5 Common HubSpot Mistakes (And How to Fix Them for Good)

HubSpot can be an incredibly powerful tool for marketing, sales, and operations — but only when it’s configured and maintained properly.
The truth is, most small and mid-sized teams don’t use HubSpot to its full potential. Instead, they end up with broken automations, messy data, and reports they can’t fully trust.

After working with dozens of UK businesses to clean up their portals, here are the five most common HubSpot mistakes I see — and more importantly, how to fix them for good.

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1. Overcomplicating Workflows

The mistake:
It’s tempting to automate everything in HubSpot — but when you create multiple overlapping workflows, things quickly spiral out of control. Leads skip stages, duplicate emails are sent, and your sales team stops trusting the system.

The fix:
Keep workflows simple and purpose-driven.

• Use clear naming conventions (e.g., “MQL → SQL Promotion Workflow”).

• Limit workflows to one main objective.

• Review all automations quarterly to remove anything outdated.

Think of HubSpot workflows as helpers, not replacements for human judgment.

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2. Ignoring Lifecycle Stages

The mistake:
Many businesses don’t use lifecycle stages consistently. Without this structure, you lose visibility into where contacts are in the funnel — and marketing and sales stop speaking the same language.

The fix:
Define clear criteria for each stage (Lead, MQL, SQL, Opportunity, Customer) and make sure HubSpot updates them automatically.
If you’re unsure, start simple and refine over time. Even basic consistency is better than chaos.

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3. Not Using Custom Dashboards

The mistake:
Teams rely on HubSpot’s default dashboards and miss the chance to track what really matters. As a result, they focus on vanity metrics instead of insights that drive action.

The fix:
Build custom dashboards for each function:

• Marketing: traffic sources, form submissions, MQLs

• Sales: pipeline stages, deal velocity, close rate

• Operations: data hygiene, task completion, ticket volume

If a report doesn’t inform a decision, it probably doesn’t need to be there.

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4. Poor Naming Conventions

The mistake:
A cluttered HubSpot portal often starts with bad naming.
When you can’t tell which email, list, or workflow is safe to edit, you waste hours and risk breaking automations.

The fix:
Create a simple, shared naming standard. For example:
[TYPE]_[CAMPAIGN]_[DATE]
→ EMAIL_Q4Newsletter_1024
→ LIST_WebinarSignups_Nov2025

This keeps everything searchable and easy to maintain — especially as your team grows.

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5. No Regular Data Cleanup

The mistake:
Your CRM is only as good as its data. Over time, duplicates, missing properties, and stale contacts make everything harder — from automation to reporting accuracy.

The fix:
Schedule a monthly or quarterly data cleanup.

• Merge duplicate companies and contacts.

• Remove bounced or unsubscribed emails.

• Standardise key fields (e.g., job title, industry).

For larger databases, consider using HubSpot’s built-in data quality tools or simple integrations like Insycle.

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Final Thoughts

HubSpot works best when it’s kept clean, simple, and aligned with your actual sales process.
Fixing these five common mistakes won’t just improve your reports — it’ll help your whole team move faster and trust the system again.

If your portal feels messy or confusing, it’s not just you — it’s common.
At Smit Marketing, I help businesses clean up their HubSpot setup, build better workflows, and finally make the platform work the way it should.