How OxTS Streamlined Global Sales Operations with HubSpot

The tipping point for OxTS was the spreadsheet becoming too large and unwieldy; their "hacky" way of using an Office365 Excel spreadsheet for sales CRM activities led to increased manual work, inefficient monitoring, and limited visibility into their sales pipeline.

They needed a cohesive plan to establish a single source of truth to improve data quality, performance tracking and marketing and sales alignment.

“We were running a £18 million turnover business through a spreadsheet for sales planning and forecasting.”

- Simon T
Director of Commercial

Manual and Inefficient Processes:

Their sales process heavily relies on channel partners who inform them about any new opportunities which would be then manually logged into a spreadsheet.

This manual process not only created room for potential human error, but one of the most glaring issues was their follow-up process with leads. More often than not, leads either fell through the cracks entirely or received delayed follow-ups. 

Despite their attempts to bring some order to the chaos with macros and formatting, the spreadsheet's reliance on manual entry often resulted in inaccuracies, putting the data integrity at risk.

Not having an automated system for collecting data and integrating it into a central CRM slowed down real-time engagement with potential leads, which led to lost sales opportunities and lower customer satisfaction.

Limited Reporting Capabilities:

It was challenging to measure the quality of leads coming through distribution channels effectively since spreadsheets only provided a static snapshot of data. This made it impossible to identify trends, such as changes in the sales pipeline over time.

Moreover, every commercial team was using different systems, for example: marketing was using Marketing Hub and sales was using Office365. This led to data silos, and this lack of a consolidated view of the pipeline made it difficult to attribute revenue to marketing or sales on the spreadsheet.

Our collaboration with OxTS was focused on improving their current sales process by implementing HubSpot Sales Hub and training their team to ensure they were comfortable with the platform. 

The objective was to address specific challenges OxTS was facing in its sales CRM activities, particularly with the use of an Office365 Excel spreadsheet.

1. Streamlining sales CRM activities by transitioning from an Office365 Excel spreadsheet to HubSpot, reducing manual processes, and implementing automation for contact and deal management. Establish a centralised hub designed to align with OxTS' commercial team's processes. This strategic move aimed to streamline operations and enable more efficient, personalised communication, enhancing overall team productivity and customer engagement.
2. Enhancing data integrity and visibility by centralising sales and marketing efforts within HubSpot. This involved utilising HubSpot's reporting and analytics features to monitor metrics such as marketing influence on revenue, lead quality, and sales pipeline changes over time. This approach not only improved tracking capabilities but also enabled better attribution reporting and resource allocation.
3. Establishing standardised processes within the CRM system to ensure consistent follow-up, reduce errors, and improve operational efficiency across four countries and over forty export markets.
4. Implementing workflows and automation to efficiently manage inquiries from various sources like the website, event forms, LinkedIn, and Google ad campaigns, ensuring prompt follow-ups and lead progression.

Once we identified OxTS’s goals we started with a workshop to dig deeper into their current processes and devise strategies to optimise them for improved team alignment and efficiency. This helped us agree on OxTS’s requirements and our suggestions to help them succeed:

Data Mapping and Migration

We began with a virtual scoping process to identify areas for optimisation by mapping user journeys and aligning sales and marketing efforts. This involved:

• Data Mapping Workshop: A comprehensive workshop to assess needs and map out data fields, particularly for a Custom Object ('Distributors'), leading to clear process mappings and strategy documentation.
• Data Migration and Cleaning: Transitioning existing spreadsheet data to HubSpot enabled importing contacts, companies, and deals. A significant effort was made to de-duplicate records, addressing data quality issues and enhancing operational efficiency.

OxTS was initially sceptical about how much help they needed with the workshops at first. But as they got into it, they realised having experts guide them through was crucial, especially for the data migration to HubSpot. 

In fact, they ended up including their entire team in these workshops as it made a huge difference in understanding their processes and ensuring a smooth transition to HubSpot.

Sales Hub Implementation

The implementation phase focused on setting up the HubSpot Sales Hub with an emphasis on:

• Custom Processes Creation: This included configuring HubSpot to meet OxTS’s unique business needs, ensuring that sales and marketing strategies were in sync and that the infrastructure was set up to support these needs. We also built a custom object for them - Distributor to help them track where their new opportunities are coming from.
• Automation and Reporting: Implementing efficient automation and insightful reporting mechanisms to improve workflows and support informed decision-making.

The implementation process began with establishing deal pipelines with clear stages, updating deal properties, migrating existing data, and setting up workflows for streamlined deal processing.

Tailored workflows were set up to route inquiries to the appropriate salesperson based on territories and product pages, enhancing efficiency and response times. A significant effort was dedicated to ensuring the accuracy and effectiveness of these workflows before transitioning into report generation to monitor their performance and impact. 

This implementation marked a transformative shift for OxTS in terms of increased visibility through dashboards and reports. This visibility enabled timely insights and informed decision-making, with reports being tailored and distributed to relevant stakeholders based on their interests and needs.

Additionally, the product price list was migrated into HubSpot's product library, streamlining quoting and related tasks that were previously managed through cumbersome manual processes involving spreadsheets, Word documents, and PDF quotations for each inquiry and customer.

Onboarding and Training

A critical component of the project was ensuring the OxTS team was fully onboarded and proficient with the new system:

• Comprehensive Training: Led by certified HubSpot Trainers, the training covered system fundamentals, advanced configurations, and practical use cases to ensure the team's success.
• Ongoing Support: Post-implementation support focused on CRM health, troubleshooting, automation optimisation, and advanced reporting to maintain system integrity and performance.

Following the implementation of HubSpot Sales Hub, OxTS experienced a transformative shift in its sales and marketing operations. 

The transition from an Office365 Excel spreadsheet to HubSpot significantly reduced manual processes, leading to improved efficiency and automation in contact and deal management which helped them effectively run their business across 4 countries and export to over 40 countries. 

Centralising sales and marketing efforts within HubSpot provided a unified platform for the commercial team, enhancing visibility, data integrity, and collaboration across departments and locations. 

The establishment of standardised processes within HubSpot ensured consistent lead follow-up, minimised errors, and boosted operational efficiency globally. Leveraging HubSpot's reporting and analytics capabilities, OxTS gained valuable insights into key metrics such as marketing influence on revenue, lead quality, and sales pipeline dynamics, enabling informed decision-making and resource allocation.

Furthermore, automation in contact management streamlined lead progression and improved sales efficiency, contributing to a more effective and productive sales and marketing environment overall.

Lastly, OxTS aimed to grow sales in new markets and by analysing their current pipeline and its reliability they were able to make informed forecasts for sales. HubSpot significantly helped them grow their pipeline and number of deals at advanced stages.