Across Canada, we see so many companies adopting HubSpot and onboarding their teams into the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. The right CRM can help businesses align their sales and marketing efforts and support their growth goals being achieved overall.

Getting the right CRM is important, but ensuring you onboard properly is setting your team up for success. Like building a house, the foundation needs to be steady for the house to settle and the structure is sound for years to come. HubSpot onboarding support is a critical piece of the CRM puzzle.

How does this tie in with what we do at Everbrave?

Everbrave is a Platinum HubSpot Partner, meaning our expertise in customer relationship management software and onboarding is grounded in years of hands-on expertise. The work we do ensures your onboarding is a success throughout implementation and integration setups. 

But that’s not all. Everbrave has recently earned the prestigious HubSpot Onboarding Accreditation. 

The truth is that we’ve been onboarding customers for years, but this new vetting improves onboarding standards across their partner network. We wanted to share how we earned this award, and what this means for our agency and clients alike. 

What is the HubSpot Onboarding Accreditation, anyway?

The HubSpot Onboarding Accreditation is a HubSpot credential that confirms the skills and experience needed to onboard customers of all sizes into HubSpot – from smaller teams to large enterprise businesses.

On top of expertise in HubSpot products, skills and experience are needed to earn this accreditation. Including expert project and stakeholder management, effective change management, and expert guidance skills throughout the sales and discovery processes.

 The requirements to apply required all hands on deck.

The HubSpot Onboarding Accreditation required a rigorous application process.

How rigorous, you might ask? 

To even consider applying, we needed to ensure we had an extremely high level of HubSpot knowledge and training within our internal team. Fortunately, working with HubSpot since 2015 ensured we were incredibly well-versed in all key elements of HubSpot’s platform. 

Working with an array on enterprise and non-enterprise clients, we’ve come to know HubSpot’s key product offerings like the back of our hands.

• Marketing Hub Software
• Marketing Hub Implementation
• Sales Hub Software
• Sales Hub Implementation
• Service Hub Software
• Data Integrations
• Salesforce Integrations
• Objectives-Based Onboarding
• HubSpot Reporting

To even apply as a HubSpot Onboarding Partner, we had to be a platinum, diamond or elite HubSpot partner (check!). 

We were also required to showcase extensive experience in onboarding clients to the HubSpot CRM. More specifically, to the Professional and Enterprise editions of HubSpot Marketing Hub and Sales Hub. 

Fortunately, Everbrave checked all of the boxes. The next step was putting our experience into writing.

Action! The application process.

HubSpot doesn’t cut corners in ensuring its Accredited Onboarding Partners meet their impeccably high standards. This is reflected in their meticulous and detailed application requirements.

 The Onboarding Accreditation process involved two rounds, each followed by a judging stage.

Round 1: 

In this round, we had to submit examples of what we did with past or existing clients to showcase work we’ve completed. This included a project plan for a client that we onboarded using the Objectives-Based Onboarding model. 

We also had to submit an example of how we solved a client’s integration challenges using the HubSpot to SFDC /Salesforce connector. Finally, we were asked to share a case where we used either a HubSpot marketplace connector or an iPaaS solution successfully with a client.

When we gathered our project samples and hit submit on that big red button, our application was then reviewed by a panel of judges at HubSpot. We waited with bated breath for the fateful email that said: 

Congratulations, you’ve made it to Round 2! 

We were elated to make it to the second round, as not many agencies received this stamp of approval from the large group that applied. 

Round 2:

As the stakes got higher, so too did the burden of proof!

We were required to create a 15-minute video to illustrate a deep dive into an onboarding engagement we had with a client. There were lots of questions, and we had to get into the nitty gritty on how we made the client onboarding a success. 

This presentation included our approach, our goals and objectives, which hubs were utilized, shared challenges and solutions, and steps taken to ensure long-term client success.

For the next requirement, we completed a call listening exercise. We listened in on a customer onboarding call and provide our critical thinking and feedback into how the call went. We spoke about how the challenges and goals were identified, found areas of opportunity, and provide suggestions for an action plan for success after the call.

Finally, we had to provide a reference of an existing or past client who could speak to the quality of our work and their experience with Everbrave.

Phew! 

Once we submitted our work, we were buzzing with hope that we had done everything we needed to and showcased our expertise.

Hard work pays off!

We waited for several weeks, and finally, the day came when we received the most exciting news. We earned the HubSpot Onboarding Accreditation!

Some legends say the shrieks of joy were heard for miles…

To say we were proud is an understatement.

What does this mean for Everbrave?

As an accredited HubSpot Platinum Partner, we’re ready and certified to be premier onboarding support for our clients from start to finish. In addition to the years of experience our team has and the extensive certifications the Everbravers have under our belt, we now have a major HubSpot Accreditation to be proud of. This ensures that our clients’ onboarding experiences with us are seamless in the hands of experts.

A top CRM will empower you to:

• Gain greater visibility and control over your sales pipeline
• Better align sales and marketing teams 
• Empower teams to harness lead insights
• Automatically log sales activity
• Centralize lead flow
• And more

The secret to your success? Partner with an Accredited Marketing Agency.  

The right fit can take you far. When choosing a shortlist of agencies to work with, do your homework. Scour their websites, read their case studies, and ask what quantifiable results they have achieved for their customers. Look for experience in your sector, and check out their experience with CRM platforms, as those software experts can be key to helping you reach your business goals.