Most Businesses Don't Need HubSpot (At Least Not Yet)
I know.
As someone who has spent more than 15 years helping organizations implement HubSpot, that might sound like a strange thing to say.
But hear me out.
Over the years, I've worked with hundreds of businesses looking to improve their sales and marketing systems. The conversation often starts the same way:
"We need a CRM."
Or more specifically:
"We need HubSpot."
And while I absolutely believe HubSpot can be a powerful tool, I've noticed something interesting.
When I ask a simple question:
"Can you walk me through your sales process?"
the answers are often surprisingly fuzzy.
Everyone thinks they have a sales process, and like the iceberg analogy, most businesses only focus on the visable. 
They think they need a CRM, but that's only the tip of the iceberg.
Below the surface are the things that actually determine whether a CRM succeeds:
- shared process
- clear roles
- handoffs
- customer journey
- lead qualification
- follow-up
- expectations
- accountability
That's what most organizations never stop to design.
Until they try to explain it.
One salesperson follows up one way.
Another does something completely different.
Marketing has one definition of a qualified lead.
Sales has another.
Proposals are created differently depending on who is involved.
Customer handoffs happen inconsistently.
And somewhere along the way, opportunities slip through the cracks.
HubSpot doesn't create your sales process. It reveals whether you have one.
The problem is that there isn't a shared understanding of how a prospect becomes a customer.
A Marker Changed My Thinking
Over the past several years I've become increasingly interested in visual thinking and facilitation.
What started as curiosity eventually led me to graphic facilitation, bikablo®, and most recently Visual Process Mapping training with Frank Wesseler in New York.
One of the things I love about visual process mapping is that it helps teams build the bridge between marketing and customers.
Marketing generates leads.
Customers generate revenue.
The sales process connects the two.
When that bridge isn't clearly designed, even the best CRM struggles.
When teams start drawing their process instead of talking about it, something fascinating happens.
People see the gaps.
They see the bottlenecks.
They see the duplication.
And perhaps most importantly, they begin building a shared understanding of what should happen.
Not what one person thinks happens.
What the team agrees should happen.
The Missing Step Before HubSpot
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that many organizations are trying to implement technology before they've designed the process the technology is supposed to support.
It's like building a bridge before deciding where each end should connect.
That's why I've decided to launch a new offering:
Visual Sales Process Design Workshop
This full-day facilitated workshop helps organizations map their customer journey, clarify their sales process, identify bottlenecks, evaluate technology, and determine whether they're truly ready for HubSpot.
By the end of the day, participants leave with:
- A visual sales process map
- A documented sales playbook
- A CRM readiness assessment
- A HubSpot blueprint
- Guidance on selecting the right HubSpot subscription and tools
In other words:
A sales process worth putting into HubSpot.
Why I'm Excited About This
This workshop feels like the natural intersection of two worlds I've spent years exploring.
On one side:
Sales, marketing, CRM strategy, and digital transformation.
On the other:
Visual thinking, facilitation, and process mapping.
For the first time, I'm bringing those worlds together in a structured offering.
And honestly?
I think it's some of the most important work I've done.
After more than 15 years of implementing HubSpot, I've come to believe something I never expected to say:
The best HubSpot implementation begins long before anyone logs into HubSpot.
It begins with a conversation.
A marker.
A wall.
And a team willing to design the way they want to sell.
Everything else—including the technology—comes later.
Thinking about HubSpot?
Before you buy HubSpot, design your sales process. Learn more about our Sales Process Mapping workshop.
I'd love to help.
