The Most Dangerous HubSpot Setting? Ignoring It.

Ever wonder if your HubSpot portal is really working for you, or if it’s just become another digital junk drawer?

I recently audited a company using Marketing Hub Pro, Sales Hub Pro, and Service Starter. On the surface, everything looked okay. But once I opened the hood, it became clear: powerful tools were collecting dust, data was holding back performance, and automation opportunities were being missed left and right.

This isn’t unique. It’s incredibly common. So I’m walking you through the exact issues I found and what you should be checking in your own portal if you want better results from your CRM investment.

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1. Lifecycle Stages Weren’t Being Used at All

This is one of the most common (and costly) misses I see: no real definitions for MQLs or SQLs, no lifecycle stage progression, and no automation to move contacts forward.

Without lifecycle stages:

• Your sales and marketing teams can’t agree on lead quality.
• You lose visibility into where leads are stalling out.
• Reporting? Basically useless.

What to do:

• Define what makes a contact an MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) and an SQL (Sales Qualified Lead).
• Build workflows to automatically assign lifecycle stages based on behavior (email opens, page visits, form fills).
• Notify the sales team when a contact hits SQL — or is ready for outreach.

Pro tip: Even if your sales process is “non-traditional,” lifecycle stages are still useful to segment contacts and measure funnel performance.

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2. Nearly 2,000 Duplicate Companies (and Plenty of Contacts)

This one was a showstopper. Duplicates were everywhere. There’s no way a sales team can work effectively with multiple versions of the same account floating around.

Why it matters:

• Sales reps may contact the wrong version of a company or miss context.
• Data reporting becomes wildly inaccurate.
• Your email marketing can get messy fast.

Quick wins:

• Use HubSpot’s “Manage Duplicates” tool regularly — not just once a year.
• Set auto-association rules for new contacts and companies.
• Merge outdated or redundant properties (especially ones with overlapping names like “Lead Source” and “Original Source”).

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3. Workflows Lacked Strategy (and Naming Conventions Were…Creative)

Let’s be real: your automation should make life easier, not harder. In this audit, workflows had no clear naming logic, and some didn’t even do what the team thought they did. Others were one-and-done efforts that hadn’t been touched in months.

What to look for in your own portal:

• Are workflows named clearly? (Example: PROPERTY | Changing Contact Owner on Company)
• Are there redundant or single-purpose workflows that could be combined?
• Do your workflows include comments or notes for the team?

My advice:

• Audit every active workflow and label them by purpose, team, and date.
• Add internal notes so your team knows what’s supposed to happen and why.
• Test workflows regularly — especially those tied to lead scoring, lifecycle stage changes, or sales handoffs.

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4. Reporting Was a Hot Mess

There were dashboards everywhere. Some duplicated the same metrics. Others were completely irrelevant. And most weren’t tied to goals.

Here’s why this matters:

• Leadership can’t make informed decisions without clear, focused data.
• Sales and marketing can’t improve what they can’t measure.
• Irrelevant or outdated dashboards waste time and create confusion.

Fix it with:

• A central “Source of Truth” dashboard for each team (Sales, Marketing, Service).
• Regular pruning of old or unused dashboards and reports.
• KPIs that tie back to your actual business goals — not vanity metrics.

Bonus tip: Review your pipeline-specific reports. If your deal stages don’t align with reporting logic (like conversion rates or aging deals), update them for better insight.

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5. No Lead Scoring = No Prioritization

Lead scoring was completely absent in this portal — and that’s a huge missed opportunity.

Without scoring:

• Sales teams waste time on low-quality leads.
• Marketing has no feedback loop on which actions drive sales-readiness.
• You can’t build automation based on intent signals.

To start scoring leads:

• Assign points for high-value behaviors like:
  • Visiting key product or pricing pages
  • Opening 3+ emails in a nurture sequence
  • Filling out demo or contact forms
• Deduct points for low-intent signals (unsubscribes, low engagement).
• Set thresholds to trigger lifecycle stage updates or sales rep notifications.

You don’t have to build a complex model. Even a simple scoring setup will instantly make your team smarter.

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6. Sales Tools Were Underused or Forgotten

Templates, sequences, playbooks — all included in their plan, but gathering dust. Sales reps were doing everything manually.

What this means:

• Inconsistent messaging
• Wasted time on repetitive tasks
• No tracking on outreach effectiveness

Steps to fix it:

• Create email templates and sequences for common scenarios (follow-ups, demos, onboarding).
• Host a training session with your team on using these tools efficiently.
• Track adoption and make it part of onboarding for new reps.

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7. 900+ Open Tickets in Service Hub (Yikes)

Service Hub had 966 open tickets. Without teams assigned, no SLAs, and no use of CSAT/NPS, the whole system was a black hole.

What to implement:

• Assign a dedicated Service team and set up a ticket pipeline with clear stages.
• Define SLAs for response/resolution time.
• Use feedback surveys to monitor satisfaction.

Even if you’re not a support-heavy business, closing tickets matters — especially if you use them for onboarding, internal tasks, or product feedback.

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So…Why Run an Audit Like This?

Because HubSpot is only as powerful as your setup. And chances are, if your team’s frustrated or your data feels off — it’s not the platform, it’s the clutter.

By cleaning up workflows, defining stages, organizing dashboards, and using the tools you’re already paying for, you’ll:

• Improve alignment between sales and marketing
• Save your team hours of wasted time
• Get real visibility into what’s working

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Need a Second Set of Eyes?

If you’re not sure where to start, I can help. I do hands-on audits like this all the time — and most companies don’t need more tools, they need better use of what they already have.

Let’s fix that. Contact me for your HubSpot Audit