The SMART Spark
HubSpot Will Never Work Right Out of the Box. Here’s Why That’s Actually Fine
It looks ready. It isn't. HubSpot will never work right out of the box — and that's not a flaw. It's a platform, not a pre-packaged solution. Every business sells differently, markets differently, and defines success differently. HubSpot has to be configured around...
Podcasting Was a Buzzword. Now It’s a Pipeline Strategy
People will voluntarily listen to your message. What "podcasting" really means in 2026 In 2006, I wrote a post called Podcasting, the New Buzzword. I was genuinely excited about it. The idea that a small business in Wichita, Kansas could distribute audio content to an...
How to Understand HubSpot Reports
The numbers aren't wrong. They're just answering a different questions.Your numbers are fine. You're just asking different questions. Last week a client called me, clearly frustrated. Their HubSpot reports weren't matching their ad platform reports. Were the numbers...
Make the Important Fields Required
Nobody fills in fields they don't have to. That's not a criticism — it's just human nature. When a sales rep is moving fast, they're logging the call and moving on. When...
What HubSpot Just Did to Meetings (And Why It Matters)
HubSpot is moving fast. Like, really fast. Spot Check is a new weekly series that pulls out the updates worth paying attention to — so you don't have to read every release...
How to Turn Your Thank You Page Into a Conversion Machine
Most marketers treat it like a receipt. It's actually a runway. You spent time on the ad. You obsessed over the headline. You tested the button color on the landing page....
Good, Cheap, Fast — Pick Two.
The mistake most people make is optimizing for only one corner of the triangle.Or: Why I Finally Took My Car to the Local Guy There's an old triangle in every service industry. Good. Cheap. Fast. Pick two. It's been around forever because it's true. And most people...
Your CRM Has Duplicates. Here’s What That’s Actually Breaking.
The longer it goes, the more expensive it gets.Your CRM has two of the same person in it right now. Probably more than two. Every time I run an audit for a new client I find hundreds — sometimes thousands — of duplicate records. The same person, entered twice....
The Psychology of Motivation — Then and Now
It's about having a CRM that reflects reality.Editor's note: The original version of this article was published in Website Magazine in 2013 under my byline — which their current site has since misattributed. The research and the ideas are mine, noted at the end of the...
