6 Essential Steps for Setting Up a New HubSpot Account

This guide is here to help new HubSpot users make the most of their accounts. You’ll learn how to customize your account, create reports, and log client communications properly. Following these six steps, you’ll set up your HubSpot account to maximize your business’s potential.

Looking for something specific? Here is a breakdown of the 6 steps to HubSpot success:

1. Understand What You Want to Accomplish

The key to getting the most out of HubSpot is clearly outlining your goals. Ask yourself: What do you want to achieve in the next 3-6 months? Defining your objectives helps you leverage HubSpot’s tools effectively. Here are some questions to guide your planning:

• What insights do you need? For example, do you want to know how many leads were converted last month or how leads from Google Ads perform compared to Facebook Ads?
• What data will you track? Decide if you’ll only store contacts or also log deals, sales, and companies.
• What’s your priority? Focus on three to five goals, such as increasing lead conversions, improving email response times, or streamlining customer data management.

When you know what you’re aiming for, it’s easier to use HubSpot’s features strategically. Asking and answering these questions can also help you understand your restrictions with the free version of HubSpot, providing you with a roadmap of future upgrades. To see which features are included with each paid version of HubSpot, you can check out the HubSpot pricing page.

2. Customize Contacts & Properties

HubSpot’s CRM is only as powerful as the data you put into it. To get accurate reporting and insights, you need to customize the available fields to align with your business needs. You can add custom properties to most objects stored in HubSpot – Contacts, Companies, and even Deals.  

Here’s what you need to know before you get started:

• Understand contacts vs. companies: Contacts are individual people, while companies represent the organizations you work with. Keep these categories distinct for better organization.
• Define lifecycle stages: Customize lifecycle stages to reflect the journey of your customers, from leads to clients. 
• Add relevant properties: Include custom fields like “Preferred Communication Method” or “Lead Source” to capture critical information. As we mentioned before, you can also add properties to Deals, which could allow you to record the reason why the deal was lost. 

Setting up these properties early ensures you’ll have the data needed to answer important questions down the line. It also equips your sales team with the right information to connect with and convert potential leads. 

3. Create Reports

Reports are the backbone of any data-driven strategy. HubSpot’s reporting tools help you measure performance and identify areas for improvement. Here’s what you should know:

• Start simple: Create basic reports to track metrics like new leads, email open rates, or deals closed. HubSpot has a wealth of free reports to get started.
• Drill down: Over time, build more detailed reports to analyze campaign performance or customer retention trends. 
• Automate insights: Set up recurring reports to receive updates on key metrics without manual effort.

By using reports, you’ll gain actionable insights that help guide your marketing and sales strategies.

4. Create Dashboards

Dashboards make it easy to monitor performance at a glance by combining multiple reports in one place. Here’s how to set them up:

• Customize by team: Create dashboards tailored to each team’s needs. For example, your marketing team might track lead generation, while your sales team monitors deal closures.
• Think timeframes: Build dashboards for daily, monthly, and quarterly reviews.
• Keep it visual: Use graphs, charts, and widgets to make data easier to digest.

Dashboards simplify decision-making by putting critical information at your fingertips.

5. Link Emails

One of HubSpot’s best features is its ability to automatically log client communications. By linking your email account to HubSpot, you can:

• Sync with Gmail or Outlook: This integration stores every email sent to or received from your contacts.
• Save time: Eliminate manual data entry while ensuring no communication slips through the cracks.
• Keep records centralized: Access email conversations directly from contact records in HubSpot. This eases transition periods between internal teams or sales agents and prevents loss of data in the event a team member changes positions. 

This integration ensures that your team has complete visibility into client interactions.

6. Install the Mobile App

Business doesn’t stop when you’re away from your desk. Installing HubSpot’s mobile app keeps you connected and organized on the go. Here’s why it’s essential:

• Real-time updates: Access, update, and log information instantly, whether you’re in a meeting or traveling.
• Call logging: Quickly log and track phone calls in HubSpot without needing physical notes.
• Seamless learning: The app mirrors the desktop interface, making it easy to use both interchangeably.

Having the app ensures you’ll always stay on top of your business’s activities.

Get The Help Of A HubSpot Expert

Setting up your HubSpot account correctly from the start lays the foundation for success. By defining your goals, customizing properties, creating reports and dashboards, linking emails, and using the mobile app, you’ll unlock the full potential of HubSpot’s CRM. Take the time to implement these steps, and you’ll be well-equipped to track performance, optimize efforts, and grow your business.

If you need help with any of these steps or want to unlock even more features in HubSpot, TheeDigital is here to help. We’ve helped hundreds of businesses establish and grow their online presence, and we understand the daunting task of trying to learn a new platform. We provide personalized, 1 on 1 HubSpot training as well as team and departmental training sessions to make sure you are utilizing everything the platform has to offer. Fill out the form below to connect with one of our HubSpot experts today!

Tags: Business • Content Marketing • HubSpot