The best HubSpot Admins contribute not just to the platform, but to company-wide alignment.
As companies get started with HubSpot, they quickly become aware that they need someone to own the platform, the data, and how the company gets value from it. That role is called a HubSpot Administrator (Admin).
What is a HubSpot Admin?
A HubSpot Admin manages the day-to-day use of your HubSpot account. They need a solid understanding of how to use the platform as well as information about your business and its unique HubSpot requirements.
At Three Ventures, we recommend hiring, assigning, or contracting a HubSpot Admin as soon as you decide to implement HubSpot. Doing this speeds up the time it takes to get value from the tool and ensures that you’re setting it up correctly.
What makes a good HubSpot Admin?
In my experience, there are a few factors that separate the good HubSpot Admins from the bad. I tend to ask four big questions in determining whether they will be successful:
- Are they a doer? Some companies choose to assign ownership of HubSpot to someone in a leadership position. In my experience, this only works if the person has the capacity and inclination to dive into the weeds. Being a HubSpot Admin can require tedious, detail-oriented work. Whoever you bring into this role needs to be prepared to take that on.
- Are they a creative problem solver? There’s often more than one way to solve a problem in HubSpot, each with its own benefits and tradeoffs. Flexibility and creativity in problem solving are essential skills for a HubSpot Admin.
- Can they change peoples’ minds? While much of a HubSpot Admin’s day-to-day is spent in HubSpot, they will likely be called upon to change processes that affect other members of the team. Changing others’ behavior requires excellent communication skills and emotional intelligence.
- Can they coordinate across teams? HubSpot connects Marketing, Sales, Business Development, and Customer Success. Changing processes in one area of HubSpot often creates changes for other areas of the business. When dealing with Marketing and Sales alignment, the handoff between Sales and Customer Success, or the integration of a distribution channel, it’s critical that your HubSpot Admin understands the needs of different teams and coordinates their efforts well.
A HubSpot Admin’s Day-to-Day
HubSpot Admins can be responsible for a wide range of tasks. You can think of these responsibilities in two categories.
Platform Implementation
As you would expect, HubSpot Admins spend a lot of time in the platform building, organizing, and optimizing the tool itself. The actual list of tasks depends highly on the Hubs that a company utilizes, the features they have implemented and the point of scale that the company is in.
Here is an example of some tasks that a HubSpot Admin might take on if working in Marketing Hub and Sales Hub:
- Campaign setup
- CRM setup and optimization
- Customizing views, creating custom objects, setting up groups
- Data migrations and integrations of data from other platforms (i.e. Salesforce, Pandadocs, Zapier, etc.)
- Permissions and user roles
- Property management
- Automation via workflows and sequences
- Organization, naming conventions, and scalability
Getting Value Out of the Platform
Once a company is onboarded, it’s a HubSpot Admin’s role to ensure that everyone is getting value from their account. HubSpot Admins conduct training sessions with users from different teams and act as a point of contact for problems that come up with using the tool.
It’s often necessary to optimize day-to-day processes to make the platform easier to use and more useful. A common example of this would be replacing manual steps of the sales process with automated workflows or sequences in HubSpot.
As we mentioned above, change management is central to a HubSpot Admin’s role. When processes are updated, it’s important that all relevant stakeholders are made aware and retrained on what to do.
One other aspect of HubSpot’s value is the information that company leaders get from HubSpot’s reports. HubSpot Admin’s make sure that the data feeding these reports is high quality, that the reports are correct and that the leaders know where to access the information. As processes or goals change, it’s often the case that these reports change as well.
The Benefits of Working with a HubSpot Solutions Partner
While some companies choose to hire a HubSpot Admin in-house, there are important benefits to using a contracted resource, such as a HubSpot Solutions Partner.
HubSpot Solutions Partners are teams of experts in HubSpot’s platform and methodologies. They choose to partner directly with HubSpot to offer those skills to their customers. By hiring a HubSpot Solutions Partner to act as your HubSpot Admin, you’re ensuring that your company benefits from extensive expertise. Contracting this resource allows you to draw on the experience of the entire team rather than relying on a single person.
Platform Expertise
When it comes to setting up your marketing automation, CRM, CMS, or customer data, it’s important to work with experts with a deep understanding of the tools. HubSpot Solutions Partners often have multiple HubSpot Admins on staff with years of experience using the tools, as well as certifications or accreditations from HubSpot. They are up to date with the latest platform releases and understand the intricacies of each HubSpot feature.
Best Practices Experience
There are many ways to solve similar problems in HubSpot, but some are better for your business than others. Working with a HubSpot Solutions Partner ensures that your company benefits from best practices in how you’re setting up the tool. It prevents issues down the road and gives you confidence that your marketing and sales processes are on the right track.
Not sure the best way to configure your deal stages? Looking for advice about how to segment lists for your marketing automation? This is where experience and understanding of best practices can help.
Three Ventures Can Help
If you’re looking for a HubSpot Admin to implement or level up your account, reach out to us. Three Ventures is a HubSpot Solutions Partner with the expertise and experience to help you reach your platform goals. We’d be happy to introduce you to our HubSpot Admins and see if their expertise and experience meet your company’s needs.
