The Agency Growth Blog - For Owners Who Want Growth

How To Navigate The Changes To The HubSpot Partner Program And Thrive

Posted by Mike Lieberman on Mar 8, 2023 8:15:00 AM

It’s been a while since I published any agency-directed content on the Agencies 2 Inbound website. Let’s just say the agency business at Square 2 has needed my attention more than in the past. There are a number of strategic initiatives we’re working on that are both time-consuming and exciting. 

HubSpot threw a wrench into a lot of the agency’s long-term plans with the announced changes to the Partner Program. I’ve heard from many of you, heard from HubSpot on the response from the partners, and of course have my own opinions about all the upcoming changes. 

It’s very interesting to see the wide variety of responses. Everything from thinking this makes sense for HubSpot, to taking legal action for removing lifetime commissions.

The bottom line is that HubSpot has always taken care of HubSpot. That’s not a bad thing. As agency owners, you should have been taking care of your own businesses, regardless of what HubSpot was doing. Now you’re forced to make some difficult decisions. These are decisions that probably should have been made years ago. 

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Topics: HubSpot, HubSpot Partner Program, HubSpot Solution Partners

Are You Going To Inbound This Year? Heck Yea, I’m Going!

Posted by Mike Lieberman on Sep 11, 2020 7:45:00 AM

I have to admit, this week feels a little weird. Last year we were at Inbound and there were meetings, dinners, parties, get togethers, sessions, high fives, handshakes, and a ton of wows!

This year, not so much.

But Inbound is happening anyway and yes, I’m attending and yes, I’m speaking, and yes, I’m looking forward to what the team at HubSpot has put together for their annual conference.

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Topics: HubSpot, Inbound 2020

The Best Way To Sell HubSpot To Prospects Is Shockingly NOT To Sell HubSpot

Posted by Mike Lieberman on Oct 24, 2019 7:45:00 AM

With Over 200 HubSpot Customers We Know Something About This

I get it. You want to sell more HubSpot licenses. You want to make your CAM happier, you want to move up in the partner tiers, you want more commissions, and hopefully you want your clients on HubSpot because they get better results.

But how do you actually do this? The basic question is: Do you sell HubSpot? or Do you sell your agency services? Maybe it’s a combination of both, but does that get tricky?

Ask HubSpot and you might not be surprised to hear them recommend selling HubSpot. They even announced a competition at Partner Day in September. It was “Send us your best HubSpot pitch deck.”

But ask some of the top agencies and their answer could be different.

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Topics: Sales Process, HubSpot

Who Are The Next HubSpots And What You Should Be Doing About Using Those Tools Now

Posted by Mike Lieberman on May 15, 2019 7:15:00 AM

We first met HubSpot back in 2009. At the time, I pledged to Pete Caputa, that Square 2 would be HubSpot’s best partner. Almost 10 years later, we get a lucrative commission check every quarter from HubSpot and every quarter I look back 10 years and kick myself for not pursuing similar deals with other technology partners.

While I can’t go back in time and do it differently, I can try to look forward today at who might be the new HubSpot over the next ten years and make sure we have partnership agreements and an operational model that helps these new companies the same way we helped HubSpot over the past 10 years.

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Topics: HubSpot, marketing technology, sales technology, Technology Practice

Coming To HubSpot’s Partner Day? Here’s How To Take Full Advantage Of This Special Event

Posted by Mike Lieberman on Apr 12, 2018 7:20:00 AM

If you’ve been to Inbound and loved it, then HubSpot’s Partner Day is something you should consider. While the registration is limited (I don’t think it’s been closed yet), Partner Day is a unique opportunity to spend quality time with HubSpot team members.

It’s also time to talk to and learn from agencies who all have similar challenges and issues. This smaller event (around 200 people) and its location (in HubSpot) offices allow for a more intimate, educational, and highly productive two days. I would highly recommend anyone working with HubSpot to find the time and money to attend the event.

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Topics: HubSpot

Why Your Partner Tier With HubSpot Means Almost Nothing

Posted by Mike Lieberman on Jan 3, 2018 9:00:00 AM

I’ve been reading a handful of celebratory announcements on social media highlighting the ascension of several agencies to Diamond or Platinum status in the HubSpot ecosystem.

This is an accomplishment, no doubt, and one any agency should be proud of but as HubSpot’s first Diamond Partner, I can assure you that status is no guarantee of success, nor is it a measure of an agency’s ability to perform.

When you think about it, partner level status simply means you’re handling a certain level of business with HubSpot as the marketing automation platform. It signals that you have acquired a certain number of HubSpot clients. The number required to achieve partner level status is not particularly high. Silver only requires $1,125 in monthly managed licensing revenue and that you sold the same $1,250 in licensing revenue. That means you can get to Silver by selling ONE nice Pro level client. That hardly qualifies you as an expert.

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Topics: agency goal setting, HubSpot, 2018 planning

At The Marketo Conference: The Big Difference Between Marketo And HubSpot Clients

Posted by Mike Lieberman on Apr 25, 2017 7:16:00 AM

Why You Might Want To Consider Working With Both Technologies

We’ve been a HubSpot Partner since 2009 and we’ve worked with over 100 HubSpot clients in that time frame. We continue to be big proponents of HubSpot. But we’re also on our own journey to grow our agency, create a diverse and thriving community of clients and keep our agency on the cutting edge of marketing and sales services to ensure our clients get the best results.

Back in October we acquired a Marketo agency to help us expand who we work with and the services we offer. That chapter in our journey has been eye opening. I went to the Marketo conference last year and that further convinced me that working with Marketo clients was a strategic move for our agency. In the past 12 months (a year since last year’s conference and six months since we purchased BlueBird Strategies) I’ve seen that plan start to pay off. I think its important for you to understand the differences so you can make your own decisions about who you work with and what you offer.

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Topics: Marketo, HubSpot, Marketo Conference, HubSpot vs. Marketo

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