Migrating from Salesforce to HubSpot Sales Enterprise in 30 Days
OVERVIEW Learning Academy decides to abort Salesforce and migrate to HubSpot Sales Enterprise.
We were introduced to Nomadic Learning by a HubSpot Account Executive. On a short prep call, he explained that Nomadic was looking to leave Salesforce for HubSpot but had an aggressive deadline to hit in order to get their data moved before the license expired.
He was eager to get the Nomadic team into a shiny new Enterprise Sales license but knew HubSpot's standard onboarding services wouldn't be enough.
The timeline would also be a stretch, but he reached out to me to see if we could help. We accepted the challenge, and we got an introduction call scheduled for the next day.
CHALLENGE Short timeline, ambitious requirements.
On the day I first met Matt Hemstreet (SVP of Sales at Nomadic), I learned their Salesforce license was set to expire in just 31 days. He had years of critical data to move. He needed the HubSpot CRM configured to meet his current CRM architecture. He needed his team trained on how to operate in it. We had a lot of work to do and needed to move fast.
I turned over their proposal in 24 hours, Matt executed it a day later, and we kicked off the project 25 days ahead of his expiration date.
SOLUTION A three-headed migration solution.
The project consisted of three elements: onboarding, data migration, and team training. We knew we needed to stack the onboarding and migration together to meet the timeline. We also understood that their team needed to be up and running in HubSpot's CRM the day after their license expired. Here's how we tackled the job:
Onboarding HubSpot
At Instrumental Group, we have a dedicated team for HubSpot Onboarding and offer a host of services to help new customers activate their new HubSpot license quickly. Our HubSpot Success Managers (HSMs) are Master Training Certified by HubSpot themselves, ensuring they have a well-rounded and complete understanding of the entire HubSpot Suite. We introduced Matt and the Nomadic Learning team to their dedicated HSM and set forth to complete the following steps.
- Step 1: Global License Configuration: We offer to pick up all the initial settings and global configuration on new portals. We started with a workbook to ensure we had the proper branding elements, then jumped in to set up the CRM and Sales Enterprise features to ensure their instance was ready for customization.
- Step 2: HubSpot Software Training: We held two calls to train Matt and his Admin to operate inside HubSpot CRM and how all the Sales Enterprise tools worked. This training element fulfilled the requirements by HubSpot to allow for waiving their onboarding consulting fees.
Data Migration with Migratr
This was by far the most critical step of the process and where we used our secret weapon. Our ability to migrate both hard and soft data out of Salesforce so quickly was fueled by a new product we developed. Our Salesforce Data Migrator had been used several times in previous months while in beta. Now it was showtime!
- Step 1: HubSpot Field Mapping: We started with an audit of the existing SFDC environment to identify all required fields for migration. Then we configured HubSpot to match, ensuring the ability to migrate successfully.
- Step 2: Data Migration: We leveraged our custom Salesforce to HubSpot Data Migration App to migrate all earmarked hard and soft data out into HubSpot. It took only a couple of hours to configure and connect it; then, the tool did the rest. It's built to seamlessly extract all earmarked data and port it into the proper fields while maintaining data associations between objects. The entities we were able to migrate include:
- 7 years of contacts, company, and deal records
- All notes, meetings, calls, tasks, emails, pipelines, properties, and record owners
- All attachments, product objects, and product line items
- Step 3: Validation and Testing: We reviewed the migrated data together, ensuring accuracy. Everything checked out, the data was successfully moved into HubSpot in the proper fields.
- Step 4: Delta migration for net new data: To finish the migration we ran a final migration to pick up all net new data and move into HubSpot for go-live before marking the project complete.
Team Training
Our training methodology also aligns closely with HubSpot. We've adopted their preferred method of Change Management, ADKAR. We customize training curriculums to build awareness, create desire, develop knowledge, foster ability, and reinforce change and adoption. We'll plan a phase beyond this project that focuses on reinforcement specifically. For this project, we agreed to the following steps:
- Step 1: CRM Tour: We started with Matt as our internal champion. As the sales leader, it was important for him to understand how HubSpot was built to meet his team's needs. We rolled out the CRM to his sales team of 10 members the following day with a Zoom meeting to tour the entire system.
- Step 2: Role-Based Training: Our next step was to host two follow-up training sessions with the sales team to answer questions and provide support. Each session included preparation assignments, including content to cover, resources, and desired impact. Aligning team training based on priorities and feedback is key to successful adoption, which is why we customize training sessions for impact.
- Step 3: Documentation: We were also careful to document the CRM procedures. We created a library of training resources for refreshers, reference, and new employee onboarding. All documentation and training videos were labeled and filed inside their HubSpot file manager for fast reference.
RESULTS Reward favors those willing to take risk.
No data was lost. Nomadic Learning was able to shut down their Salesforce license by their deadline without incurring any additional costs. Sunsetting Salesforce for HubSpot allowed them to increase capabilities and decrease their software costs. It also saved them a significant amount of administration costs, as they were able to self-administer HubSpot after training ended.
Sometimes the first step in growing and scaling your business is to make a foundational move into a platform that sets your team up for success. In this example, our ability to successfully migrate Nomadic's entire sales history into HubSpot before the deadline was the ultimate barometer for success.
We were lucky to work with a client who understood the need to work closely. The Data Migrator was the ace up our sleeve, allowing us to extract and migrate all that critical data without massive costs and manual labor. Everything came together, and now we look forward to phase 2. It's time to grow from here.