Useful thinking for making HubSpot work harder

Practical CRM guides · Published blog archive

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59 pieces

AI and AI search · 22 Oct 2026

Why Shadow AI is the greatest threat to your B2B revenue infrastructure

Shadow AI occurs when employees use individual AI subscriptions and unapproved tools outside of the official company tech stack to process proprietary data. While these tools often promise immediate…

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AI and AI search · 22 Oct 2026

Why Commodity AI Content Is a Revenue Risk for B2B Scaleups

Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) requires brands to provide original, proprietary insights that add new information to the web, rather than merely rephrasing existing consensus. To be recommended by…

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AI and AI search · 22 Oct 2026

Why Generic AI Content is a Strategy for Invisibility

I have spent the last week reviewing how answer engines like Perplexity and SearchGPT interact with B2B content, and one thing is clear: if you are using AI to simply summarise what already exists, y…

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AI and AI search · 20 Oct 2026

Why your marketing AI keeps starting from scratch

Your team spends more time briefing and correcting AI than it saves. The problem isn't the AI. It's context.

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HubSpot and the new pricing · 20 Oct 2026

Is HubSpot still too expensive for a small business? The 2026 answer

Most founders decided HubSpot wasn't for them years ago. Here's what it actually costs a small team to get started today.

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HubSpot and the new pricing · 19 Oct 2026

HubSpot's New Pricing Model Makes Professional Onboarding More Important Than Ever

HubSpot's October 2026 pricing changes how businesses buy CRM software. Here's why professional onboarding, adoption and usage optimisation now matter more.

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CRM and revenue operations · 27 Aug 2026

Your Business Grew. Did Your HubSpot Grow With It?

Official definitions of a 'small business' are changing. For a founder, this is a prompt to ask: is the HubSpot that got us here ready for where we go next?

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Marketing and attribution · 27 Aug 2026

Is Your Best B2B Customer Just Down the Road?

Stop chasing global leads. Your most valuable prospects might be in your own city. Here's how to find and engage them using HubSpot.

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Drift and alignment · 27 Aug 2026

Your HubSpot Reports Are Lying To You. Here's How To Fix Them.

Can you prove your marketing ROI? If your HubSpot data is messy, the answer is no. Here’s how to build reports your CEO will actually trust.

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AI and AI search · 27 Aug 2026

Stop 'Vibe Coding' and Fix Your HubSpot Data First

Tempted to use AI to build custom sales tools? It's a trap. Creating data silos is the opposite of what your growing business needs from HubSpot.

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AI and AI search · 27 Aug 2026

Xero's AI Plan Is a Warning For Your HubSpot Data

Xero's new AI integrations are a sign of things to come. For founders, it's a prompt to ask who owns your data when you connect HubSpot to third-party tools.

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AI and AI search · 27 Aug 2026

The Biggest AI Risk? Your Messy HubSpot Data

Don't rush to use HubSpot's new AI tools. As a founder, your biggest risk isn't being left behind; it's feeding AI bad data and getting faster, confidently wrong answers.

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CRM and revenue operations · 6 Jul 2026

HubSpot reverses its data enrichment and AI terms update. What it means for your portal

HubSpot has confirmed it won't proceed with the 1 July 2026 terms changes on data enrichment, contact discovery and AI. Customer CRM data stays under customer control, and any future enrichment features will be opt-in. Here's what I'd do with the breathing room.

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AI and AI search · 29 Jun 2026

The first rung of the career ladder is being automated away. SMEs should be careful what they wish for.

A new GMAC survey shows 1 in 3 employers are replacing entry-level roles with AI. For SMEs, automating junior work without redesigning how people learn risks destroying the talent pipeline.

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CRM and revenue operations · 25 Jun 2026

That Google Warning: Are Your HubSpot Permissions a Ticking Time Bomb?

A recent Google warning highlights a major risk for SMEs. Your HubSpot permissions could be leaving the door wide open for data theft. Here's how to fix it.

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CRM and revenue operations · 25 Jun 2026

New Founders Are Tech-Smart, But Is Their HubSpot a Mess?

A new wave of technical founders are brilliant, but often neglect their sales process. Here's why getting your HubSpot right is your biggest advantage.

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Drift and alignment · 16 Jun 2026

Your Marketing Engine is Worthless If It's Illegible

Most founders build a marketing function that only they understand. This makes the business un-scalable, un-investable, and ultimately, unsellable.

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AI and AI search · 11 Jun 2026

Shadow AI: The Hidden Revenue Risk Inside Your Business

Your team is already using AI. Most of it sits outside the official stack, the CRM and the governance model. Here is why Shadow AI is a RevOps issue, not an IT issue, and how to turn it into an operating advantage.

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Drift and alignment · 6 Jun 2026

Stop Building Services Nobody Buys: What SMEs Can Learn From Retail

On-demand manufacturing isn't just for t-shirts. For founders, it's a model for running a leaner sales and marketing operation with less waste.

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CRM and revenue operations · 6 Jun 2026

Your HubSpot Needs an iOS Update, Not a Grand Redesign

Obsessing over a big HubSpot overhaul is killing your momentum. Here’s why small, regular updates create more value for your business.

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Drift and alignment · 4 Jun 2026

Succession Planning Isn't For Retirement, It's For This Quarter

A star employee leaving can cripple your pipeline. Here's how to use HubSpot to make your business resilient, not reliant on individuals.

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Sales and pipeline · 3 Jun 2026

Your Cash Buffer Isn't in Xero, It's in Your HubSpot Pipeline

A business's 'cash buffer days' are critical for survival. For growing businesses on HubSpot, that buffer isn't just an accounting metric; it's your sales pipeline.

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Marketing and attribution · 2 Jun 2026

Forget the Big Ads: Here's What Matters for Your HubSpot ROI

Big brands are spending millions on ads. For growing businesses, the real lesson isn't the ad, but how you measure its impact in HubSpot.

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AI and AI search · 1 Jun 2026

Forget Google's AI Hype. Do This In HubSpot Instead.

Feeling overwhelmed by AI news from Google and Microsoft? Here's the plain-English take for founders on what to focus on inside HubSpot right now.

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Drift and alignment · 1 Jun 2026

Selling Your Business? Your HubSpot Data Is Your Valuation

AI tools for M&A are emerging, but your company's valuation depends on the data you have today. Here's how to use HubSpot to prepare your business for a sale.

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Drift and alignment · 1 Jun 2026

Why alignment fails before HubSpot does

Most HubSpot portals are healthy on paper. The revenue problem is upstream: Sales, Marketing and Service running to different plans. Here's how to fix it.

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Drift and alignment · 1 Jun 2026

The audit that starts every engagement

Project36 starts every engagement with a technical audit of HubSpot, data, reporting, workflows, adoption and governance. Here is what we look at, and why.

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CRM and revenue operations · 1 Jun 2026

Governance without the theatre

A light governance model that keeps HubSpot clean without slowing anyone down. Naming, permissions, change control and documentation that actually work.

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Drift and alignment · 1 Jun 2026

The CORE™ model, explained

The CORE™ model explained: one primary outcome, three strategic priorities and five measurable indicators that connect company ambition to measurable execution.

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CRM and revenue operations · 1 Jun 2026

Reporting your board will read

What to strip out, what to keep, and how to build HubSpot reporting the board and leadership actually trust. Structured for revenue operations.

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Customer service and retention · 1 Jun 2026

Service is a revenue function

Why Service / Customer Success sits alongside Sales and Marketing in the CORE™ model, at the same weight. Retention and expansion are revenue too.

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Sales and pipeline · 1 Jun 2026

Building a Pipeline Your Board Can Trust

Move from gut-feel forecasting to data-driven pipeline management in HubSpot. A practical guide for Sales Directors.

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Sales and pipeline · 1 Jun 2026

From Spreadsheet Forecasting to Real Pipeline Data

Replace spreadsheet forecasts with trusted HubSpot pipeline data. Practical steps for Sales Directors making the transition.

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Sales and pipeline · 1 Jun 2026

Why Your Sales Team Won't Use the CRM

The real reasons reps avoid HubSpot and what to do about it. Practical guide for Sales Directors driving CRM adoption.

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CRM and revenue operations · 1 Jun 2026

Automating the RevOps Bottleneck

Where manual processes slow RevOps down and how to automate them in HubSpot. Practical automation guide for RevOps leaders.

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CRM and revenue operations · 1 Jun 2026

Data Quality Frameworks That Actually Work

Practical data quality frameworks for maintaining CRM data at scale. Stop fixing data once and start governing it properly.

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What do you wish HubSpot could do?

Tell us about the time-consuming task, disconnected system or idea you haven’t quite worked out yet.