Introduction

In today’s competitive business landscape, seamless integration between different platforms is not just a luxury—it’s a necessity. As experts in Growth Automation Services, we frequently help our clients in bridging the gap between Salesforce and HubSpot. One of the critical aspects of this integration is synchronizing the lifecycles of contacts, accounts, and deals between these two platforms. Let’s delve into why this is so important and how to go about it effectively.

The Salesforce-HubSpot Dilemma

Salesforce and HubSpot have different approaches to handling leads and opportunities. While Salesforce converts leads into accounts, contacts, and opportunities, HubSpot largely manages these entities under the ‘Contact’ category with various lifecycle stages.

Why Lifecycle Synchronization Matters

1. Consistency Across Teams: Using the same naming conventions and lifecycle stages ensures that both sales and marketing teams are on the same page, no matter which platform they use.
2. Streamlined Reporting: Unified lifecycle stages make it easier to generate cross-platform reports, leading to more informed business decisions.
3. Automated Workflows: Matching lifecycle stages between platforms facilitates automated workflows, helping you to automate tasks like lead nurturing or follow-ups.
4. Data Integrity: Keeping the data synchronized ensures that it remains clean, accurate, and up-to-date across platforms.

A Convenient Guide to Planning Your Initial Project

Step 1: Pair Up Lead Status and Contact Lifecycle

• Salesforce: Lead Status (e.g., New, Working, Unqualified)
• HubSpot: Contact Lifecycle (e.g., Subscriber, Lead, MQL)

Start by making sure the naming conventions are the same or at least translatable between Salesforce and HubSpot.

Step 2: The Conversion Stage

• Salesforce: Once a lead is qualified as an MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) or SQL (Sales Qualified Lead), it usually converts into a contact, opportunity, and account.
• HubSpot: The lead remains a ‘Contact,’ and if you are using domains as account identifiers, the account might already be registered.

For this stage, using ‘Opportunity’ as the lifecycle stage and aligning it in the sync settings is recommended.

Step 3: Opportunity Stages

• Salesforce: Defines multiple opportunity stages (e.g., Prospect, Proposal, Closed-Won)
• HubSpot: Similarly defines deal stages under Deals

These can be matched up provided your data is clean and consistent.

Step 4: Customer Conversion

This is generally straightforward. Once a deal is closed-won in Salesforce, it should sync as a ‘Customer’ in HubSpot.

Step 5: The End of the Line – Unqualified and DNC

Typically, ‘Unqualified’ and ‘Do Not Contact’ (DNC) are at the end of the lifecycle due to the linear path hard-baked into both CRMs.

Conclusion

Synchronizing the lifecycle stages between Salesforce and HubSpot may seem like a meticulous task, but it is crucial for efficient cross-platform operations. Following a linear path that doesn’t like to move backward is often the best strategy when dealing with these two platforms

Getting it right from the start sets a solid foundation for all your future sales and marketing activities. For any questions or professional help in integrating Salesforce and HubSpot, contact us at Growth Automation Services.

Mastering the synchronization of contact, account, and deal lifecycles between Salesforce and HubSpot can be a game-changer for your business. Whether you are a small business looking to grow or an established enterprise aiming for greater efficiency, this alignment can significantly impact your bottom line.