HubSpot Implementation at ProjectTogether
I co‑led a full CRM replacement from Zoho CRM to HubSpot so that 65 people could manage stakeholder relationships reliably.
The Context
ProjectTogether is a nonprofit that brings society, politics, and business together to take action.
They had used Zoho CRM for about five years. Adoption outside the product team was low and reliability issues eroded trust. Leadership agreed to move to a CRM that people would actually use. I co‑led the work with my colleague from discovery to an org‑wide rollout in Q1 2024.
What “good” looked like for contact management
- New contacts land in the CRM.
- Profiles are complete enough to be useful.
- People can find the right contacts fast.
- Relationship context is visible.
- Teams can send messages to the right segments.
Why it matters: These basics prevent double outreach and knowledge loss when people leave.
The Problem
Zoho CRM held nearly 10,000 contacts. Most lacked important information. Many staff did not use the tool at all and tracked contacts in spreadsheets.
Bugs and formatting issues made everyday tasks fragile. Decisions from earlier years no longer matched current needs. The result was inconsistent outreach and missing context across teams.
Why it matters: Without shared context, coalitions weaken and opportunities get missed.
Approach and Process
1) Discovery and criteria
I mapped the current state, captured org‑wide use cases, and defined must, should, and nice‑to‑have criteria.
This included custom properties and modules, email and history timelines, segmentation with saved filters, append‑style mass updates, EU data residency, automation, reporting, Gmail integration, and total cost.
2) Market scan and evaluation
After a research phase we selected a few candidates and rated Zoho CRM, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Copper, CiviCRM and Folk on the defined criteria.
HubSpot scored well on powerful filtering and saved views, a simple drag‑and‑drop email editor, Gmail integration, EU hosting, high limits for fields, and lists for campaigns.
3) User tests and decision
We ran user tests with a diverse group of staff to get a even better comparison for 4 selected CRM tools.
Perceptions of ease of use varied, yet all finalists beat Zoho CRM. We selected HubSpot as our finalist. We presented the process and recommendation to the Leadership Circle to get the final buy-in for HubSpot
4) Implementation and rollout
- Kick‑off event on 15.01.2025 for the whole organization.
- Multiple introduction Workshops in the first 2 weeks.
- Intensive support through February.
- Starter Kit with short videos and FAQs.
- Slack support channel and regular office hours.
- Simple rules for when to use HubSpot vs. other tools.
- Alignment and accountability through Team Leads.
Why it matters: Clear milestones and ongoing enablement turn a new tool into a new habit.
Solution
I configured HubSpot so the basics felt effortless.
- Data model and custom properties matched ProjectTogethers sectors, relationship stages, and reporting needs.
- Data migration from Zoho CRM with cleanup and safeguards.
- Saved views and lists for quick segmentation.
- Email logging and timelines via Google accounts for shared visibility.
- Starter Kit and office hours to lower the learning curve.
Why it matters: Lowering cognitive load and making the right way the easy way drives adoption.
Results
Six months after launch we ran a pulse survey. Feedback was positive and highlighted clear areas for improvement.
People valued finding contacts fast, seeing relationship history, and working from shared views and lists. Colleagues asked for more structured updates and lighter workflows for event and calendar tasks.
Why it matters: Early signals supported continued investment in enablement and simple workflows rather than expanding features immediately.
Challenges and Trade‑offs
- Breadth vs. focus: HubSpot offers many features. Not everyone’s main job is CRM. I emphasized role‑based basics, lean training, and office hours instead of platform‑wide mastery.
- Central rules vs. team autonomy: We needed clear norms about when HubSpot is the source of truth. I worked through Team Leads to build shared accountability without heavy policing.
- Speed vs. quality: We moved fast in Q1 to ride New Year momentum. We then iterated based on real usage and feedback.
Lessons and Next Steps
- Secure lead commitment earlier: When a Team Lead modeled usage, team adoption followed. I would formalize commitments and publish simple scorecards.
- Package updates: I would shift to bi‑weekly, structured update bundles. Each update would name the audience and the area it affects.
- Workflow polish: I would tighten event and calendar flows, refine segmentation tags, and add gentle nudges for incomplete contacts.
- Lightweight metrics: I would add dashboards for profile completeness, recency of activity, and list hygiene. The goal is a monthly snapshot that keeps quality visible.
Role and Credits
Role:
I worked as a pair with my colleague and co‑lead across selection, implementation, migration, rollout, and enablement.
Stakeholder:
We collaborated closely with the Leadership Circle and Team Leads across functions.
Project Timeline:
Oct 2023 to Dec 2024