make is setting up deal stages that are vague or focus on the sales team's perception of the client rather than on the buyer's journey. Many teams use labels like "cold," "warm," or "hot" to describe the deal stages, which is not helpful in guiding action or identifying the next steps.
Instead, each stage in your pipeline should reflect a specific action or milestone that has already been completed by the buyer. For example:
First Contact Made
Meeting Booked with DM
Proposal Sent
Proposal Presentation Complete
This approach ensures that your sales team knows exactly where a deal is in the pipeline and what needs to happen next. Well-defined, past-tense stages also help when it comes to forecasting revenue and identifying where deals get stuck.
Hack 2: Define Exit Criteria for Every Deal Stage
Once your deal stages are set up, the next step is to establish exit criteria. Exit criteria are the actions or information that must be completed before a deal can move from one stage to the next. This ensures that deals are progressing based on actual actions and not just gut feelings.
For example, before a deal can move from the discovery phase to the proposal phase, your team might need to log detailed discovery notes or confirm the buyer’s budget. Without exit criteria, your sales pipeline can become clogged with deals that aren't ready to move forward, leading to inaccurate reporting and ineffective follow-ups.
Pro Tip: Make sure the exit criteria are aligned with your sales process and that they are measurable. This way, every team member knows exactly what’s expected before advancing deals to the next stage.
Hack 3: Use HubSpot Snippets and Templates
A common time-waster in sales is repeatedly typing out the same emails or notes. HubSpot offers powerful tools like Snippets and Templates to help streamline these repetitive tasks.
Snippets: These are short, reusable text blocks that can be inserted into emails or CRM notes with a simple hashtag command. For example, if you often record discovery call notes, you can set up a snippet with all the questions you need to ask during the call. Just type in "#discovery" and your preset list of questions will appear.
Templates: HubSpot templates are perfect for emails that your sales team sends frequently, like proposals, follow-up messages, or introductory emails. Creating a bank of customizable templates saves time and ensures brand consistency across all communication channels.
By using snippets and templates, you’ll spend less time writing and more time selling. These tools also ensure your messaging remains consistent and professional.
Hack 4: Take Advantage of HubSpot’s Document Tracking
If you regularly send proposals, pricing documents, or brochures, HubSpot’s document tracking feature can be a game-changer. Instead of manually attaching PDFs to emails, upload your documents directly into HubSpot.
When you send documents through HubSpot, you can see when the recipient opens the document, how long they spend on each page, and how many times they viewed it. This insight allows you to time your follow-ups perfectly and prioritize the deals that show the most interest. For example, if a prospect opens your proposal five times in two days, that’s a good sign they’re seriously considering your offer.
Pro Tip: Use this feature to trigger follow-up sequences. When a prospect opens a document but doesn’t respond, you can set up automated reminders to re-engage them without lifting a finger.
Hack 5: Automate Scheduling with Meeting Links
Gone are the days of endless back-and-forth emails to schedule meetings. With HubSpot’s meeting links, you can allow prospects to book time with you directly based on your availability. This feature syncs with your calendar (Google or Outlook) and automatically blocks off slots, eliminating the hassle of manual scheduling.
You can even create custom meeting links for different types of appointments, such as:
Initial Discovery Call (30 mins)
Proposal Presentation (60 mins)
Technical Consultation (45 mins)
Having your prospects book meetings at their convenience not only reduces friction but also increases the likelihood of them committing to the meeting.
Hack 6: Create Multiple Pipelines for Different Deal Types
For businesses managing both everyday orders and long-term projects, it’s often helpful to create separate deal pipelines. This ensures that each type of deal is handled in a way that fits its specific needs. For example:
Account Management Pipeline: Focused on quick turnaround, repeat orders, or smaller deals.
Project Pipeline: Designed for long-term, multi-step projects with many touchpoints.
By separating your pipelines, you can customize deal stages, exit criteria, and even reporting, ensuring that every deal is managed in the most effective way possible.
Why Bravo's Expertise
At WhyBravo, we specialize in HubSpot optimization for project-centric sales teams. We know that success in these industries relies on tracking every interaction, managing long sales cycles, and ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks.
Our expertise in setting up customized HubSpot pipelines and automations ensures that your sales team operates at peak efficiency.
If you're ready to take your HubSpot game to the next level, contact WhyBravo today to learn how we can help you optimize your sales processes and maximize your CRM investment.
Comments