From messy handoffs to measurable growth: how one precious metals dealer built a HubSpot engine that scales
When a small sales team runs on spreadsheets, outbox muscle memory, and a half-dozen disconnected tools, growth hits a ceiling fast. That was the starting point for a precious metals dealer that came to media junction® looking to unify their marketing and sales. Their owner was juggling Outlook, RingCentral, and Google Sheets with manual follow-ups and no reliable source of truth.
The turning point
Two things were holding them back:
- A tangle of manual processes. Leads arrived, but handoffs were inconsistent and response time lagged. They had no clear way to see pipeline health or prioritize next actions.
- Blurry lead taxonomy. The team used a helpful metaphor internally. They ran marketing to attract promoters and creators who would refer opportunities, the "apple trees," and they also needed to manage the "apples" those partners produced. Without structure, both buckets looked the same inside the spreadsheet.
The plan we implemented together
We consolidated operations into HubSpot so the team could work from one place and lean on automation instead of memory.
Key moves:
-
Centralized onboarding across Marketing Hub and Sales Hub to standardize forms, landing pages, and pipeline stages.
-
Automated record creation on form submission, so every inquiry became a trackable contact and deal immediately.
-
Round robin lead assignment to 2 reps for timely follow-up, paired with instant notifications and tasks. 2 reps.
-
Separate pipelines for partner marketing contacts and direct buyers, with association labels to preserve source context back to each referring partner. 2 pipelines .
-
Smart technical setup to avoid site disruption, including a subdomain for landing pages plus DKIM and SPF to strengthen deliverability.
-
RingCentral integration to log calls and keep conversations visible in the CRM.
The results that followed
Within the first 8 months, lead flow accelerated from one lead to a meaningful, steady stream of 60+ legitimate leads and the team closed their first funded deal.
Operationally, the team moved from spreadsheet firefighting to a consistent follow-up rhythm. Playbooks helped standardize discovery and qualification, while automated tasks kept the inbox from burying hot leads.
|
Metric |
Value |
|
Lead baseline |
1 lead |
|
Lead volume after implementation |
60-90 legitimate leads |
|
Time to results |
8 months |
|
Sales milestone |
First funded deal closed |
|
Sales assignment coverage |
2-assignee round robin |
|
Pipeline structure |
2 discrete pipelines with association labels |
What made the difference
- Build the foundation first. Correct domains, subdomains, and email authentication made every downstream workflow more reliable.
- Structure your data with intent. Distinct pipelines and association labels preserved the "apple tree" to "apple" lineage, so reporting made sense and budget could follow results.
- Let automation handle the heavy lifting. The moment a form is submitted, HubSpot creates records, assigns owners, and queues the next best action.
Why this story matters
Plenty of growing teams try to power through with elbow grease. The smarter path is to get the plumbing right, then scale. This client built a system that catches every inquiry, routes it to the right person, and records the steps automatically. That foundation now supports future plays like AI-powered call recaps and service handoffs without another overhaul.
Want a HubSpot foundation that turns every good lead into a great follow-up? Let’s talk about where your system breaks and how to fix it with clarity and speed.
