🧡 Selim Maalouf’s Post

It might sound simple, but many software partners lose sight of this. Companies are looking for your help to solve a business problem. They're not looking for help to implement a specific software, it just happens that the solution includes the software you are representing. As a result, understanding what the business objective for any engagement should be the first thing on your list. Understand what they are trying to achieve, how they got there, and why they felt you could help them achieve it. There are thousands of software partners selling the same solutions as you out there. Your differentiator cannot be that you represent "Software A" or "Software B". That is why out-of-the-box HubSpot implementations are a rare for us. Not every problem out there is orange and nail shaped for our HubSpot hammer. And HubSpot knows that. That is why you do not hear them position themselves as an all-in-one solution. They are a "Customer Platform" PS: I'll unpack that in a separate post soon.

I grew up in a house full of engineers and architects I had a natural inclination towards solving technical challenges. Yet in my career transition towards Marketing and later, HubSpot, I realized that I also had a creative side that I was eager to unlock. But what I understand today is that everyone needs both. Todays business problems require some creativity to bridge the gaps into our technical process. But not everything is about business, and sometimes you want to rest your mind and create something beautiful (Painting, playing music, creating a video, writing a story) and share it with the world Thank you John Joyce for having me on the show. Check out the full interview 👇🏻 #IndustrialSouls

When I said was dying to get access to the latest beta feature, I didn't mean this one LinkedIn I want the new video feed! Please?

If you had asked me 10 years ago where my career would end up, I probably would have said some kind of industrial engineering technical leadership job. Yet here I am working as a Solutions Consultant for Business software integration for an Elite HubSpot Solutions Partner. I has been an interesting career path for me and I appreciate everyone I have met along the way. Especially John Joyce who had me on his show for a refreshing personal conversation unlike my typical podcast appearances. Check out the full episode, you know where to find it 👇🏻 #IndustrialSouls

The majority of business software is "simply" a human interface for manipulating databases. So if someone says "we can't connect system A to system B" know that they can but do not want to. Not wanting to connect these systems could have many reasons: 👉 It's too time consuming (custom integrations need constant maintenance) 👉 It's too expensive (some 3rd party integration platforms can get real expensive) These are fair excuses if the business is at a size that cannot justify these expenses. But sometimes, excuses can be nefarious: 👉 An internal team/special vendor is claiming it's not possible to ensure that their "special services" are always required 👉 Data Hygiene and Data governance is so bad that integrations simply cannot function I've spent my whole career looking at experts embarking on integration projects that take years and cost so much that it pushed me to figure out workflows that do not need system integrations. But after joining an elite technical consulting team and seeing how system integrations COULD look like, I have reframed so many conversations I have had in the past decade. No integration is impossible, you just haven't tried hard enough.

I am seeing much more chatter recently around HubSpot's "Customer Platform" positioning from the partner ecosystem. If you're a HubSpot Partner, you should be taking the following certifications: 👉🏻 HubSpot Architecture I: Data Models and APIs 👉🏻 HubSpot Architecture II: Content and Messaging Tools HubSpot explains this positioning IN DETAIL and tests your understanding around it. For those who do no have access to these very valuable certifications, here is a simple explanation inspired by these certs: There's no one-size-fits-all CRM on the market. As a result, companies are addicted to point solutions. That strategy worked in the past decade, but it's now creating more complexity than clarity. Companies keep adding point solutions at impossible-to-integrate rates. To resolve this crisis, we need a new playbook that requires companies to think differently about their technology solutions. It's bigger than CRM and software. Companies need a fully connected CRM platform to enter the age of connected customers. The HubSpot CRM is the single source of truth at the center of this platform, making it easy to align data. HubSpot positions itself as a fully connected CRM platform, not an all-in-one solution, so integrations are an expected part of the process. So if you're looking at HubSpot and comparing its features with a point solution you are invested in, you might be looking at in with the wrong lens. Consider how HubSpot can connect to your point solution, maybe it will be the right choice for you after all.

If you follow any HubSpot professional, you know HubSpot has been pushing out hundreds of features every month. What about those who are not dialed in on the updates? They still think HubSpot is "the expensive marketing automation toll". Which it kind of was back in 2017. But that's not the case today. HubSpot is a full customer platform, and its getting more accessible for new industries every day (eg. HIPAA compliance) But if you're comfortable in your own solution, there is no reason why you would seek out this kind of information. I hope we start creating less "feature update" content, and more "solving business problems featuring HubSpot" content.

If you're already invested in HubSpot, you're missing out by not using HubSpot CMS for your website. The amazing CRM interactivity that the HubSpot CMS provides outweighs (in my opinion) any other benefit another CMS could bring. Here are the use cases that you are missing: 👉🏻 Partner Portals You can have external partners create new deals in your CRM Access private documentation and enablement content 👉🏻 Post-Sale Order Management Portal for Customers Track in flight orders using an amazon-like interface View invoices and purchase history Access support documentation 👉🏻 Employee portals Store employee handbook and other resources Benefits access and updates New hires and employee profile You name it! If its in your CRM, you can show it dynamically on your website, and for some objects, even update and modify them without having to go into the CRM.