👋 Introduction: The Necessity of a Clean CRM

I undertook this project to go beyond theoretical knowledge and demonstrate my ability to translate real-world business challenges into a structured, scalable HubSpot CRM configuration. My goal was to create a foundational setup that addresses the most common barrier to growth: messy data.

To make this exercise realistic, I started by building a small simulated environment—a clean dataset including sample contacts, companies, and deals. This mirrored how an actual sales team would use the platform, allowing me to focus entirely on designing an environment built for consistent data entry and reliable reporting.

The Challenge — Mitigating Data Risk

I immediately zeroed in on the biggest hurdle many organizations face when adopting HubSpot: the difficulty in accurately tracking lead attribution and effectively segmenting customers. If a team doesn't know where their revenue is coming from, they can't make smart decisions about where to spend their budget.

The problem often lies in using HubSpot's default setup, which can allow for inconsistent or free-text inputs. For example, relying on users to type in the lead source leads to disastrous results like "Web Form," "webform," and "Website" all being treated as separate channels. This fragmentation makes reporting completely unreliable.

My central objective was to implement data controls—digital guardrails—that eliminate this risk, ensuring the CRM becomes a true single source of truth.

Solution 1 — Implementing Data Controls (Custom Properties)

My primary strategy was to replace guesswork with structure. This meant designing and implementing custom properties that leverage HubSpot's enumerator field types. This technical choice is critical because it literally enforces data consistency, preventing users from typing random or misspelled entries—a major cause of "dirty data."

A. The Contact Property: 'Lead Source (Custom)'

To solve the attribution challenge, I created a property on the Contact object:

• Property Name: Lead Source (Custom)
• Field Type Used: Dropdown Select
• Strategic Rationale: I defined the exact, clean list of acquisition channels: Website Form, Trade Show, Referral, and Paid Ad. Choosing a dropdown means users must select one of these predefined options. This ensures that every lead is accurately classified, making marketing reports on channel ROI 100% reliable. This property is the bedrock for all future lead-based reporting and segmentation.

Screenshot: HubSpot Settings → Data Management → Properties → Lead Source (Custom) with dropdown options.

B. The Company Property: 'Customer Type (Tier)'