CRM user management is an essential function for any CRM administrator. In HubSpot, Salesforce, and other CRMs, CRM user management involves creating and editing users and their capabilities within the CRM. Teams using the HubSpot Salesforce integration must manage users and their permissions in both systems. Here’s an exploration of how CRM administrators can create and manage users in HubSpot and Salesforce, followed by a look at how to manage user permissions when using the native HubSpot Salesforce integration.
CRM governance relies on proficient user management. User permissions control what teams can see and do in your CRM. Without proper direction, your CRM of choice, whether it be HubSpot, Salesforce, or any other platform, can quickly become a mismanaged mess.
User management entails creating, modifying, and overseeing user roles and permissions—in other words, determining who can do what within your CRM environment. Get it right, and you facilitate seamless collaboration, bolster data security, and enable the delivery of personalized customer experiences. The true magic happens when every user, from marketing mavens to sales superstars, can proficiently perform their tasks without overstepping boundaries or hitting unnecessary roadblocks—achieving this is the art and science of CRM user management.
HubSpot uses a combination of Seats, Permission Sets, and Teams to control what a user can see and do in HubSpot.
HubSpot Seats determine what parts of your HubSpot account the user can access. HubSpot’s Seat-based model has several types of Seats that determine which HubSpot features you can access. These include:
After a Seat is assigned, Permission Sets give capabilities within their Seat. Permission Sets provide an easy way to extend and withhold access to functionality within HubSpot's Marketing, Sales, CRM, Admin, and Service feature sets (and more!). Permission Sets can be easily created and customized for each set of users. For example, you can make a different Permission Set for marketers, sales teams, and their respective management. Then, as you create similar users in the future, you will have a ready-made Permission Set to assign. Review HubSpot’s user permissions guide to get a deeper understanding of permissions in HubSpot.
Finally, Teams organize users within the CRM. Teams can be nested to create a hierarchy of visibility. Teams can see records owned by members of their Team and teams falling below them. However, they cannot see records owned by members of Teams above them in the hierarchy. Teams can also be used in HubSpot Workflows to manage round-robin record assignments easily.
Salesforce uses a combination of Licenses, Profiles, Roles, and Organizational Sharing Rules to manage team actions and visibility within the CRM.
Salesforce Licences provide access to Salesforce functionality. While you can create Permission Sets (covered later) that can apply to multiple Licenses, you may only be able to access some of the features you have permission to use with the correct License. The types of Salesforce Licenses available to your team will depend on the type of Salesforce Clouds and editions you can access in your organization. We’ll focus on the Standard Salesforce Licenses available in most Salesforce editions.
Salesforce Roles determines which records a user can see in Salesforce. Roles work with an organizational hierarchy that allows the administrator to determine how specific roles relate to others within the organization. This is typically used to manage visibility for sales teams to prevent visibility into records owned by other teams or territories.
Salesforce Profiles controls what users can do with the records they see in Salesforce. Profiles provide an easy way to define default settings for a specific group of users. If the Standard Profiles aren’t sufficient, Salesforce administrators can create custom Profiles for their organization.
Salesforce Permission Sets are used with Salesforce Profiles to manage what users can do in Salesforce. They add capabilities to the Salesforce Profile assigned to a user. Permission Sets cannot be used to reduce the permissions assigned to a user.
Teams using HubSpot and Salesforce will have two pools of users and permissions to manage. The permissions assigned to users in each system will likely differ, further complicating the situation. Here are the primary scenarios for configuring users in HubSpot and Salesforce when using the integration.
Marketing users at organizations using HubSpot and Salesforce spend most of their time working in HubSpot. HubSpot is used for email marketing, marketing automation, subscription management, social scheduling, content creation, and more. Marketing users will need more permissions in HubSpot than they will in Salesforce,
HubSpot Configuration:
Salesforce Configuration:
Sales users at organizations using HubSpot and Salesforce spend most of their time working in Salesforce unless they also use HubSpot for its sales enablement features. Salesforce is primarily used to create, work, and close deals with potential and existing clients. Sales users will need more permissions in Salesforce than they will in HubSpot,
HubSpot Configuration:
Salesforce Configuration:
User management is one small piece of administrating HubSpot and Salesforce when using the native HubSpot Salesforce integration. If you’re not confident in how your team uses the HubSpot Salesforce integration, enroll in the HubSpot Salesforce Integration Certification Course. This course will walk you through all aspects of the HubSpot Salesforce integration, from data compliance and integration settings to how to install and optimize the integration. Once completed, you will earn your certification in the HubSpot Salesforce integration to add to your resume and show off on your LinkedIn profile.