The RevOps Loop

Nobody agrees on what an MQL is. And honestly, that might be part of the problem.

In Episode 23 of the RevOps Loop Podcast, Maarten and Stjepan are joined by Charlie Lord to unpack MQLs, lifecycle stages, lead qualification, and why so many teams struggle to agree on what each stage actually means.

The conversation goes well past “What does MQL stand for?” and gets into the bigger RevOps questions: How many lifecycle stages do you actually need? What deserves its own stage? Should stages ever move backward? And what happens when you force a standard framework onto a business or nonprofit that doesn’t operate that way?

Stop letting ad platforms grade their own homework.

When Meta, Google, and your CRM all report completely different numbers, trusting a single source of truth feels impossible. On Episode 22 of the RevOps Loop podcast, Maarten and Stjepan map out how to solve the attribution puzzle.

Key takeaways:

• Comparing models to eliminate blind spots

• Centralizing scattered data across platforms

• Tracking non-traditional paths like offline channels and AI referrals

• Choosing the right attribution tools for your stack

Stick around to the end for the weekly cocktail review, featuring a Whiskey Sour and an unironic Cosmopolitan. 🍸

Have a HubSpot or RevOps topic you want us to cover?

Share it with us on LinkedIn:

Maarten → https://www.linkedin.com/in/maarten-bovendaerde/

Stjepan → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stjepangrcic/

🔗 HubSpot User Groups

Connect with other HubSpot users in our community-led HubSpot User Groups:

LGBTQIA+ HUG → https://hubspot-academy-community-programs.us.hivebrite.com/topics/47532/events

Nonprofit HUG → https://hubspot-academy-community-programs.us.hivebrite.com/topics/47512/events

🔗 Resources

Digital Reach, helping for-profit teams grow smarter → digitalreachos.com

Nonprofit Tech Shop, HubSpot for mission-driven orgs → nonprofittechshop.com

2026 has already given RevOps teams plenty to process. Like, “are we building useful AI agents, or just collecting them?” 🤖

In Episode 21 of the RevOps Loop podcast, Maarten and Stjepan look back at the first half of 2026 and unpack the biggest developments shaping RevOps, HubSpot, AI, and the wider business technology landscape.

Have a HubSpot or RevOps topic you want us to cover?

Share it with us on LinkedIn:

Maarten → https://www.linkedin.com/in/maarten-bovendaerde/

Stjepan → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stjepangrcic/

🔗 HubSpot User Groups

Connect with other HubSpot users in our community-led HubSpot User Groups:

LGBTQIA+ HUG → https://hubspot-academy-community-programs.us.hivebrite.com/topics/47532/events

Nonprofit HUG → https://hubspot-academy-community-programs.us.hivebrite.com/topics/47512/events

🔗 Resources

Digital Reach, helping for-profit teams grow smarter → digitalreachos.com

Nonprofit Tech Shop, HubSpot for mission-driven orgs → nonprofittechshop.com

AAM 2026 gave Maarten and Stjepan plenty to unpack. In Episode 20 of RevOps Loop, they recap their time in Philadelphia and dig into what museums can teach us about RevOps, CRM strategy, data visibility, and disconnected tech stacks.

They also share quick takeaways from team members who were at AAM: Meghan Young, Tiaan Loots, Isabel de Waal, and Karen Senette.

And yes, Maarten and Stjepan finally agree on a beer. Historic stuff. 🍺

Learn more about MuseumHub:

https://nonprofittechshop.com/museumhub/what-is-museumhub

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

Maarten → https://www.linkedin.com/in/maarten-bovendaerde/

Stjepan → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stjepangrcic/

Digital Reach → digitalreachos.com

Nonprofit Tech Shop → nonprofittechshop.com

Agency life moves fast. Like, blink-and-your-calendar-is-suddenly-on-fire fast. 🔥

In Episode 19 of the RevOps Loop podcast, Maarten and Stjepan sit down with Dia Tirmidh, our very own Head of Client Delivery & Strategy, recorded live at AAM 2026 in Philadelphia, to talk about what agency life really looks like behind the scenes.

From moving out of in-house roles to managing high-stakes HubSpot projects, Dia shares the lessons, war stories, and hard-earned advice that come from years in the agency world.

Mission-driven organizations deserve better systems. ❤️

In Episode 18 of the RevOps Loop podcast, Maarten and Stjepan sit down with Jeremy Donovan, Senior Marketing Operations Manager at Family First, to talk about RevOps, operational alignment, and why disconnected data creates unnecessary friction for growing organizations.

From siloed teams to scattered customer data, we unpack what it takes to build operations that help people work smarter, collaborate better, and stay focused on impact.

Operational excellence in museums is messy, complex, and way more challenging than it looks. 🏛️

In Episode 17 of the RevOps Loop podcast, Maarten and Stjepan sit down with Tiaan Loots (Head of Solutions Delivery & Strategy at Digital Reach) to unpack what’s really going on behind the scenes.

Museums operate as a network of 15+ departments, from ticketing and gift shops to donor advancement, all working with the same constituent data. That complexity leads to siloed systems, gatekept data, and legacy tech from the 90s that quietly drains thousands of hours.

We dig into where things break down and how we’re solving it with our purpose-built solution, MuseumHub.

For years, attribution has been treated like the ultimate source of truth in marketing and RevOps. But what if most of it is… wrong? 📊 In this episode, Maarten and Stjepan dig into one of the most misunderstood (and misused) areas in RevOps: attribution. From misleading dashboards to overengineered models, they break down why attribution often tells an incomplete story, and what you should actually do with it.

For a long time, the myth was that HubSpot was "so easy you didn't need an admin." But today, we know that couldn't be further from the truth. 🛠️

In this special episode, Maarten and Stjepan sit down with the legendary HubSpot Evangelist, Kyle Jepson. We dive deep into the evolution of the HubSpot Admin, the shift toward strategic RevOps, and how AI is fundamentally changing how we learn and build within the platform.

What we cover:

✔️ The Myth of the ""Easy"" CRM: Why every company needs a dedicated owner to turn a simple tool into a strategic engine.

✔️ Certifications vs. Experience: Do HubSpot certifications still matter in 2026, and how AI is making ""multiple choice"" testing obsolete.

✔️ The Future of Learning: A look at HubSpot Academy’s shift toward simulations and how AI-driven sandboxes will train the next generation of Admins.

✔️ Breeze AI Evolution: How HubSpot’s AI has moved from ""disappointing"" to a powerful co-pilot that can build entire data models from a simple chat.

✔️ Escaping the ""Order Taker"" Trap: Practical advice for Admins to move away from just fixing broken reports and toward a seat at the C-suite table.

✔️ The Power of Community: Why you shouldn't be a RevOps pro ""on an island"" and how networking solves problems faster than Google.

As always, we wrap things up with our signature drink review! This week, Kyle breaks our ""beer-only"" streak with a surprisingly wholesome choice: a thick, rich cup of hot chocolate (and a lot of water). ☕💧

Who should listen:

RevOps Practitioners • HubSpot Admins • Revenue Leaders • Sales & Marketing Ops • Anyone looking to leverage AI to automate their CRM governance.

Have a HubSpot or RevOps topic you want us to cover?

Share it with us on LinkedIn:

Maarten → https://www.linkedin.com/in/maarten-bovendaerde/

Stjepan → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stjepangrcic/

🔗 HubSpot User Groups

Connect with other HubSpot users in our community-led HubSpot User Groups.

LGBTQIA+ HUG - Come connect, share, and grow with fellow #HubCurious LGBTQIA+ pros & allies → https://hubspot-academy-community-programs.us.hivebrite.com/topics/47532/events

Nonprofit HUG - Join our HubSpot User Group for mission → https://hubspot-academy-community-programs.us.hivebrite.com/topics/47512/events

🔗 Resources

Digital Reach — Helping for-profit teams grow smarter → digitalreachos.com

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/digitalreachos

Facebook: https://facebook.com/digitalreachopm

Nonprofit Tech Shop — HubSpot for mission-driven orgs → nonprofittechshop.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nonprofit-tech-shop

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nonprofittechshop

We’ve seen a lot of CRM setups over the years. Some great. Some… not so much.

In this episode, Maarten and Stjepan break down some of the worst RevOps and CRM setups they’ve seen in the wild, plus the setups that actually work and why.

What we cover:

✔️ How CRMs fall apart when everyone can create properties, workflows, and imports without guardrails

✔️ Why duplicate properties, inconsistent imports, and random fields make reporting and segmentation unreliable

✔️ What happens when you connect 30+ tools and no one knows what data is syncing or why

✔️ Why adding another platform for one feature can create more problems than it solves

✔️ How clean pipelines, focused integrations, and the right signals help teams take action

✔️ Clear documentation, team training, defined lifecycle stages, and systems people actually use

✔️ Smarter lead scoring: Why account-level scoring gives you a better picture than relying on individual contacts

Have a HubSpot or RevOps topic you want us to cover?

Share it with us on LinkedIn:

Maarten → https://www.linkedin.com/in/maarten-bovendaerde/

Stjepan → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stjepangrcic/

HubSpot User Groups

Connect with other HubSpot users in our community-led HubSpot User Groups.

🔗 Resources

Digital Reach — Helping for-profit teams grow smarter → digitalreachos.com

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/digitalreachos

Facebook: https://facebook.com/digitalreachopm

Nonprofit Tech Shop — HubSpot for mission-driven orgs → nonprofittechshop.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nonprofit-tech-shop

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nonprofittechshop