Prospecting

About HubSpot Prospecting Tool

The Prospecting feature in HubSpot acts as a centralized workspace for managing daily recruitment and outreach tasks. This tool is designed to keep outreach teams focused and on-task, helping them make the most of each day and reach prospective students more effectively. The best part is that staff members can handle everything within one space. You don’t need to juggle multiple apps or windows, you can view tasks, contact leads, and manage emails within HubSpot.

Here’s how it can help:

Focused Task View

Team members have a streamlined view of their daily priorities, allowing them to stay on track without distractions. This includes clear reminders about tasks, follow-ups, and any leads needing attention.

Lead Follow-Up

Team members can see which prospective students or leads they must follow up with. They get a list of people to contact, making prioritizing communication easy and increasing engagement with prospective students.

Suggested Activities

HubSpot suggests activities to help manage outreach efforts efficiently. For instance, it might suggest following up on an email from a prospective student or researching new leads before engaging them further. It can also recommend enrolling students in automatic email flows for consistent engagement.

Integrated Calendar

The built-in calendar provides a quick look at upcoming events, meetings, or reminders directly within HubSpot, making it easier to plan the day without switching between multiple tools.

💻 Watch HubSpot’s Video on Using the Prospecting Workspace

https://youtu.be/PE24aB2iDU4

Best Practices

Define Your Sales Process Before Implementation

Map out your existing sales stages, workflows, and prospecting goals.
Identify how tasks, meetings, and outreach align with your sales pipeline.
Ensure alignment between your team’s goals and HubSpot’s tools.

Customize the Workspace for Your Team

Configure lead stages and pipelines to match your sales cycle.
Set up task queues for calls, emails, and follow-ups to streamline your workflow.
Tailor properties (e.g., lead source, priority level) to meet your team's tracking and reporting needs.
Provide hands-on training to help team members understand how to:
- Log calls, tasks, and meetings.
- Use sequences and email templates effectively.
- Prioritize leads using HubSpot’s insights.

Leverage Automation for Efficiency

Implement sequences to automate follow-up emails and reminders.
Use workflows to assign leads to the right team members automatically.
Automate task creation based on prospect engagement (e.g., form submissions or email ope

Prioritize Leads Strategically

Set clear criteria for lead follow-up and ensure tasks are consistently completed.

Monitor, Analyze, and Adjust

Regularly review performance metrics in HubSpot (e.g., completed tasks, response rates, lead progress).
Use dashboards to visualize team productivity and pipeline health.
Adjust your workflows, sequences, or outreach strategy based on performance data.
Gather feedback from users on what’s working well and what needs improvement. Based on this feedback, optimize the setup and processes.

Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Use HubSpot’s Prospecting Tool

Accessing the Prospecting Tool in HubSpot for College Outreach

Accessing the Tool
- Go to HubSpot's main navigation bar, click Workspaces, then select Prospecting. This will bring you to the Summary tab, where you can see an overview of tasks, calendar events, and prospective student leads.
- The modules on this dashboard are movable, so feel free to rearrange them for a setup that best suits your workflow.
Managing Leads
- Click on the Leads tab next to Summary. In HubSpot, “leads” are individuals interested in your colleges programs.
- Here, you’ll find tools to engage each lead individually. Click on a lead’s name to send them emails, track their progress in their enrollment journey, and review recent communications. This space keeps everything organized and centralized for efficient follow-ups.
Using Your Calendar
- Go to Workspaces > Prospecting in the navigation bar, then click the Schedule tab. Here, you’ll see a read-only view of your connected calendar, which includes all scheduled events and tasks.
- This view helps you plan your daily workload and immediately see any schedule conflicts, making it easier to stay organized.
Tracking Engagement in Real-Time
- The Feed tab, located next to Schedule, offers a detailed history of activity notifications. This includes when leads interact with your emails or other outreach efforts, allowing you to gauge their interest and prioritize follow-ups.
- If you see a prospect engaging heavily, such as opening emails multiple times quickly, it could signal a good opportunity for immediate follow-up to maintain their interest.
Focused Outreach for Success
- HubSpot’s prospecting tool helps college staff maintain relevant, timely conversations with prospective students. By keeping all communications, tasks, and schedules in one place, staff can minimize distractions and stay focused on effectively engaging top prospects.

Setting Up, Organizing, and Managing Leads in HubSpot

Setting Up Leads in HubSpot

Creating Leads in HubSpot

Managing Leads in HubSpot

Contacts vs. Leads:
- Contacts: This includes everyone in your system (students, prospective students, alumni, etc.).
- Leads: A subset of contacts likely to engage or convert, representing prioritization opportunities. Leads help the outreach team focus on those with the highest potential for engagement.
Defining and Tracking Leads Using Lifecycle Stages:
- Lifecycle Stages categorize contacts based on their journey within your college’s enrollment process. This segmentation helps tailor communications and ensures a smooth handoff between recruitment and student affairs.
- MCCCD Lifecycle Stages:
  - Prospect: Potential students who expressed interest but haven’t applied.
  - Application Started: Students who have initiated an application.
  - Applicant: Students who have completed their application.
  - Matriculate: Accepted students preparing for enrollment.
  - Enrolled: Students currently attending classes.
  - Graduate: Students who have completed their program.
  - Employee: Faculty and staff working at the college.
Aligning on Lead Criteria:
- Ensure your team understands what makes a good lead (e.g., filling out an interest form or attending an event).

Manual Creation:
- In CRM > Contacts, select individuals and mark them as leads, assigning each a Lead Pipeline Stage based on their outreach status.
Automatic Creation:
- Use the Lifecycle Stage Property to auto-populate leads. Select Actions > Pull in leads in the Leads tab to filter by stage and timeframe.
Workflow Automation:
- In Automation > Workflows, create workflows to add leads based on specific criteria (e.g., email engagement, website visits). Choose the workflow type (Contact, Company, or Lead-based), set criteria, and select actions to generate leads automatically.

Accessing and Filtering Leads

Go to Workspaces > Prospecting and click on the Leads tab.

Filtering Leads:
- Lead Stage: Sort leads by their current stage to see who’s new, in active conversation, or further along.
- Labels (Hot, Warm, Cold): Assign labels based on interest level to prioritize outreach.
Using Compound Filters:
- Combine filters to narrow down your list. For instance, view hot leads who haven’t responded by selecting both filters to identify leads who immediately follow up.

Customizing Your Lead View

To keep the workspace focused, you can customize the view by clicking Edit columns to display only relevant details, such as lead status, last communication, etc.

Viewing and Engaging with Leads

Opening a Lead Record:
- Clicking on a lead opens a sidebar with key information, including Lead Stage, LAST ACTIVITY, NEXT ACTIVITY, and Recent communications for context.
- From this sidebar, you can quickly email, call, or enroll leads in automated emails, making outreach seamless.
Automatic Lead Status Updates:
- HubSpot updates lead statuses automatically when actions (like sending an email or making a call) are taken. This keeps records current without requiring manual updates.
Customizing Lead Stages:
- Adjust the lead pipeline to fit your process. HubSpot allows you to rename, add, or remove stages to match your outreach approach. It’s recommended that disqualification reasons be kept for tracking insights.

Scheduling Next Activities

To maintain consistent follow-ups, always schedule a Next Activity for each lead. Use the Schedule Next Activity dropdown or set reminders directly from the lead list to ensure no follow-up is missed.

Creating and Managing Tasks

Creating Tasks in HubSpot

Tasks can be created from individual records or through the tasks index page.

From Individual Records in the Prospecting Workspace

Accessing Leads: Go to Workspaces > Prospecting > Leads tab.
Opening a Lead: Select a lead’s name, which opens a split-view with your task list on the left and the contact record on the right.
Creating a Task:
- Click Create a Task and enter the Title, Due date, and set a Reminder (optional).
- Choose the Type of task (To-do, Call, or Email) and set Priority (Low, Medium, High).
- Assign the task to yourself or another team member.
- Add to Queue: Queues organize tasks by type, similar to a playlist, for easy management.
- Add Notes to specify outreach goals, making follow-ups more targeted.
Click Create to save the task within the individual lead record.

From the Tasks Index Page

Navigation: Go to CRM > Tasks for an overview of all tasks assigned to you.
Creating New Task: Click Create Task in the upper right. Fill out task details as before, and select Create or Create and add another if you wish to create multiple tasks in succession.

Completing Tasks in HubSpot

Accessing Tasks: Go to Workspaces > Prospecting. Here, tasks are organized by Tasks due today, Overdue tasks, and Due tomorrow to help you prioritize.
Starting a Task Queue:
- Tasks are categorized into To-dos, Emails, and Calls. You can start a specific queue or choose Start all tasks due today to work through them sequentially.
- The task queue opens with the contact record on the right for easy access to relevant details.
Marking Tasks Complete: Click the checkmark next to each task to mark it as complete. You’ll be prompted to create a follow-up task (set a date and time) or select Not now if a follow-up isn’t needed.

Using the CRM Tasks View for Expanded Management

Expanded Task View: Go to CRM > Tasks to see a broader view of tasks. You can organize tasks by Due date, Task type, Queue, and other filters here.
Starting Tasks from the CRM View: Click Start Tasks at the top of the list to work through tasks in your preferred order.

Customizing Contact Records for Effective Outreach

Adjusting Visible Properties: In the contact record, click Actions > Edit Properties to customize the information displayed, such as recent engagement, academic interests, or key milestones.
Contact Timeline: Each contact record has a timeline of all interactions (emails, calls, meetings). Use Filter activity to focus on specific activity types, streamlining access to relevant details.

How to Make Calls in HubSpot

Using HubSpot’s Native Calling Feature

Accessing Calls in the Prospecting Workspace

Go to Workspaces > Prospecting. Select Start X tasks due today to begin working through them (the number will adjust based on your tasks).

Call Options

Call from Browser: You can make calls directly from your computer, which will record and log the call in the contact’s activity timeline.
Call from Phone: Dial the contact directly from your phone.
Call from HubSpot App: With the HubSpot mobile app, you can search for contacts, companies, or deals on your phone, allowing you to call or text them from anywhere. This is particularly useful for outreach staff needing flexibility in contacting prospective students.

Taking Notes During the Call

Note Taking: During the call, take real-time notes within HubSpot to summarize the discussion, such as academic interests, questions, or follow-up actions.
Saving the Call: Click Hang up in the calling pane once the call ends. Complete your notes, then click Save call and complete task to log the call in the contact’s timeline and mark the task as complete.
Automatic Transcriptions: HubSpot automatically records and transcribes calls, saving them to the contact’s record for easy review. This is particularly useful for recalling key details or sharing call summaries with team members.

Taking Notes During the Call

While on the call, take real-time notes within HubSpot to summarize the discussion, such as academic interests, questions, or follow-up actions. These notes are invaluable for creating a personalized follow-up plan.
Saving the Call: Click Hang up in the calling pane once the call ends. Complete your notes, then click Save call and complete task to log the call in the contact’s timeline and mark the task as complete.

Using the Mobile App for Calls on the Go

With the HubSpot mobile app, you can search for contacts, companies, or deals on your phone, allowing you to call or text them from anywhere. This is particularly useful for outreach staff needing flexibility in contacting prospective students.