The HubHeroes Podcast

When we talk about email marketing, we have to acknowledge that we've all come a long, long way since ...Unlike dial-up, AOL chatrooms, and AIM profiles packed with lovey-dovey lyrics from Dave Matthews, email marketing has never quite gone out of style. In fact, you might stay email marketing's swagger has gotten stronger than ever:

• 64% of small businesses use email marketing to connect with their customers
• Even more wild is that 81% of B2B marketers say email newsletters are their most used form of content marketing
• For every $1 spent, email marketing still delivers an average $36 ROI 
• It's estimated that revenue generated from email will reach $11 billion this year

However, just because email marketing is still alive and kicking — particularly for those of us devoted users of the HubSpot Marketing Hub and HubSpot Sales Hub — doesn't mean a lot hasn't changed. 

So, this week — in the first of TWO episodes about email marketing in the HubSpot and inbound universe — we're going to unpack how far we've come with email marketing, how you need to be looking at it differently in your business, and what real email marketing success looks like in 2023.

And yes, we hit some pretty big points about sales emails, too! There's something for everyone in this episode ... 

Here's what we cover in this episode ...

• The good, the bad, and the oh so very ugly cold outreach email strategies.
• How to actually delight prospects in emails when you don't even know them yet.
• How Gmail has actually positively impacted open and engagement rates with the introduction of Updates and Promotions folders.
• A brutally honest sidebar about folks who are frustrated because they're not trying to create genuine value through email, but rather are trying to game the system.
• How has HubSpot evolved in the email space over the past decade?
• Yes, we get into the nasty business of buying email lists.

And a heck of a lot more! 

Over the past few months, we’ve explored as much of the expanding, vast HubSpot universe as is humanly possible. We’ve talked about the HubSpot Marketing Hub, the Sales Hub, the Service Hub, the Ops Hub, and the CMS Hub. 

We’ve also unpacked how much we love HubSpot for growth-focused companies and business leaders as much (if not more) than we did 10 years ago.

But here’s the thing about HubSpot today vs. 10 years ago — as evidenced by the depth and scope of conversations we’ve had about each individual hub (and the strategies you need to drive them), HubSpot is much more complex than it used to be.

Which begs the question for companies who are looking to grow better with fully aligned marketing, sales, and service teams — when is the right time (if ever) to hire in the in-house HubHero HubSpot super admin muscle you need?

Or, is it still OK for companies to have HubSpot knowledge delegated to an inbound marketing generalist or specialist who has other responsibilities?

Here's what we cover in this episode ...

• Is HubSpot actually more complex than it used to be?
• How do you know when it's time to hire a dedicated, in-house HubHero?
• How do you define the ROI of the in-house HubSpot Super Admin?
• When is it not the right time to hire a dedicated in-house HubSpot Super Admin?

... and much more! 

If you can believe it, we've already dedicated an entire deep-dive episode of HubHeroes to virtually every single HubSpot Hub:

• Marketing Hub
• Sales Hub
• Service Hub
• Heck, even Ops Hub!

But we haven’t talked about one of the most powerful and increasingly popular hubs of all — the HubSpot CMS Hub. Until today, that is! 

Now, like all of our other hub episode deep dives, you don’t need to EITHER be someone considering the HubSpot CMS Hub (but doesn’t have it yet) OR someone who already has it! This episode is for everyone, because we’re unpacking topics around it that are relevant to everyone:

• What are its true superpowers?
• What do most people get wrong about the HubSpot CMS Hub?
• How are most current users still not maximizing its potential?

And that's only the beginning of our conversation. To help us out today, we are joined by the legendary, the one and only growth-driven design champion Luke Summerfield who is also the Director of Product, GTM of CMS Hub at HubSpot. 

Here's what we cover in this episode ...

• Why does the HubSpot CMS Hub exist? Is it really that beneficial to have your CRM and website existing on the same platform?
• What are the most powerful features within the HubSpot CMS Hub and why?
• What are the most common ways companies using the HubSpot CMS Hub are getting it wrong and why?
• How accessible and easy-to-use is the HubSpot CMS Hub really for those with no technical chops? And is that kind of accessibility a good thing?
• Who do we trust more with our taxes? HubSpot or WordPress?
• What do you need to know about smart content, why it's so amazing, how to use it, as well as how not to use it?
• What are some juicy secrets and tidbits about what's the come from HubSpot?
• Will Liz ever stop creating AI-generated haikus that no one asked for?

... and much more! 

YOUR ONE THING FROM THIS EPISODE

There's a lot to love about the HubSpot CMS Hub, but what makes it so special — especially for those who are already using other HubSpot Hubs as part of their MarTech stack — is that its accessibility is unmatched. No more waiting two weeks for a developer to implement a simple change on your site; HubSpot CMS Hub is built for agility.

Just remember, though, with great power comes great responsibility. Like we talked about last week in our HubSpot playbooks episode, processes will matter a great deal here if you want to see success with HubSpot CMS.

Over the past two episodes, we've sunk our teeth into a meaty topic — sales enablement. Specifically, why most sales enablement strategies fail even with the best of intentions, and how you actually use HubSpot to scale sales enablement initiatives across your entire organization.

If you missed those two episodes, you can certainly listen to this one first. But if sales enablement is a pain point for your organization, you should definitely check them out:

• Why most sales enablement strategies fail (HubHeroes podcast)
• HubSpot sales enablement tactics, tips, and strategies (HubHeroes podcast)

For this week, we're going to stay on the HubSpot tools train because one of the hottest topics that came up during that part of our discussion was HUBSPOT PLAYBOOKS. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to dig into it properly, so we decided to dedicate an entire episode to one of the unsung HubHero tools in the HubSpot platform.

Especially since its applications extend far beyond sales enablement ... 

HubSpot playbooks are resource guides you can create within the platform for your teams and individual contributors (like someone in sales!) on specific topics, processes, or well pretty much anything you can think of. 

How powerful can a simple documentation tool be? Just you wait. You’re about to find out.

Because when Max asked last episode if we had enough to fill an entire episode about Playbooks, I gleefully replied:

“It’s about playbooks for sales. It’s about playbooks for service. It’s about playbooks for marketing. It’s about playbooks for the entire organization.”

Let’s dig in! 

Here's what we cover in this episode ...

• What do most folks get wrong about HubSpot playbooks?
• What are HubSpot playbooks really, and how should they be used?
• What is the importance of process in an organization?
• Where's the line between overly bureaucratic processes and agile processes that help you scale effectively?
• What are the ways you can use HubSpot playbooks for marketing?
• What are the ways you can use HubSpot playbooks for sales?
• What are the ways you can use HubSpot playbooks for service?

... and much more! 

YOUR ONE THING FROM THIS EPISODE

If you have access to HubSpot playbooks, the only mistake you can ever make is to not use them in some way. Seriously, that's it. Make a commitment to processes, and look to HubSpot to help you do that at scale.

Welcome back to the second part of our two-part sales enablement series on the HubHeroes podcast! 

• In last week's episode, we rolled up our sleeves and had a challenging (but powerful) discussion as we unpacked why most sales enablement strategies fail ... even with the best of intentions.
• This week, we're switching gears to talk about implementation; specifically, how you leverage HubSpot to execute and implement your sales enablement strategy.

We intentionally split up these topics because, much like you can't look to HubSpot Marketing Hub isn't your inbound marketing strategy — it's the platform by which you execute a strategy you develop — you also can't look at the Big Orange Sprocket as a replacement for doing the work to create your sales enablement strategy:

• It can't address any trust issues that exist between your sales and marketing teams.
• It can't tell you what sales enablement content you actually need. 
• It can't architect what your sales enablement content library should look like. 
• It can't tell you exactly what playbooks you need to create within the tool or how to use sequences.

However, once you have that baller sales enablement strategy baked out and ready to rock, the sky is the freakin' limit when it comes to leveraging HubSpot to make sales enablement a reality. Because if you think only HubSpot Sales Hub has you covered when it comes to serving up the sales enablement goods, hoo boy! You have so much to learn, my friends.

And that's exactly what this episode about. 

If you're a HubSpot user — or you're thinking about how HubSpot can help you with sales enablement — this is the episode for you.

Here's what we cover in this episode ...

• At a high level, what do companies need to be thinking about when they're evaluating how to leverage technology solutions (like HubSpot) for sales enablement?
• What are the ways in which companies can use HubSpot for their sales enablement means that go beyond what some might consider to be the "obvious" tools in the HubSpot Marketing Hub and Sales Hub?
• Why are documents one of the most powerful ways to maximize your sales enablement potential with HubSpot?
• What are the top sales enablement tools that you should be looking at in the HubSpot Sales and Marketing Hubs?
• What are the most common mistakes folks make when implementing a sales enablement strategy with HubSpot?

... and much more! 

YOUR ONE THING FROM THIS EPISODE

It doesn't matter if you're entirely new to the HubSpot ecosystem or if you've been using it for years. If sales enablement is a pain point or a focus area for your business, I guarantee you're barely scratching the surface of what the Big Sprocket can do for you. Of course, like we talked about extensively last week, HubSpot is not a replacement for your sales enablement strategy. But with the right one in place, you have countless tools and tactics at your fingertips within HubSpot to make it happen.

We've gotta be honest with ourselves here, folks.

As much as many of us like to talk a big game about sales enablement strategy, that's pretty much all it is — talk. Don't get me wrong. I know most of you out there have good intentions with sales enablement, but the data shows we've still got a big problem:

• Sales and marketing alignment is getting worse, not better! In 2021, only 46% of sales and marketing teams said they didn't feel well aligned, but that jumped to 58% in 2022. 
• B2B sales team say that only 27% of leads passed from marketing are actually qualified — the vast majority of them are not.

Yikes. Is it any wonder, ladies and gentlemen, that our sales teams often struggle to trust anyone who says they're looking to truly enable them? Now, some of you out there might be saying, "George, we're using HubSpot Sales Hub and we're creating great content! It's not our fault that sales still isn't happy!"

If that's you, pull up a seat, because this episode is for you. Sales enablement strategy is a very complex topic. So, over the course of the next two episodes, we'll be unpacking sales enablement in two different ways:

• First (in this episode), we're going to dissect why most sales enablements strategies fail to get off the ground, as well as what healthy sales enablement strategies and ecosystems look like.
• Next week, it's all about tactics and how you leverage technology to execute and implement your sales enablement strategy.

If you're looking for ways to enable your team to close more deals faster in 2023, consider this episode must-listen material.

Here's what we cover in this episode ...

• Why is sales enablement such a big problem within organizations?
• Why is sales and marketing alignment getting worse?
• What is a sales enablement strategy supposed to look like?
• What are the most common ways companies undermine their sales enablement strategies and efforts?
• What does healthy communication look like between marketing and sales?
• How do you nurture trusting relationships with sales?
• What does sales enablement content actually look like?
• At a high level, how do tools and technology factor into enabling sales?
• Who is responsible for sales enablement?

... and much more! 

YOUR ONE THING FROM THIS EPISODE

There is no tool or platform out there that can repair broken trust and fix relationships within your organization. When it comes to sales enablement, you need to prioritize people first and genuinely give a damn about helping each other win.

When bright orange sprocket rolled out the HubSpot Operations Hub in 2021, they did so while underscoring one of the most common challenges that companies face as they grow. Even with the best laid plans and intentions, as you grow, your systems can and will break if you don't set the conditions for them to grow along with you. 

🎧 Related episodes:

• Why go HubSpot Marketing Hub?
• Why go HubSpot Sales Hub?
• Why go HubSpot Service Hub?

As systems break, productivity plummets as teams are left scrambling and reacting, as they triage what's no longer working. Everyone is too busy chasing revenue and "crushing it" as they swing to smash their goals out of the sky to fix what's no longer working. So, while everyone is "doing the best they can" and "failing fast," the operational chaos continues to multiply. 

Sure, nothing is technically on fire, but what was once a (marginally) well-oiled machine now looks more like Frankenstein's monster. Basically, it's every company founder's worst nightmare, right?

"Congratulations, you're actually 'growing better!' Bad news, nothing works anymore!"

That's where the HubSpot Operations Hub comes in ... 

... at least in theory. 

In reality, when HubSpot unveiled this new hub, some were left scratching their heads. Not because the hub isn't valuable. Quite the opposite. The problem (if you can even call it that!) is the HubSpot Operations Hub a horse of a different color.🐎

Instead of driving qualified leads, closing deals faster, and improving customer delight (like the other hubs), the Operations Hub is all about data and processes — things that can feel a little less urgent and sexy at first glance, especially if your bottom line is barking at you for attention.

Still, sexy or not, if your operations are all out of whack, growing will always be a painful and costly experience. And that's precisely why we invited Nick Carbone of HubSpot to talk through what HubSpot Operations Hub actually is, and whether or not it's worth your investment.

Here's what we cover in this episode ...

• What does the HubSpot Operations Hub actually do ... and how is it like an HVAC system in your home?
• What do you need to know about the three Ps (platform, process, and perspective) — the driving philosophy behind HubSpot Operations Hub?
• Why does our gang consider HubSpot Operations Hub to be the most underrated part of the HubSpot stack?
• When should someone get the HubSpot Operations Hub? Do you dip your toe in the water now, or is it smarter to wait a few years down the road?
• Do you need a developer resource (in-house or outsourced) to have HubSpot Operations Hub work for you?
• Why does data quality matter so much to your organization? And how is it costing you big time if it's not something you're prioritizing?
• Why was discovering the business and data sync in HubSpot Operations Hub was a totally life-changing moment for me?
• Why should anyone be excited about the HubSpot Operations Hub?

And that's only the beginning! 

YOUR ONE THING FROM THIS EPISODE

Bottom line, if you're not prioritizing the health of the data your teams depend on, your business will suffer. Marketing will suffer, sales will suffer, service will suffer. Even if you don't take the leap with HubSpot Operations Hub, embrace this mindset shift. We're more dependent on technology and automation than ever; don't let a failure to adapt undermine all of the incredible work your people are doing. 

RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE

• Why go HubSpot Marketing Hub?
• Why go HubSpot Sales Hub?
• Why go HubSpot Service Hub?
• How HubSpot contacts mastery is your key to success with HubSpot
• What is HubSpot (really)? The definition most get wrong

One sunny September morning in 2018, thousands of inbounders and HubSpotters were gathered in Boston watching HubSpot cofounder Brian Halligan's keynote, which revealed something wildly new that none of us were expecting ...

... the HubSpot Flywheel, which is how HubSpot visualizes what's possible for an organization, in terms of their ability to "grow better," when everyone in your organization is aligned around delivering a fantastic customer experience.

It was quite a moment because, up until the great reveal, inbound marketers were (for the most part) worshipping at the altar of the inbound marketing funnel:

But HubSpot was now challenging us to set that funnel aside:

Images courtesy of HubSpot

Now, we've talked quite a bit about the HubSpot Flywheel before in previous HubHeroes episodes, as we conducted deep dives into different segments — attracting customers with great content, what engagement actually looks like, and breaking down who really owns customer delight.

But we've never gotten our hands dirty and talked about what the HubSpot Flywheel is because, truth be told, it's a messy topic once you start unpacking it.

For example, some folks thing the funnel is a nice idea, but what was actually wrong with the funnel? Did it really need to be replaced? Is the inbound marketing funnel dead like so many say? Others struggle with the funnel because they think it sounds great, but don't quite get how to unpack it for their organization. How do you align everyone so seamlessly? How do you track performance around the entire flywheel?

And that's exactly why we knew we had to talk about it this week. There's too much confusion, and it's time to end it once and for all. Does this episode get heated and passionate? Absolutely:

Do all of us agree with each other? No, we don't. 

However, I think this conversation is really going to help you and your teams understand what the HubSpot Flywheel really is and isn't, and what changes you need to make your mindset (and your team alignment) to see success in 2023. 

Here's what we cover in this episode ...

• Why did we need the Flywheel and what problems does it solve?
• Is the original inbound marketing funnel actually dead?
• Is the HubSpot Flywheel actually for everyone?
• Why do marketers continue to ruin absolutely everything we touch?
• What would it feel like to have the audacity of a tone deaf sales guy who can't read a room?
• Why is it so important to understand where you have force and friction within your organization?
• What happens when Devyn takes us to Inbound Marketing Church and preaches straight fire?

Buckle up, everybody! You have no idea what's in store for you in this episode.

YOUR ONE THING FROM THIS EPISODE

At the end of the day, whether you subscribe to the Flyweel or the funnel, you must accept that two things are true:

• Gone are the days when your teams (marketing, sales, service) can play around in their own little silos. The way you grow effectively as an organization is together; the more you're in silos, the harder that will be. 
• Your customers always matter, even and especially after they officially become a customer. Don't stop caring about the humans you serve just because you won the sale. The journey is only beginning for them ... and for you.

Or, put another way, in order to better attract, engage, and delight the humans you seek, you need to make sure the humans inside your own house are aligned first. You can't do one without the other.

Buckle up, folks! This is an intense episode that everyone needs to listen to, but I mean that in the best way possible.

You see, the last couple of months of the year are a bit strange. We start winding down as humans and in our professional lives. We make jokes like, "That sounds like a problem for January George!" as we kick projects and tasks to the new year. 

We hyper-focus on goal-setting and resolutions, and we look ahead to January with potential and excitement for a fresh start. There's just a few problems with this approach that seemingly crop up year after year:

• As soon as we are back at the office or at work, we already feel behind. We're setting goals for months that have already started.
• We also have to play catch up by taking care of all of the little tasks we left for the January versions of ourselves. 
• We set resolutions for the sake of it, knowing full well it won't take long for us to totally fall off the wagon ... but hey, we're going to try this year, right?
• Or, we're totally on board with goal-setting and resolutions, but we don't realize how we're mentally undercutting our ability to succeed with our goals — both in mindset and in the goals we choose to chase. 

And this annual rollercoaster of limitless motivation, complete overwhelm, and sinking disappointment is why we're taking a break to talk about how we humans — no matter what roles we play within our organizations or at home — 

In our last episode, we went off during a fiery discussion about what content strategies really are and how marketers, leaders, and sales pros need to rethink their approach to content going into 2023. We also talked extensively about how the answer to what is a content strategy has changed substantially in the past 10 years.

Why? Because the technology and algorithms used by search engines to rank our content has radically changed. 

Enter stage left, topic clusters and pillar pagers. 

Topic clusters and pillar pages are the building blocks of the modern content strategy – I don’t care what industry you’re in, if you’re using content to drive traffic, leads, and sales, that statement applies to you. And yet, as essential as topic clusters and pillar pages are to your content strategy, so many marketers and business leaders don’t know how to effectively executive a topic cluster and pillar page based strategy.

🔎 Related HubSpot education:

• What is great content? (HubHeroes, Ep. 2)
• The last SEO content strategy guide you'll ever need
• What is a topic cluster? (definition + examples)

Or … you might think you do, but you’re making mistakes in your strategy and execution that are costing you big time when it comes to results. 

So, if you’re a content marketer, a marketing leader, or a business owner who is looking to topic clusters to drive big results in 2023, you absolutely must listen to this episode. Because, even if you think you’ve got topic clusters and pillar pillar pages down to a science, trust me when I say you’re going to learn something that will have direct, bottom-line impact in this episode.

Here's what we cover in this episode ...

• What isn't a content strategy? Because the amount of misinformation out there is astounding.
• How the answer to "what is a content strategy?" has changed in the past decade.
• What is the purpose of a content strategy? And what do most people get wrong about what content is supposed to do for their organizations?
• How Google and other search engines have radically changed how you should be developing your content strategies.
• Liz gets heated about "brand awareness" content.
• A brief primer on topic clusters and pillar pages, as well as why they exist.

And so, so, so much more. Seriously, this episode is straight fire, start to finish.

YOUR ONE THING FROM THIS EPISODE

If you're a growth-focused marketer or business leader who needs to get big results (and make big changes from a content strategy standpoint) in 2023, you need to sign up for the SEO Content Strategy Masterclass, which starts in January. Period.

Otherwise, get very clear on the purpose for your content strategy, as well as what goals you're looking to achieve with it. And if someone asks you for a content strategy document outside of what you provided, take a long hard look at your current documentation — and the process you used to get there — because you've got big gaps, my friend. 

RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE

• Content strategy scoping questions list (47-ish total)
• Pillar page strategy mistakes that are costing you (+ examples)
• What does great content actually look like? (HubHeroes, Ep. 2)