HubSpot Lead Object: The Complete Implementation Playbook

1. Introduction to the Project

Description: The HubSpot Lead object is designed to track pre-sales processes. It offers flexibility by avoiding the need to create Deal records for potential opportunities, which can distort reporting metrics like MQL-to-SQL conversions. Additionally, it gives visibility into re-attempt efforts.

It includes out of the box automation to keep track of key moments, such as the time from lead creation to the first outreach by a rep, and the time it takes for a prospect to respond. A "Meeting Booked" stage can be added to track the time and number of sales touches needed to secure a meeting. Leads are then either qualified, which would trigger deal creation (manual or automated), or disqualified. If disqualified, reps should complete a dropdown property with the reason why the lead was disqualified and have a clear path to reconnect (typically creating a task or setting up an automation to enroll the associated contact in a sequence).

• Problems that this solves:
  
  • Lack of visibility into how leads convert at the top of the funnel, especially when dealing with multiple inbound & outbound actions.
  • Over-complicated systems where every lead action triggers unnecessary processes, muddying data and workflows.
  • Inability to track the history of outreach attempts over time, leaving gaps when analyzing prospect engagement.
    ‍
• Definition of success: Achieving a scalable system that tracks detailed milestones like speed to lead and meeting bookings, providing clear visibility into rep activities, and helping marketing teams assess the effectiveness of different lead sources.

2. When to Implement?

• Client needs that may trigger the project (pain points):
  
  • Lack of visibility into early-stage conversions, making it hard to see which efforts are working.
  • Disorganized processes lacking structure, especially with metrics like response times or touch counts.
  • Uncertainty about which lead sources are performing best, leading to inefficient resource use.
• Prerequisites before implement this project:
  
  1. A clear understanding of the current sales and inbound processes to ensure proper setup and adoption.
  2. Knowledge of team roles and where lead handoff occurs, such as from initial outreach to meeting handlers.
  3. Awareness of how pre-pipeline efforts are currently tracked in order to use the lead object to enhance them.

3. How are KPIs impacted

• Speed to Lead
  
  • Provides visibility into how quickly reps respond to leads when configured correctly, allowing managers to identify slow periods or trends by time or day and how to improve them.
• Sales Touches to Connect, Meeting Booked, and/or Qualification
  
  • Offers insights into the number of attempts required to book a meeting or qualify a lead, helping refine outreach strategies and coaching approaches.
• Conversion Rates
  
  • Improves accuracy when tracking conversions from pre-pipeline to pipeline stages, avoiding confusion caused by premature deal creation.
• Campaign ROI
  
  • Enhances visibility when determining which lead sources lead to successful outcomes. Keeping a better track of marketing ROI.

4. Client Roles Involved

• Marketing Team
  
  • They provide information on lead sources and triggers to set up automations, benefiting from data on which sources drive results.
• Sales/Sales Enablement
  
  • They share how their current pre-pipeline process works. The Lead object should enhance their existing system, providing better visibility into performance gaps and enabling better team support.

5. Tools

• HubSpot Lead Object (Sales Hub)
  
  • Core feature. Sales seats may be needed for full access to its capabilities. All Lead object related functionalities are available with Sales Hub (Pro or Enterprise).
• Outreach or SalesLoft
  
  • Used for outreach if not relying on HubSpot’s native tools, requiring integration for activity tracking.
• Gmail Extension or Microsoft 365 Integration
  
  • Ensures accurate tracking of rep activities through email and calendar connections.

6. Questions before Implementation

To ensure a successful implementation, it is crucial to ask the right questions. The most important ones are those we need to know before starting, which we call "need to know" questions. There are also "nice to know" questions that are helpful, but not essential.

• Need to Know Questions:
  
  • What is the current composition of the team? Amount of BDRs/SDRs/AEs
  • What are your lead source channels? Social media ads, LinkedIn, offline sources
  • How are you tracking your sources? UTM links, self identification from forms.
  • What do you consider a "hand-raiser" action? Demo requests, inbound call tracking
  • What is your understanding of an MQL? Filling a form, clicking on articles from their website, sending an email/sms
  • Where do handoffs happen in your existing process? BDRs handle leads until a meeting is booked. 
  • Who owns the outreach vs. the meetings vs. the deal creation? Is it the same person, or are there different roles like BDRs and AEs? Marketing handles anything until there is a clear signal, then the BDRs start reaching out to them, once a meeting is booked, the AEs take over.
• "Nice to Know" Questions:
  
  • Do they use lead scoring? 
  • What kind of reporting do they need, specifically with regard to conversion stats and attribution? 

7. Details and Context

The main point of the lead object is to reduce noise in the pipeline by separating pre-sales activity from actual opportunities. This also avoids creating "zero-stage" deals or those that are immediately marked as "lost," which helps keep win/loss rates accurate.

A lead can be created automatically from various sources, such as a demo request, form submission, email, or chatbot interaction. This helps create reports and understand which channels are generating more leads or leads that are more likely to interact.

After configuring the automations, it is important to have a call or to send a Loom video with the team to show them the lead journey, from when it arrives until it is qualified or disqualified, and what happens next.

8. Step by Step

1. Understand the current process: Map out how the client tracks leads, who is involved, and where do handoffs occur. Define key terms like MQL, SQL, and "hand-raiser" with the client.
2. Configure the lead object: Set up the lead stages (e.g., new, attempting, connected, meeting booked, disqualified, qualified), add any needed custom properties (custom source properties, snapshots of last engagement contact properties, etc).
3. Integrate external tools: Ensure that tools like Outreach are integrated correctly and that activities are logged to the lead record.
4. Set up email and calendar tracking: Configure Gmail or Microsoft 365 integrations for accurate tracking of rep activities and test that automations are triggered correctly.
5. Automate lead creation: Automate the creation of leads for "hand-raiser" actions like form submissions or demo requests. The goal is for reps to interact with the lead, not create it manually.
6. Set up qualification/disqualification options: Customize the Disqualification Reason property values and automate follow-up tasks based on these selections, such as creating a task for a manual follow up or schedule a sequence enrollment to be sent after a set period of time.
7. Build dashboards and KPIs: Pre-build reports and dashboards to track key metrics like speed to lead, touches to connect, meeting bookings, and conversion rates to provide insight into performance.
8. Client review and training: Walk the client through the process, workflows, and dashboards to confirm everything is working as intended and that definitions are aligned. It's important to have a meeting or a Loom video sent to the team to show them the entirety of the lead journey (creation of the record up to qualification or disqualification).

9. Possible Problems

• Data Quality: Reps may not properly qualify or disqualify leads, or they might not fill out the necessary fields.
  Solution: Make fields mandatory only when necessary and ensure they are few and distinct. Alternatively, set a timeframe to auto-disqualify Leads that have no engagement.
• Automation Failures: Workflows may fail, causing leads to get stuck between stages.
  Solution: Monitor the lead logs regularly and test automations with test leads.
• Duplicate Leads: A single person's multiple interactions can create multiple records.
  Solution: Set a filter so a new lead is not created if an open lead already exists for that company/contact; instead, a task can be created on the existing lead/contact.
• Report Filtering: Incorrectly set up filters on dashboards can hide important data.
  Solution: Standardize filters across all reports.
• Integration Breakdowns: External tools may not log activity correctly.
  Solution: Monitor integrations and ask reps to flag any logging issues immediately.
• Rep Adoption Resistance: The sales team may be reluctant to use the new system.
  Solution: Explain that using the CRM correctly helps with their accountability and simplifies their admin work.
• Over-Automation Risks: Automating too much can lead to an excess of leads or notifications.
  Solution: Set clear stopping points in automations, such as creating a notification for the lead owner instead of a new lead.
• Handoff Confusion: It can be unclear who owns a lead at which point in its journey.
  Solution: Align ownership logic to ensure clear handoffs between teams.

This project requires regular follow-up to ensure success.

• Recurring/Follow-up Tasks: It is recommended to review the system weekly for the first two weeks, then check it monthly or quarterly. This involves checking that everything is being logged, reports are showing the correct data, and workflows are being triggered.
• What other projects does the lead object unlock: Once the lead object is implemented and data is collected, you can use that information to fine-tune other processes, such as lead scoring. While you can set up a basic lead scoring system beforehand, the data collected from the lead object will allow you to make it more precise.

‍