How to tell if your HubSpot is underperforming? 12 signs

A "broken" HubSpot is rarely technically broken; it's usually years of ad-hoc adjustments that have collectively become unmanageable. Symptoms: 300+ custom properties nobody knows anymore, conflicting workflows, dashboards nobody trusts, sales bypassing the system via Excel. These 12 signals help you recognise whether an audit or a redesign is worthwhile. With 4 or more matches: time for action.

Why HubSpot often gets stuck after 2-3 years

HubSpot is rarely set up correctly for the long term in one go. The initial implementation is usually pragmatic: getting productive quickly. After that, every marketer, sales employee, and consultant makes ad-hoc changes — workflows, properties, custom views, automations — without central oversight. After 24-36 months, the result is a system that works technically but functionally serves no one.

A redesign is then cheaper than continuing to repair. The 12 signals below are the most common symptoms.

The 12 Signals

• 1. You have 200+ custom properties. Nobody knows anymore which ones are used and which are not.
• 2. Sales uses Excel alongside HubSpot. A classic sign that the CRM is not the single source of truth.
• 3. Reports contradict each other. Two dashboards showing "leads this month" display different numbers.
• 4. Workflows have names like "Workflow 27 - copy - final". No documentation, no owner, nobody dares to turn them off.
• 5. Lead scoring no longer means anything. Everyone scores 80+ or nobody scores. The signal has become noise.
• 6. Contact records have duplicate or conflicting data. Name in CAPS, name in lowercase, two jobs, three email addresses.
• 7. Marketing emails end up in spam. List hygiene is overdue; bounces and disengaged contacts have not been cleaned up.
• 8. Forms ask for fields that are not used anywhere. "What is your company size?" — but that field doesn't appear anywhere in workflows or segmentation.
• 9. No consistent lifecycle stages. Some contacts are Lead, others Subscriber, some directly Customer without a logical trigger.
• 10. Integrations run on someone's personal API key. That person has since left. Nobody dares to turn it off.
• 11. Workflows triggering each other in infinite loops. Sometimes discovered by HubSpot's safety net, sometimes only when support calls.
• 12. Nobody can explain the system to a new colleague. Onboarding costs a week of knowledge transfer from the old-timers.

What an audit costs and delivers

A HubSpot audit by a specialist typically costs €2.500-€7.500 for an SME environment. It delivers: a report on what exists, what is redundant, what is missing, and a redesign plan. Lead time: 2-4 weken.

The actual redesign (data cleanup, property cleanup, workflow rebuild, dashboard renewal) typically costs €8.000-€25.000 and takes 6-12 weken. For larger organisations with multiple business units, it can amount to €60.000+.

Common Mistakes

• Continuously solving symptoms instead of fixing the structure. Every "temporary workaround" exacerbates the problem.
• Never cleaning up properties. A quarterly cleanup session is much cheaper than a once-every-3-years redesign.
• No owner for the system. Someone needs to be the "owner" — usually a RevOps role or senior marketer.
• Ignoring documentation. A Notion page detailing "which workflow does what" is invaluable during staff changes.
• Shifting to external tools. Many teams flee to Excel or another system instead of cleaning up HubSpot — that doesn't solve the problem, it only moves it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I audit my HubSpot?

Ideally, a light audit every 12 maanden (2-4 uur), and a complete review every 24-36 maanden. In case of major organisational changes (acquisition, sales team change, new product line), always conduct an audit before or after.

Can I do a HubSpot audit myself?

For 70% of the signals, yes — you mainly need discipline and time (~16-24 uur). For more complex matters (data model, lifecycle stages, attribution), an external perspective usually helps.

What is RevOps and do I need it?

RevOps (Revenue Operations) is the role that ensures marketing, sales, and customer success operate on a single system and data model. From ~25 medewerkers in commercial teams, an internal RevOps role pays off; below that, an external partner or agency is often sufficient.

What if I don't have a budget for an audit?

Start with the most impactful tasks yourself: cleaning up properties, documenting workflows, simplifying lifecycle stages. This will alleviate 60% of the pain in 2-3 weken, without external costs.

How do I know if an agency is good at HubSpot audits?

Ask for their Solutions Partner status (Gold, Platinum, Diamond indicate level), for 2-3 references from similar audits, and for a sample report (anonymised). A good agency will have that ready.

Should I do the audit and redesign with the same agency?

Not necessarily. Some companies consciously choose to have the audit done by agency A and the implementation by agency B to avoid bias. This works perfectly as long as the scope is clearly documented.

Ready to get started?

Read about our approach to HubSpot redesign, or schedule a brief introductory meeting — we'll take a no-obligation look and provide an honest estimate of scope, costs, and lead time.