The hidden work behind a “simple” HubSpot–Salesforce integration
Myth: connection complete at go-live. Truth: that’s just beginning.
Most leaders walk into a HubSpot–Salesforce integration thinking it’s straightforward. Install the package, map some fields, and you’re off to the races.
I started RevBlack because too many teams walk into a HubSpot–Salesforce integration thinking it’s plug-and-play. It isn’t. Flip the switch without the groundwork, and it gets messy fast.
The connector is just the start. What matters, and what usually decides whether it works or not, is the work done before and after.
This article lays out the real scope of a typical project. Not to scare you off, but to surface the blind spots we see most often, so you can plan for them instead of tripping over them later.
The preparation work nobody tells you about
Every integration starts with data. And most companies underestimate how messy theirs is.
If you’ve been running Salesforce for a while, odds are it’s full of duplicates, outdated contacts, and fields nobody agrees on.
Sync HubSpot into that, and you just double the mess.
You have to ‘clean your house’ first. This can involve data cleaning tasks like deduplication, clearing out outdated contacts and ensuring field consistency.
Then there’s process alignment.
HubSpot and Salesforce fields can feel like apples and oranges. Each system has its own way of labeling where a customer is in the process, and those labels don’t line up by default.
Sales, marketing and ops should sit down at the same table and align on definitions, processes and sync best practices.
Prep is slow and unglamorous. It drags people from every department into the room. But skip it, and the rest of the project will wobble.
The problem is that most teams don’t know what “good prep” actually looks like; what to clean, what to align, or what risks are involved.
For that reason, it’s wise to bring in HubSpot–Salesforce experts to make sure you are as far removed from risk as possible.
The HubSpot-Salesforce integration itself
When people hear “integration,” they think of mapping fields. That’s part of it, but the real complexity comes from how your systems behave once they’re connected.
For example, when a lead fills out a HubSpot form, does that record go straight into Salesforce as a Lead, or does it sit in HubSpot until it reaches a certain score?
If it goes into Salesforce too early, your reps get spammed with junk.
If it stays in HubSpot too long, Sales might start complaining they’re blind to what Marketing is doing.
Automation creates another layer of tension.
HubSpot workflows and Salesforce assignment rules can actually overwrite each other and they often do.
A required field in Salesforce might block a record HubSpot is trying to create. Without testing those flows in a sandbox, you’ll rack up sync errors and spend weeks trying to decode why records aren’t moving.
Reporting is the other big one.
Salesforce Campaigns and HubSpot Campaigns are not the same thing. If you want Campaign Influence reporting to make sense, you need to build a shared framework.
The same goes for Revenue Attribution: if HubSpot calls it a Deal and Salesforce calls it an Opportunity, you’d better agree on when that record is born, when it progresses, and what Data flows with it.
Maintenance: the part that never ends
Getting the integration live is only half the job. Keeping it healthy is where most teams struggle.
As the business grows, small changes creep in; a new validation rule in Salesforce, a custom property in HubSpot to track a campaign, or a product launch that adds complexity to the pipeline.
On their own, these updates don’t feel disruptive. But together, they can quietly break a sync that seemed solid just a week earlier.
You need ongoing governance, too.
Someone has to own the integration, keep an eye on sync errors, approve new fields, and update documentation as things shift.
Add data enrichment into the mix, tools like ZoomInfo or Apollo pumping in fresh records, and the stakes get even higher.
Without clear rules for how enrichment will work, duplicates can multiply uncomfortably fast.
The companies that handle this well treat integration as an ongoing discipline, not a one-off project.
They build a steady rhythm: monthly audits to catch errors early, quarterly reviews to realign processes, yearly re-scoping as the business evolves.
They invest in dashboards that flag data quality issues before they spread, and in training so teams understand how the system is meant to work.
Who should own this work?
By now you might be asking: do I lean on my existing team to oversee this project, or bring in a specialized agency?
The answer depends on three things: the scope of the project, the skills you already have in-house, and the broader goals of your business.
Start with scope.
- A small, contained project can often be handled by an internal project owner who’s given the time and support to run it properly.
- A larger, more complex integration might warrant a temporary engagement with expert consultants to get you over the line.
- And if the project is part of a bigger effort to align sales, marketing, and customer success, then it often makes sense to bring in a RevOps partner who can own the long-term picture, not just the launch.
Next, look at in-house skill.
Do you already have someone who understands both HubSpot and Salesforce at a process and system level? Or will they be learning as they go, with all the delays and risk that come with that?
Matching the complexity of the project with the depth of your team’s expertise will make the difference between a clean rollout and months of rework.
Finally, consider your business goals.
If this integration is just about unifying data, you might accept a slower, internal path.
But if the goal is to scale faster, improve reporting trust, or fix sales and marketing alignment once and for all, then it’s worth asking whether outside help can accelerate those outcomes.
We’ve written a detailed guide on how to choose the right team for your RevOps function. It's designed to help you make the call with clear eyes and avoid the missteps we see most often.
Book your tech stack audit - it’s free!
Most firms fix problems inside one system. We fix them across your entire stack. RevOps, for us, means looking at sales, marketing, and success together. And it starts where HubSpot and Salesforce meet.
The smartest first step is just figuring out where you stand today. We’ll run a tech stack audit for you, free.
If you’re ready to dig right into your HubSpot–Salesforce integration, book a call with me and I’ll lay out the path forward.
