HubSpot is a powerhouse for managing sales, marketing, and service, but if it’s misaligned with your current business processes, it can feel more like a headache than a help. As your IT company grows, old workflows, messy lists, and inconsistent reporting can make even experienced teams feel like they’re swimming upstream.
The truth is, HubSpot isn’t broken, but it has evolved and so has your business. When your setup doesn't evolve too, small inefficiencies snowball into bigger problems: missed opportunities, wasted time, and a stressed-out team. Fortunately, there are practical fixes that can restore order, save time, and protect your pipeline.
Here are five fixes every IT company leader should implement.
Like so many business and technology tools, your HubSpot workflows, automations, and reports are only as good as the data behind them. Over time, contact lists expand, duplicates accumulate, and inactive leads pile up. Left unchecked, this creates:
Audit your database. Remove duplicates, clean out bounced or inactive contacts, and standardize properties. Not only does this reduce chaos, but it also ensures your marketing tier isn’t paying for contacts that don’t drive revenue. A clean database is the foundation for workflows that actually work and reliable reporting that informs strategy. Not to mention, efficient sales teams and productive pipelines.
Want extra credit? Before you finish this initial audit, calendar reminders for quarterly audits and, if you have a large database, an annual deep clean.
Automations are one of HubSpot’s greatest strengths, but only if they’re structured correctly. Outdated or overlapping workflows can create confusion, such as:
Map out your workflows to align with your current sales, marketing, and service processes. Consolidate overlapping automations, remove redundant steps, and ensure triggers are purposeful. Streamlined workflows save your team time, reduce errors, and prevent leads from falling through the cracks.
Another key to successful automation? Take care not to over-automate. Instead, keep a personal (and human) touch to your communications by using it to handle repetitive tasks while creating touchpoints for real human conversation.
HubSpot’s dashboards are powerful, but too often, teams track metrics that don’t reflect meaningful outcomes. For MSPs, SaaS, tech companies, and VARs, common missteps include:
Build dashboards that reflect the metrics that truly matter for your business: deal stage velocity, conversion rates, and revenue forecasting. Integrate data across sales, marketing, and service to get a holistic view. Actionable reporting allows leadership to make data-driven decisions and keeps your pipeline predictable.
HubSpot constantly adds new capabilities, yet many companies only scratch the surface. Features like lead scoring, task automation, sales playbooks, and service hubs can eliminate repetitive tasks and provide better insight into prospects and customers.
Schedule regular feature reviews. Identify new tools that can enhance efficiency or improve lead management. Even small changes, like adjusting lead scoring criteria based on engagement, can prevent bottlenecks and make the sales process more effective. Staying current ensures HubSpot grows with your business instead of lagging behind it.
The biggest mistake IT companies make is treating HubSpot like a “set it and forget it” system. Unlike a simple tool or appliance, HubSpot interacts with every aspect of your business. Without consistent attention, small issues compound quickly.
Establish a routine maintenance schedule. Regular audits, workflow checks, and data cleanups keep the platform running smoothly. Assign someone internally—or partner with a HubSpot specialist—to manage ongoing upkeep. Continuous maintenance prevents major disruptions, reduces wasted time, and ensures your platform scales with your growth.
Even the most technically savvy teams can get stuck with tools. Between managing client infrastructure, scaling operations, and supporting internal teams, HubSpot maintenance often falls to the bottom of the priority list. When the platform isn’t properly maintained:
Your platform should simplify your work, protect your pipeline, and enable predictable growth—not create constant headaches. By taking these steps, your team can focus on strategic initiatives, drive better results, and finally reclaim their sanity.
If you’re ready to get HubSpot working for you, not against you, consider starting with a HubSpot audit. It’s the first step toward a cleaner, more efficient, and fully optimized platform—giving you the confidence to take the next step. When you partner with MarketDesign Co., you get a clear, actionable view of your system, including:
all analyzed and designed by our team of certified HubSpot experts.
Quarterly audits are ideal for growing IT companies. Regular checks keep automations, reporting, and data aligned with evolving business needs. For more mature setups, a thorough annual "deep clean" audit ensures the system continues to support long-term goals.
Yes, but small teams often benefit from external support or a dedicated HubSpot specialist. Even minor inefficiencies can multiply quickly and having someone focused on optimization frees your team to focus on strategic priorities.
Watch for misfiring workflows, bloated or outdated lists, inconsistent reporting, and underutilized features. If your team is spending more time troubleshooting HubSpot than using it to generate results, it’s time for optimization.
Companies that regularly optimize HubSpot report cleaner data, more efficient workflows, and improved visibility into the sales pipeline. These improvements translate to better lead management, more accurate reporting, and time savings for teams across sales, marketing, and service.