Choosing your HubSpot partner agency often means dancing between wild claims, overpromises and
a lot of flowery language.
The thing is, just like any partnership, you need to find an agency who will tell you straight, who is aligned with your unique business goals and who won’t clash with your people.
So, what are the 8 most important things to look for when looking for a HubSpot certified partner? Our specialists have gathered everything you need to know before you commit to a partnership.
1. How do they talk about HubSpot?
This is an important one – if you read through the HubSpot page on their website and it makes no sense at all, or if they confuse you when talking directly, then how do you think they’ll be throughout your partnership?
Your HubSpot solutions partner should understand that you’re not familiar with the platform (there’s a good reason why you’re here!); they should remain clear and avoid jargon at all times.
HubSpot can be difficult at the beginning, but it’s highly intuitive once you get into it. An agency should use HubSpot day in, day out, and be able to break HubSpot down into bite-sized, easily understood chunks.
We’re able to talk about HubSpot based on experience, giving the platform context rather than simply relying on theory. If an agency can’t do this, then they’re best avoided.
2. Transparency & honesty at all times
A good HubSpot partner agency will be cautiously optimistic about your HubSpot success, and won’t ever promise the world or push features you don’t need. HubSpot isn’t one size fits all, so it’s important that you only subscribe to the portals and features that will return value to your business.
Your agency needs to understand your business, though. You’ll get the most out of your partnership if you let the agency you choose know exactly what your goals are: where you are right now and where you want to be. This will help inform your HubSpot strategy moving forwards.
At the end of the day, you likely want to use HubSpot to help grow your business. Your HubSpot partner agency should align with you, and should only recommend features that will actively help you reach your growth goals. Be wary of any agency who regularly encourages you to upgrade to
bigger and better features.
3. Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Elite – what’s the deal?
While these accolades are, of course, important, they mostly reflect the size of the agency and the amount of business they drive.
We’re HubSpot Platinum Partners, meaning that we know exactly what we’re talking about, and that we’re trusted by HubSpot. Are Diamond and Elite agencies better than us? No, not necessarily, they simply sell more HubSpot than us.
This means that they might exclusively deal in HubSpot, or that they might push HubSpot heavily. This isn’t the right approach for everyone, so be cautious if a prospective agency is pushing HubSpot hard.
When talking to a prospective agency, you’ll also want to consider the size of their business, and whether your account will be handled personally, and with care, or whether you’ll become another cog in the machine.
Our team at Catalyst will work closely with you, and your dedicated account manager will always be there to advise and support with everything HubSpot. However, we choose to remain unbiased, and don’t push HubSpot if you don’t need it.
Give us a shout today for an honest conversation about your unique HubSpot needs.{{cta(‘57201d89-4555-484e-8091-972c6b4862bb’,’justifycenter’)}}
4. Are they Impact Award winners?
Lots of partners sell HubSpot, but how effective are they at getting it to work and deliver value for your business? This is what the HubSpot Impact Awards measure.
The Impact Awards are run quarterly, and are open to every HubSpot partner agency the world over.
In order to win, you need to submit an entry that details exactly how you’ve used HubSpot to help a client meet their business goals.
If a prospective partner agency is in the Impact Awards Hall of Fame, then you’re on to a winner!
(We’re in the Hall of Fame twice, not to toot our own horn! You can read our latest winning entry here).
5. Are they proficient in the whole HubStack?
Any questions you have about HubSpot should be quickly and easily answered (although don’t forget that HubSpot is vast, and the agency may need to check with their HubSpot liaison before answering you!).
Some agencies specialise in, say, the Marketing Hub, or focus all their efforts on the Sales Hub, and that’s fine, but that may not be exactly what you’re looking for.
If you’re looking for end-to-end HubSpot support, then you need an agency who can demonstrate proficiency in every area of HubSpot, so make sure to ask for examples on how they plan on using each and every Hub to improve your processes.
6. What’s their onboarding like?
Onboarding is a critical first step towards making the most out of your HubSpot, however, it’s important to remember that onboarding alone doesn’t guarantee success.
You may only need a handful of features explaining to you, and once you’ve got a grasp on them, you’re off to the races, and that’s great.
Keep in mind, though, that your business may require ongoing HubSpot support in order to meet your growth goals, so make sure that any prospective HubSpot partners are able to meet your requirements well into the future, and are available to assist with anything you need.
7. How do they measure success?
Your HubSpot partner should align their KPIs with your growth goals, and nothing else.
There’s no point in investing in HubSpot if it’s not helping you to grow your revenue, so always ask a potential HubSpot agency how exactly they will measure success.
8. What else can they support you with?
You may just need HubSpot support, and that’s fine. However, if you need a more complete marketing agency for HubSpot, then you should consider whether an agency can help with:
●Lead generation – Content, SEO, PPC, email automation & much more.
● Websites– Designing & building websites/webpages to facilitate your growth.
●Conversion rate optimisation – Making sure that your website converts visitors into sales.
●Marketing strategy – Helping you to research and form a detailed growth marketing strategy.
Make sure that any HubSpot partner you choose to work with can meet all of your needs. That way, you won’t have to split your time across multiple agencies in the future.
Choose the perfect HubSpot Partner Agency for you
We get it, everyone says they’re the best – how are you supposed to choose?
At Catalyst, we believe that our actions speak far louder than our words. We’re 2x winners of the HubSpot Impact Awards (accolades that are based on merit, not payments), and we’ve got dozens of happy customers who we encourage you to talk directly to for an objective perspective on our work.
If you’ve got any questions, or you’d like some more information, get in touch with our HubSpot specialists today. We’re available to talk through your HubSpot requirements, and to make tailored recommendations based on your needs.
Looking for more info? Download our free HubSpot ultimate beginners guide by clicking here.