How to Get Started with Revenue Operations in HubSpot?

Bowtie Data Model

This model it’s fundamental for the RevOps framework in HubSpot. Standardizing data in your HubSpot with a Bowtie gives all your teams a 360 customer view.

So they can track lead conversion rates throughout the full funnel. 

As a result, you can measure and improve your pipeline effectiveness with a new set of metrics:

• Conversion metrics (CR) between each customer lifecycle stage - e.g what is the % of MQLs converting to SQLs

• Time metrics (AT1, AT2, etc) - eg. how many weeks does it take for MQL to become an SQL

• Volume metrics (VM1, VM2, etc) - showing a number of contacts/accounts in the specific stage.

Caution: Understanding Bowtie Data Model is mandatory, as every part of the RevOps Framework is based on it. You can learn more about this model here.

Sales pipeline stages

In this step, you map your current sales process to put it in HubSpot.

You split pipelines into three categories:

• New Business Pipeline (acquisition)

• CS/AM Pipeline (customer success + account management)

• Existing Business Pipeline (business extension + cross-sell/up-sell)

(Click on the image to open the Excel template)

Every pipeline has its own unique elements you need to define based on your sales process:

• Pipeline Stage - categorize and track the progress of your ongoing deals.
• Deal Probability - what is the chance that the customer will advance to the next stage
• Stage Entry Criteria - what conditions must be met for a customer to be in a current stage
• Stage Exit Criteria - what conditions must be met for a customer to advance to the next stage
• Required Fields to Move to the Next Stage - what fields sales rep need to fill in the current stage to advance the customer to the next one
• Forecast Category - the category within the sales cycle to which an opportunity is assigned based on its opportunity stage

Meeting types

Now, it’s time to define the types of meetings that you hold with your customers.

(Click on the image to open the Excel template)

As a result, teams have clarity on where the customer is in the buying process and what needs to be done to deliver the best value.

Customer Lifecycle stages 

The pipeline stages show you the progress of ongoing deals.

The Customer Lifecycle stages in turn help you categorize customers based on where they are in your marketing & sales processes.

If you don't set them up properly, your customer data will be all over the place.

(Click on the image to open the Excel template)

This is what the MQL Lifecycle Stage in its simplistic version looks like in HubSpot:

Caution: Customer Lifecycle Stages have to work automatically based on defined triggers and inclusion lists. They shouldn’t be ever touched manually by any of the team members.

When creating automation remember to go to the Contacts -> Lifecycle Stage and uncheck Sync lifecycle stages:

Lead statuses 

While Lifecycle Stages show you where the customers are in your process, they don't tell you what to do with them. This is where Lead Statuses come in. 

This property is a base for sales-level agreements. They define what actions SDRs and Account Executives need to take next after a lead is assigned/handed off to them.

(Click on the image to open the Excel template)

The framework below shows how Customer Lifecycle stages work hand in hand with Lead Statuses and automated triggers, giving your team 360 customer view.

(Click on the image to open the Excel template)

Leads handoffs

The way you manage the handoff between marketing, sales, and customer success is by using the Customer Lifecycle Stages and Lead Status properties together.

(Click on the image to open the Excel template)

Process Adoption

Treat each of the presented processes as a distinct feature. You have to ensure 100% adoption by your teams before moving forward with any one of them. 

Yes, it’s hard as it requires continuous maintenance. To streamline the process we suggest using Matt Bolian’s CREDIT Framework. It means adding behaviors that:

• Celebrates actions
• Reminds about actions
• Enforces actions
• Defines actions
• Inspects actions
• Trains actions

Remember, RevOps brings ROI only if your teams adopt every process 100%.

Caution: use the RevOps Framework Template in Excel only to map and define processes. After implementing them in HubSpot, every action should be done inside your CRM.