So you’re in B2B, and you need a system that doesn’t just collect dust. You want to get your products or services in front of the right companies, track what’s working, and (hopefully) close more deals with less chaos. This guide is for founders, marketers, sales leads, or frankly anyone who’s tasked with “making go-to-market work”—especially if you’re eyeing Hubspot and wondering if it’s more than just another overhyped tool.
Let’s cut through the noise and get into what features matter in Hubspot for actual B2B go-to-market success, what’s mostly fluff, and what you should ignore.
Why B2B Go-To-Market Is Its Own Beast
B2B selling isn’t just B2C with more meetings. You’ve got longer sales cycles, more stakeholders, and buyers who usually do their homework. The right software can make a difference—but only if it actually helps your team move faster, not just report on what happened last quarter.
Hubspot is popular because it’s “all-in-one.” But what really drives results? Let’s skip the shiny dashboards and focus on features that are genuinely useful.
1. Contact and Company Database: The CRM That Doesn’t Suck (If You Set It Up Right)
At its core, Hubspot is a CRM. You’ll hear a lot about “single source of truth.” What that means in practice: everyone on your team can see who you’re talking to and what’s been said. No more digging through email threads or Slack messages to remember if you ever sent that pricing sheet.
What’s good: - Company & Contact Records: See every interaction—calls, emails, web visits, form fills—in one place. - Automatic Enrichment: Hubspot tries to fill in company details for you. Sometimes it nails it; sometimes it guesses. - Custom Properties: Track what matters to your business, not just what’s built-in.
What to watch out for: - Garbage in, garbage out. If your team isn’t disciplined about updating records, the CRM won’t save you. - The “auto enrichment” works better with well-known companies; it’s hit-or-miss with smaller firms.
Pro tip:
Decide up front what info you really need to track. Don’t drown your sales team in mandatory fields.
2. Pipeline Tracking: See What’s Stuck (and Who’s Coasting)
Hubspot’s pipeline tools let you visualize where deals are—so you can actually do something about slow-moving opportunities.
What’s good: - Drag-and-drop pipelines: Simple way to see deals at each stage. - Custom deal stages: Reflect your unique sales process, not just Hubspot’s defaults. - Forecasting: Gives you a basic sense of what might close (if your data is accurate).
What to watch out for: - Forecasts are only as good as your team’s updates—don’t trust them blindly. - Over-customizing the pipeline can confuse new users. Keep it simple.
Pro tip:
Have a short weekly meeting where you clean up the pipeline together. It’s boring, but it works.
3. Marketing Automation: The Good, The Bad, and The Annoying
This is where Hubspot tries to “wow” you, but let’s be honest: not everything needs automating. Still, when used well, Hubspot’s automations can save time and help you scale outreach.
What’s good: - Workflows: Automatically send emails, assign leads, or update records based on triggers (like a form fill or demo request). - Lead scoring: Prioritize the right prospects so sales isn’t chasing tire kickers. - Nurture sequences: Warm up leads over time—especially useful for B2B’s long sales cycles.
What to watch out for: - Over-automation. If every lead gets a dozen emails, you’ll just get ignored—or worse, flagged as spam. - Workflows can get complicated fast. Keep a map of what triggers what, or you’ll lose track.
Pro tip:
Build out one or two high-value workflows first (like demo request follow-ups) before you even think about automating everything.
4. Email & Content Tools: Actually Useful, If You Don’t Try to Be a Publisher
Hubspot bundles a lot: email marketing, landing pages, blogging, and SEO tools. For most B2B teams, you probably don’t need to run a media empire.
What’s good: - Email campaigns: Easy to design, send, and track simple campaigns. - Personalization tokens: Use the data in your CRM to personalize subject lines or content. - Landing pages: Spin up a page for a new offer or event without bugging your web team.
What to ignore: - The SEO recommendations are fine for basics but won’t replace a real SEO strategy. - Don’t feel like you need to use every content feature—focus on what actually brings in leads.
Pro tip:
Set up basic reporting on your key landing pages and emails. Watch what actually drives demo requests or contact forms, not just open rates.
5. Integration with Sales Tools: Keep Your Stack Sane
Most B2B teams have a couple of must-haves—maybe Slack, Zoom, Gmail, or LinkedIn. Hubspot plays decently well with most popular tools.
What’s good: - Gmail/Outlook integration: Log emails and calendar events automatically. - Slack notifications: Get pinged when a hot lead fills out a form. - Calendar and meeting links: Make it stupid-simple for prospects to book time with you.
What to watch out for: - The fancier integrations (like with LinkedIn Sales Navigator) can require higher-tier plans. - If you’re deep into custom APIs or niche tools, expect to spend some time (and maybe money) getting things connected.
Pro tip:
Start with the integrations your team actually uses every day. Fancy add-ons can wait.
6. Reporting That Doesn’t Require a Data Science Degree
Execs love dashboards. Hubspot’s reporting is straightforward—good enough for most B2B teams, but not analytics-grade.
What’s good: - Custom reports: Track basics like lead sources, deal velocity, and email performance. - Attribution reporting: See where your best leads are coming from (again, only as good as your data). - Dashboards: Pull together views for marketing, sales, or the whole team.
What to ignore: - The “AI-powered” stuff is more buzzword than breakthrough. Use it for quick ideas, not strategy. - Don’t try to track everything. Focus on the 2-3 numbers that actually drive your business.
Pro tip:
Pick one metric for marketing (like qualified leads), one for sales (like deals closed), and make those visible to the team.
What’s Overhyped or Overkill?
Let’s be real: Hubspot’s a great fit for a lot of B2B teams, but it’s not magic. Here’s what to skip (at least at first):
- AI content tools: They sound cool but usually produce bland, generic stuff. Use them for outlines, not finished copy.
- Social media tools: Decent if you need a basic scheduler, but there are better (and cheaper) tools for real social selling.
- CMS and website hosting: Only use Hubspot for your main website if you’re all-in on their ecosystem. Otherwise, stick to your existing setup and just use landing pages.
Keeping It Simple: The Real Secret
You don’t need every feature to win in B2B. What matters is clear data, a process your team actually uses, and the discipline to keep things updated. Start with the basics: clean CRM, simple pipeline, and a couple of automations.
Test one thing at a time. Don’t let the features distract you from the work: talking to customers, understanding what they want, and helping them buy.
Hubspot can help—but only if you use it to make your life easier, not just to check a box. Keep it simple, keep iterating, and don’t be afraid to skip the shiny stuff until you need it.