Let’s be real for a second. CRM platforms in general often set out to solve a particular problem, but in the end become bloated, clunky, expensive, limiting versions of the nimble tool they once were.

HubSpot is no different. With its tricky UX, limited features and functionality, and multiple paywalls to solve the smallest of problems – it just isn’t fit for purpose anymore. Especially not for anything smaller than enterprise sized businesses.

383 Group were a long time HubSpot user, running into the same problems highlighted above. But return on investment was a major factor here, as the value extracted from HubSpot was far outweighed by the cost of the platform itself.

383 needed a single source of truth for all data, and a total replatforming process. The transition to a new CRM tool was on the cards, and High Level turned out to be just what they were looking for.

With its many capabilities, easy to understand UX, and low cost barrier – we set out to transition and transform 383 Group’s CRM strategy.

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High Level is a relatively new tool on the scene, but is rapidly advancing and adding genuinely useful functionality each month.

Being an intuitive platform to use, it made the most sense to transition away from HubSpot and over to Go High Level.

The approach was simple:

A comprehensive data strategy involving a full data audit and new tagging strategy

• A new pipeline structure incorporating multiple pipelines with distinct stages for better organisation and a smoother prospect experience
• Unified data involving High Level forms to replace the piece meal approach, meaning all data input was centralised

The beauty of High Level is that it has marketing tools wrapped around it. From landing pages to newsletters, forms to social media scheduling – it really does do it all.

This meant that we could get sales and marketing working in harmony, executing campaigns in sync with each other.

From initial discovery to understand where 383 were from a CRM and data point of view, through to training and transition – we covered it all.

Here’s what went down.

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First thing’s first, we kicked off with an onboarding and tour of the High Level platform.

It was crucial that the 383 team (and soon to be super users) understood the platform they were transitioning to, and had a proper chance to poke around and get to grips with just how much High Level could do for them.

Once the tour and onboarding had been completed, it was time for a bit more discovery to understand where the data was coming from, how much of it there was, and what state it was in. This informed the data strategy.

After we’d established the data strategy, we could audit it properly – this meant working out which data was good, which was risky, and which was bad. Then we could upload it into the platform and start implementing the tagging strategy.

Running alongside the data upload and tagging was the setup of new pipelines. This meant multiple pipelines to account for different sources of data and leads. 

Each pipeline had to have distinct stages to keep the CRM organised and reflect the real-world buyer’s journey.

As mentioned, High Level has marketing capabilities contained inside it. To get marketing and sales working together well, we implemented landing pages, newsletters, social media scheduling, and critically automations.

The automations allowed us to ensure that prospects in the middle of the funnel, or even early in the funnel, were being nurtured regularly with a drip feed of human-first email communication.

Because the pipelines were set up with distinct stages, we were able to set up the automations to reflect the natural journey a prospect takes through the funnel.

Further, the automations could be triggered by form submissions that had data dropping into High Level naturally and automatically tagged, too.

Alongside all of the implementation came intensive training on the platform. To get the team using the platform properly and in anger, the training had to be detailed and in stages.

To complement the training, we handed over a full Notion Wiki guide to the platform full of FAQs, how-to’s, and handy links. All developed through our own use of the platform.

But none of the training and implementation means anything without outcomes.

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The objective of the whole project was to move 383 away from HubSpot and onto a natural, easy to use platform that would enable their sales function and sales teams to act swiftly.

At the time of writing, 383 are still using High Level every day and have managed to move streets ahead of where they were with HubSpot, as well as proving ROI.

From launching a contact form on their website that drops into High Level, to having clean, tagged data in their CRM. It’s been an incredibly satisfying transition to be a part of.

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