What Do I Need to Know Before Working with a HubSpot Agency?

You know that you’re going to need outsourced support with HubSpot. But where do you start? When is the right time to reach out to a HubSpot agency?

As with most things in marketing, it depends.

How to Decide if an Agency is Right for You

After you map out your goals for the year, it’s time to see if you have the resources in-house to achieve them. While some goals require dedicated, full-time support, others may be more project-driven. These project-driven goals are the perfect opportunity to partner with an outside agency to realize your goals. Often they require highly specialized, expensive skills that wouldn’t make sense to have on your full-time staff. More-so, these skills are usually not needed after the project is complete. So, why hire an expensive new team member to no longer need their skills in six months?

That’s where an agency comes in.

How to Pick the Right Agency

Once you’ve decided you need more than your in-house team to achieve your goals, it’s time to decide what agency partner you need. There are three broad categories agencies fall into - strategists, partners, and doers. 

Strategist Agencies

Strategist agencies specialize in providing specific projects. These agencies have highly specialized, niche skills to save you time and staffing for high-impact projects. Partner with a strategist agency when you have a specific objective (ie implement HubSpot and integrate Salesforce) that requires a specialized skillset and a strategic mindset. You can find these agencies via referring software companies like HubSpot or Salesforce or a Google search for their specialty. 

Partner Agencies

Partner agencies serve as an extension of your team. They work in your project management tool and support various projects, from website content to sales enablement services and email marketing support. Work with a partner agency when you’re looking to outsource your marketing team or enhance a wide variety of skills on your team with one agency. You can find these agencies via a referring software company, referrals, or a Google search for their specialty. 

Doer Agencies

Doer agencies and freelancers provide hourly support for various tasks and typically work at a lower rate than strategist or partner agencies. Work with these agencies when you need extra bandwidth for well-defined tasks. Be sure you understand the work to be completed, as these agencies typically require more supervision. You can find these agencies or freelancers on Facebook groups and Upwork.

How to Start Working with an Agency

Once you've decided if you need a strategist, partner, or doer agency, it’s time to build your list of needs. The amount of information you need to bring to the table for each agency increases as you move from a strategist to a doer agency. 

For every agency partnership, you’ll want to know the following before your first conversation:

• What goals are you looking to accomplish?
• What does your organization gain if these goals are accomplished?
• What’s important to you in the support you’re contracting?
• How soon do you need these goals accomplished?
• What are you willing to invest to achieve these goals?
• How involved can your team be in this project?

When working with a strategist agency, you can approach the conversation with a high-level objective. For example, implementing HubSpot and integrating Salesforce. For more strategic teams, the agency you’re partnering with will have a project plan for the projects you’re looking to accomplish. However, if you’re looking for a lower-cost, doer agency, you should have a detailed task list when approaching the partner for support.

Picking an Agency Partner

Once you’ve done the legwork preparing to partner with an agency, it’s time to start looking for the perfect partner.

If you’re looking for a HubSpot partner agency, the best place to start is the HubSpot Partner Directory. You can filter results by location, budget, specialty, and more. You can easily contact partners and view reviews from verified customers all in one place.

If you’re looking for a more personal recommendation, reach out to your HubSpot account manager or personal network for partner recommendations.

Looking for a strategic partner to implement HubSpot and integrate Salesforce? Coastal Consulting specializes in the HubSpot Salesforce integration. We take on two new clients each month and deliver HubSpot implementations in under 60 days. Sound interesting? Let’s chat.