This blog post is part of “The Ultimate Guide to Lead Generation” blog series.
I stumbled on to Hubspot a few years ago while doing research for our agency. I must have gone back to their website 20 times to download their e-books and read their blog before it occurred to me that I didn’t even know what they did.
It’s a perfect inbound marketing case study, really.
I got in touch and learned as much as I could about the platform. It was great. But then there was the price. At the time it was just shy of $10,000 up front for the first year for the cost of the platform and training.
We decided to go with another service at a fraction of the price. The platform had similar functionality, but that’s where the similarity stopped. Our inbound marketing platform provider went broke a few months ago and it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to us. This time, it made sense to go with Hubspot and the experience has been night and day.
After seeing both sides of the coin, I realize that the cost of Hubspot isn’t all about the platform. Sure the platform is pretty, but here are the real game changers in my mind:
1. Sales Process – Hubspot has it figured out. Their sales program is the very best I’ve seen. Ironically, the platform doesn’t even come up during the first 2 or 3 calls and literally zero time is spent selling you their package. Initial calls are 100% focused on your company goals and what it takes to get there. The Hubspot platform simply becomes a very obvious afterthought.
2. Onboarding Process – For companies just getting started in inbound lead generation, this is the time to really invest the energy into your success. Hubspot knows it’s a big adoption process and sets each company up with a training and onboarding rep for the first 30-60 days to help get you going.
3. Certifications – Hubspot provides a series of webinars and classes on inbound theory and the Hubspot tool. The training is no joke, totaling about 20 hours of material and ending with a certification exam. This is a huge value to companies who are new to inbound or who would benefit from a Fortune 500 training program. For us, this was a big selling point. Hubspot also provides additional certifications for designers and agency partners.
4. Advanced Training – After the Hubspot and Inbound Certifications, there are plenty of training resources to dive deeper into specific areas. If you know anything about Hubspot, you know that this is one of their strong suits.
5. Ongoing Account Support – After getting into an initial rhythm, you will begin to work with an account manager. This is generally a once or twice per month check in to make sure things are on track, discuss strategy, and assist in any way necessary.
6. Technical Support – For technical questions, they have a support line. I usually get right through to a person who greets me like someone I’ve been working with for years. “Hey, Andrew! What are you working on today?” What a refreshing way to do tech support. And they have always been able to help me on the spot without putting me on hold or transferring me.
The old company just sold us a platform and took off, which is fine – that’s what we paid for. But the real recipe for success is not just a platform. Bottom line – if you’re committed, it’s well worth the money.
If the training and ramp up seems like a lot to take on, it is. But it’s worth it. Depending on your situation, it might make sense to work with an agency like ours that specializes in helping companies adopt and onboard Hubspot.
Whether you’re thinking about Hubspot, or just starting to look into inbound marketing platforms, give me a call. I’m happy to share my experience and give a quick tour of the Hubspot Platform.
photo credit: jameskm03 via photopin cc
This blog post is part of “The Ultimate Guide to Lead Generation” blog series.
