The challenge: disconnected processes and resistance to change
Sometimes growth is held back not by lack of demand but by systems that can’t keep up. That was the case for a US-based company specializing in repairing and selling instruments. Their sales team was running everything manually on spreadsheets and personal calendars. Deals slipped through the cracks, reporting was inconsistent, and sales and marketing rarely worked in sync.
When the company set out to implement a CRM, they faced three major hurdles:
- Fragmented sales process: With no centralized system, it was nearly impossible to track deal velocity or hold reps accountable.
- Complex data migration: Their contacts lived in messy spreadsheets, and the team wasn’t sure how to structure or associate records properly for import.
- Cultural pushback: Sales reps resisted change, slowing onboarding. Leadership was frustrated with the lack of progress and clarity.
These obstacles created not just technical headaches but also organizational friction. Without a clear plan, the CRM risked becoming another stalled initiative.
The solution: a guided, hands-on onboarding
Instead of dropping software into their laps, the onboarding process centered on building confidence through structure and education. Key steps included:
- Customized pipeline setup: The team worked together to map out a deal pipeline that mirrored their real-world sales process. A test deal was created to show how opportunities would now flow.
- Smarter data management: Clear steps were outlined for cleaning and formatting spreadsheets before import. Automated workflows ensured contacts were properly associated with companies.
- Process automation: Workflows were introduced to alert sales leaders when a deal closed and to capture reasons for lost deals. Sales reps also learned to use sequences, templates, and snippets for outreach.
- Reporting foundations: Training focused heavily on data governance. The team learned how to build custom dashboards for metrics like deal velocity, push rates, and close ratios.
The outcome: empowered teams and scalable systems
- One source of truth: Sales activities were now tracked in a shared system instead of individual calendars.
- Better reporting: Clean data and custom dashboards gave leadership real visibility into performance.
- Self-sufficient sales team: Reps learned to manage outreach and reporting themselves, cutting down reliance on manual workarounds.
- Long-term scalability: With a strong data governance strategy in place, the team was positioned to grow without the bottlenecks that once held them back.
This case illustrates the power of pairing technology with hands-on guidance. The success wasn’t just about moving to HubSpot—it was about building confidence, clarity, and a roadmap that turned a resistant sales team into a data-driven growth engine.
