Buying HubSpot to grow your business is like buying a car to travel to London

Imagine buying a beautiful car with the idea of driving it from your home to London. You’ve invested in the vehicle, but have you thought about what else you need to actually make that journey? A driving licence, fuel, tax, a roadmap, and perhaps some know-how on driving in city traffic. Without these, you’re not going to make it far down the road.

The same goes for implementing HubSpot as your CRM. Simply buying the software is only the beginning, and arguably the easy part. Yes, the sales team has likely walked you through the features, offered you a great deal, and assured you that HubSpot will drive growth and efficiency for your business. But once you have it, what’s next?

At Real Inbound, we see businesses that have bought HubSpot full of optimism, only to realise they need more than just the tool to reach their goals. In this article, we’ll look at what it really takes to succeed with HubSpot—beyond the initial purchase. We’ll break down the elements that are often overlooked, the steps to prepare for real change, and why a CRM like HubSpot requires both emotional and practical commitment to be successful.

Buying HubSpot: The Start of the Journey, Not the Destination

Purchasing HubSpot is like buying the car; it’s exciting, full of possibilities, and holds the promise of taking you to new places. But without proper preparation, training, and an actionable roadmap, you might find yourself stranded on the side of the road with a powerful tool you’re unable to use.

For HubSpot to drive real business growth, it’s essential to:

1. Create a Culture for Change: CRM adoption requires a shift in how your team works and thinks.
2. Build a Clear Plan: Know where you want to go and how HubSpot will help you get there.
3. Set Guardrails: Create systems that support your plan and keep everyone on track.
4. Enable Your Team with Training and Technology: Make sure your team has the knowledge and tools they need to succeed.

These elements involve both the emotional and practical components of change, each crucial to getting the most out of HubSpot.

Why CRM Adoption Requires a Culture for Change

When you first introduce HubSpot to your team, it’s likely they’ll feel some excitement and perhaps a bit of apprehension. This is natural—change always brings some level of disruption. A CRM, after all, isn’t just another software; it’s a whole new way of working.

The Importance of Change-Ready Culture

A culture that embraces change is crucial for a smooth transition. HubSpot’s capabilities are impressive, but they require commitment from everyone in your business, from leadership to entry-level employees. People need to be open to adapting their workflows, learning new tools, and communicating in new ways.

Key Steps for Building a Change-Ready Culture:

• Open Communication: Keep an open line of communication with your team. Explain why you’re implementing HubSpot, how it will benefit them, and what changes to expect.
• Encourage Questions: Change can be intimidating, and encouraging questions helps alleviate concerns and build confidence.
• Showcase Success Stories: Share examples of other businesses (or even other teams) that have successfully adopted HubSpot, highlighting the benefits they’ve gained.

Creating a culture that’s ready for change is half the battle in CRM adoption. Without it, you’ll find resistance at every turn, from people clinging to old habits to confusion about how HubSpot fits into their daily routines.

Building a Clear Plan: Knowing Where You Want to Go

Just as you wouldn’t set off on a long road trip without a map, adopting HubSpot without a clear plan will leave you lost and frustrated. Having a defined roadmap for CRM implementation ensures that everyone understands where the business is heading and how HubSpot will help get you there.

Why Planning Matters

Without a plan, HubSpot can quickly become a chaotic space with disorganised data, incomplete workflows, and inconsistent user adoption. By having a plan, you can set expectations, measure progress, and make adjustments as needed.

Components of a Successful HubSpot Plan:

1. Define Your Goals: Are you aiming to increase lead generation, improve customer satisfaction, or streamline sales processes? Clear goals guide the CRM’s role in your business.
2. Map Out Processes: Determine how existing workflows will translate into HubSpot. For example, outline how leads move through the pipeline and how marketing hands off leads to sales.
3. Assign Roles: Identify who will be responsible for each part of HubSpot, from creating campaigns to managing data.
4. Set Measurable Milestones: Break down your goals into smaller, measurable steps. This could be as simple as increasing contact engagement by 10% over the next quarter or generating a certain number of new leads.

Creating Guardrails to Stay on Track

Guardrails help keep your CRM strategy on course and prevent your team from slipping back into old habits. Think of guardrails as the structures and processes that support your plan and keep everyone aligned.

What Effective Guardrails Look Like

Guardrails ensure that HubSpot is used consistently across the organisation and that data stays clean and actionable. They also help avoid common CRM pitfalls, such as neglected data, inconsistent workflows, and lack of user engagement.

How to Set Effective Guardrails:

• Data Governance: Set rules for data entry, maintenance, and usage. Ensure that everyone understands how to enter and update information to maintain data integrity.
• Workflow Standards: Establish clear workflows in HubSpot that are followed by everyone. This ensures a consistent process, from lead generation to deal closing.
• Regular Check-Ins: Schedule regular reviews of HubSpot usage and performance metrics. These check-ins provide opportunities to address issues, optimise processes, and reinforce best practices.

Setting guardrails may feel like an extra step, but it’s one of the most effective ways to ensure that HubSpot remains a valuable tool rather than becoming a neglected database.

Training and Technology: Equipping Your Team for Success

Even with a plan and guardrails in place, your CRM implementation will struggle if your team doesn’t have the skills and confidence to use HubSpot effectively. Training is an essential part of the adoption process, enabling your team to make the most of HubSpot’s powerful tools and features.

Why Training Is Key to CRM Success

HubSpot’s extensive toolset can be overwhelming without guidance. A lack of training often leads to incomplete adoption, where only a small fraction of the CRM’s features is used. Full training helps your team understand not just how to use HubSpot, but also why each tool matters to their specific role.

Components of Effective Training:

1. Role-Specific Training: Tailor training to the needs of different departments, from marketing automation for the marketing team to pipeline management for sales.
2. Onboarding for New Features: HubSpot constantly updates its tools. Keep your team up to date with training sessions on new features, integrations, or workflows.
3. Refresher Courses: Even experienced users benefit from occasional refreshers. Schedule periodic sessions to reinforce best practices and re-engage the team.

Training ensures that your investment in HubSpot continues to pay off by building your team’s skills and confidence. It also helps bridge the HubSpot Adoption Gap, where businesses struggle to use HubSpot to its full potential because of incomplete or inconsistent user adoption.

The Emotional and Practical Elements of CRM Success

Implementing a CRM isn’t just a practical endeavour; it’s also an emotional one. Your team may feel overwhelmed by the change, worried about new processes, or resistant to adopting a new system. Addressing both the emotional and practical aspects of CRM adoption is essential for success.

Balancing Emotional and Practical Needs

Emotionally, your team needs to feel valued, included, and informed. Practically, they need the tools, training, and guidance to adopt HubSpot seamlessly. Striking this balance means you’re not just rolling out a new tool—you’re also fostering an environment that encourages growth, collaboration, and success.

Tips for Balancing Both Needs:

• Foster Team Buy-In: Include team members in the planning stages to build a sense of ownership and reduce resistance.
• Celebrate Small Wins: Recognise and celebrate milestones, like an increase in qualified leads or improved sales efficiency.
• Supportive Leadership: Leadership plays a big role in CRM success. When leaders model and champion HubSpot adoption, the rest of the team is more likely to follow.

Managing the emotional side of change and addressing practical needs ensures that HubSpot feels less like an imposition and more like an opportunity for growth and improvement.

The Costs of Not Fully Adopting HubSpot

When businesses fail to address these core elements, they often experience what we call the HubSpot Adoption Gap. This gap is the difference between simply having HubSpot and fully using it to drive business growth. The cost of falling into this gap is high, including wasted resources, low team morale, and missed growth opportunities.

Closing the HubSpot Adoption Gap

To close this gap, commit to a structured improvement plan that includes ongoing assessments, optimisation, and training. By addressing both the practical and emotional elements of CRM adoption, you’ll transform HubSpot from a tool that “doesn’t work” into a key driver of your business’s success.

Conclusion: Buying HubSpot Is Just the Beginning

HubSpot has incredible potential, but only if it’s used to its full capacity. Buying HubSpot is the first step in the journey, but achieving growth and success requires a clear plan, committed leadership, and a culture that’s open to change. At Real Inbound, we believe that with the right preparation and commitment, businesses can make HubSpot a powerful catalyst for growth and efficiency.

Ready to make HubSpot work for you? It starts with building a roadmap, setting the right guardrails, equipping your team, and nurturing a culture of change.

Ready to Close the HubSpot Adoption Gap?

If you’re looking to drive real results from HubSpot, our HubSpot Adoption Gap Framework can guide you every step of the way. Sign up for our email series to get practical strategies and insights for maximising your CRM investment.

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