The typical timeline for Salesforce to HubSpot migration is 6-8 weeks from start to finish, with a 2-week discovery and 2-week buffer of contract overlap.
Before you start the migration process, here are a few things you should keep in mind:
Understand Hard Data vs. Soft Data
- Hard data is defined as data that exists at the field-level of an object or record.
- Soft data includes data extracted from tasks, activities, emails, files, and attachments.
Identify All Requirements & Assemble a Plan
For an effective Salesforce-to-HubSpot migration, you need to know the why, who, and how of the migration process. Consider asking your team these configuration-related questions:
- Are there other systems integrated with Salesforce that require API calls? If yes, how many API calls should HubSpot be limited to per day?
- Will HubSpot be integrating with a sandbox environment or straight to a production instance? (It is ideal for most organizations to test the integration in a sandbox when possible - in this case, the sandbox needs to be a mirror image of the production environment)
- What credentials should be used as the Integration User? (Make sure to communicate the implications of Integration User choice as it relates to HubSpot AND Salesforce. For example, will there be cases where the Integration User is assigned as the Contact/Account/Opportunity owner?)
- What kind of objects are used in Salesforce? (Leads, Contacts, Business Accounts, Person Accounts, etc.)
- Will an inclusion list be used to control what data syncs between HubSpot and Salesforce?
- When a HubSpot contact is created or updated, should a Lead or Contact be created in Salesforce?
- When a Salesforce Lead is created or updated, should a Contact be created in HubSpot?
- When a Salesforce Contact is created or updated, should a Contact be created in HubSpot?
- When a Salesforce Lead is deleted, should its HubSpot Contact also be deleted?
- If a Contact's opportunity stage is updated in HubSpot, should the Lifecycle Stage be updated?
Build Your Form System
Once your sales team provides you with several important qualifying data points, it’s time to set up the forms you’ll be using to gather the required data.
Consider creating a prioritized list of each field you need to include. This list is likely to be somewhere between eight and twelve fields long. After that, use this list to identify which fields will go on each of the forms in your system.
Build the Flow of Your Sales Process
Technically, the Salesforce-to-HubSpot migration itself isn’t difficult or time-consuming. You can simply sync both platforms together and HubSpot can extract all the info out of Salesforce in one go. However, the biggest challenge is internal alignment.
You need to appraise your sales process to accommodate new data sources, including all customer interactions and the new client information likely coming your way. Re-think, simplify, and optimize the flow of your sales process in HubSpot.
Pre-migration Data Cleanse
Before migrating your data from one platform to another, make sure it is good data.
- Remove old records, even the completely inactive/incomplete contacts in the database that you’re hoping will come back someday.
- Eliminate duplicate records to avoid data discrepancy. Keep in mind that not all toolsets have the same ability to auto-deduplicate and the ones that do may base it on different unique identifiers. You may use Insycle to deduplicate records.
Migrate the Data
Migrating data from Salesforce to HubSpot CRM isn’t too difficult due to the native integration. You may also have a hybrid of both HubSpot and SFDC when going through the migration process. This is particularly helpful if your sales team has intricate reporting needs and has invested heavily in creating their own dashboards.
So, you may leave SFDC in place until the migration is over and use the HubSpot Sales Pro tools (that work in Salesforce) to fill the gaps.
Do a Backup & Giant Export of Everything
Create a backup plan to avoid any data loss. Whether or not you’ll still have access to your past data once the migration is complete, do a backup of your entire dataset as a security measure in case anything should go awry.
HubSpot has an easy-to-use native migration tool that works great for simpler use-cases. You only have to export your current CRM data into a .csv file and upload it into HubSpot. This way, you can import contacts, companies, deals, tickets, products, and notes.
User Acceptance Testing & Training
For a successful migration, it is crucial to dedicate the time necessary for a systematic testing phase. Test the system to expose any bugs or critical deficiencies.
You also need to train the team correctly in terms of:
- Timing, giving them sufficient time to schedule dedicated testing periods.
- Clear instruction and detail regarding the use-cases they should be testing.
- Expectations for recording their feedback.
