How do HubSpot and Salesforce Work Together?

Now that you’re up and running in Salesforce, it’s time to focus on marketing to prospects and customers. When looking for a marketing automation tool that integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot will quickly move to the top of the list. So, how do HubSpot and Salesforce work together?

Market in HubSpot while Selling in Salesforce

If your organization is already in Salesforce and familiar with the UX, your sales team likely will not want to change systems. While HubSpot’s Sales Hub is an excellent alternative to Salesforce that offers a more friendly user experience, change management can be challenging, so teams often opt to stay in Salesforce. However, your marketing team still needs a solution to attract, qualify, and convert leads and nurture and delight customers. So, in comes HubSpot.

HubSpot is the best marketing automation solution for Salesforce because of the:

• native Salesforce integration
• ease of workflow creation for nurturing prospects and customers
• endless apps, integrations, and marketer-first features

The Standard HubSpot Salesforce Integration

Out of the box, the HubSpot Salesforce integration creates new leads in Salesforce from new contacts in HubSpot. When an opportunity is won in Salesforce, the contact’s lifecycle stage in HubSpot is set to ‘Customer’.

By default, Contacts sync between HubSpot and Salesforce. While the integration is installed, you cannot turn off the Contact sync. If desired, you can also sync the following standard objects:

• Accounts in Salesforce = Companies in HubSpot
• Opportunities in Salesforce = Deals in HubSpot
• Salesforce Activities = HubSpot Events

If using HubSpot Enterprise, you can also sync up to 10 custom objects in the HubSpot Salesforce integration.

What HubSpot Adds to Salesforce

Here’s a non-inclusive list of how HubSpot’s Marketing Hub can enhance your marketing efforts when integrated with Salesforce.

Email Marketing

• Marketing automation through HubSpot’s workflow tool
• Email performance tracking
• Email subscription types
• Drag and drop email builder
• Unsubscribe management
• GDPR compliance
• A/B testing
• Calls to action
• Email comparison reporting

Campaign Marketing

• Drag and drop landing page builder
• Asset organization by campaign
• Campaign management
• Form builder for website and landing pages
• Google Search Console integration

Sales Enablement

• Native lead scoring
• Salesforce integration
• Activity reporting
• Company scoring
• Calculated properties

Inbound & Channel Marketing

• Omni-channel marketing automation
• ABM tools and automation
• Social media scheduling and monitoring
• Video hosting & management
• Ad management (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads)
• Live chat
• Blog creation tool

When to Get Help with the HubSpot Salesforce Integration

The standard HubSpot Salesforce integration is very powerful and easy to configure. However, not all Salesforce accounts are created equal. If your Salesforce account is highly customized or storing protected information (healthcare, financial services, etc.), it’s best to get an expert’s help to install the integration. Here are a few situations where finding a partner to assist is recommended.

Complex Automation

Suppose your Salesforce administrator employs flows, process builder, and Apex triggers to manage your lead intake, sales, or customer service processes. In that case, it’s best to have a technical expert manage the HubSpot Salesforce integration. Many processes that keep Salesforce running smoothly can cause a mass break in the integration, leaving contacts out of date and siloed in Salesforce or HubSpot.

Custom Mapping

If you have custom fields in your Salesforce account that are important to your business, you will need to create and map those custom fields in HubSpot. An experienced partner will ensure the field types match between HubSpot and Salesforce and ensure your contacts stay in sync.

Selective Sync

If you have some contact types or contact fields in Salesforce that you may not want in HubSpot, you will need to implement Selective Sync. Selective Sync requires the configuration of a custom Salesforce integration user or the use of a HubSpot inclusion list. It’s best to enlist the help of an experienced HubSpotter to correctly configure Selective Sync to avoid contact overages, mis-shared data, and a broken integration.

Performance Monitoring

If your organization does not have a dedicated HubSpot administrator, you should look for a full-time resource or a partner to take on the job. While the HubSpot Salesforce integration is in place, the integration’s health needs daily monitoring to ensure all integration requirements are met, and no contacts are stuck in one system or the other.

How to Get Started

Now that you’re familiar with the HubSpot and Salesforce integration, it’s time to consider if it’s the best fit for you and your team. Coastal Consulting specializes in integrating HubSpot and Salesforce for Enterprise B2B organizations looking to scale their marketing & sales automation efforts. We’ve chosen this specialty because we believe in the joint power that HubSpot and Salesforce provide large sales and marketing teams. If you’re looking for guidance on HubSpot plan selection or how to prepare for the HubSpot Salesforce integration, feel free to schedule a consultation. We’d be happy to help!

HubSpot Salesforce Integration FAQs

Can you use HubSpot with Salesforce?

Yes! HubSpot provides the best marketing automation offering on the market today with a native Salesforce integration that’s easy to install.

Why use HubSpot and Salesforce?

Often, companies have a history with Salesforce and are not interested in leaving the platform. However, Salesforce does not offer a marketing solution as part of their Sales Cloud package.

So, marketers need to choose between Pardot or Salesforce Marketing Cloud to stay in the Salesforce ecosystem. But, neither Pardot nor Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a native part of the Salesforce platform.

Both platforms require integration with Salesforce as any marketing automation tool would. Because Pardot and Salesforce Marketing Cloud lack standard marketing automation features and have poor UX, many marketers opt to use HubSpot for their marketing needs.

HubSpot has the best native integration to Salesforce making it the best marketing automation tool for Salesforce users.

What roles do I need on my team to manage HubSpot?

Like Salesforce, HubSpot is a robust platform that needs dedicated team members to manage it. We recommend the following roles when using HubSpot Professional or Enterprise:

• HubSpot Administrator | Manages user access changes, troubleshoots the HubSpot Salesforce integration, creates properties, builds technical workflows, provides HubSpot training internally, builds reports and dashboards, and manages HubSpot system requests (automations, integrations, etc.)
• Marketing Manager | Manages the strategic direction for HubSpot, including email marketing, advertising, social media, blog creation, and more
• Marketing Specialist(s) | 2-3 team members that create content and execute the Marketing Manager’s strategy for email marketing, ad creation, social media content, etc.

What HubSpot plan integrates with Salesforce?

The HubSpot Salesforce integration is available on the HubSpot Professional or Enterprise plan.

How often does HubSpot sync with Salesforce?

Every 15 minutes or when automatic sync is triggered.

Is the HubSpot Salesforce integration native?

Yes! The HubSpot Salesforce integration does not require custom development or API creation. Once you’ve prepared to install the HubSpot Salesforce integration, you can head to the HubSpot App Marketplace and follow the steps to install.

Can I integrate two Salesforce accounts with one HubSpot account?

No. You can only integrate one Salesforce account with a HubSpot account.

Can I integrate two HubSpot accounts with one Salesforce account?

Yes! This will need to be done carefully with selective sync and two dedicated Salesforce integration users, but this can be done.

Ready to learn more about the HubSpot Salesforce integration?

Enroll in Module 1 of the HubSpot Salesforce integration course to:

• Compare marketing automation tools that integrate with Salesforce
• See how HubSpot integrates with Salesforce
• Start to design a Revenue Operations strategy for HubSpot and Salesforce

Start Module 1 of the course