Setting up a CRM integration sounds like a project. It conjures images of IT tickets, technical configuration, and weeks of back-and-forth before anything actually works.
The reality of setting up our HubSpot integration is a lot simpler than that, and most firms are up and running faster than they expect.
If you have been putting it off because the setup feels daunting, this post is for you.
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Before You Start: What You Need
Getting started with our HubSpot integration does not require a technical resource on your end. You need an active Dakota Marketplace membership, access to your HubSpot instance, and about an hour for your initial setup call. That is it. Our team handles everything else.
If you are not yet a Dakota Marketplace member, you can explore the integration and book a demo here. If you are already a member, the Data Integrations tab inside your Marketplace login is where everything begins.
The 6 Steps to Setup Your HubSpot Integration
Step 1: Book Your Setup Call
The first step is booking your onboarding call with our CRM integration team. This is an approximately one-hour call where we walk through page layouts, implementation, and hands-on training so your team knows exactly how to use the product from day one.
Your setup call is not just a technical walkthrough. It is also where you make key decisions about how you want your HubSpot configured, including which data sets to pull in and how you want our data mapped inside your HubSpot. Coming prepared with a rough sense of which allocator types and geographies your team focuses on will help make the most of that time.
Step 2: Choose Your Data Package
One of the most important decisions you will make during setup is which data sets you want flowing into your HubSpot. We do not push everything at once. We work with your team to build a custom, bespoke package tailored to your firm's strategy.
If your team focuses on alternatives-focused allocators, you pull that. If fixed income is not relevant to your strategy, you leave it out. This keeps your HubSpot clean and makes sure your team is working with data that is actually useful to them rather than wading through records that have nothing to do with their coverage.
Step 3: Decide How Dakota Data Maps Into HubSpot
During your setup call, you will also decide how you want our data to live inside your HubSpot. There are two options.
The first is custom Dakota fields. We create a dedicated set of Dakota-labeled fields inside your HubSpot where all of our data maps. Your existing HubSpot fields stay completely untouched, and our data sits alongside yours clearly labeled. The second option is mapping our data to your standard HubSpot fields, so our information populates the fields you already have set up. The choice is yours based on how your team likes to work inside HubSpot.
Step 4: Handle Your Existing HubSpot Data
If your firm already has a populated HubSpot, the next decision is how to handle your existing records. For firms with a significant number of existing accounts and contacts, our Linking & Syncing service is the recommended starting point. We match your existing records to their Dakota counterparts on the back end before your team starts working with the integration, so everything is connected correctly from day one without any manual work on your end.
For smaller datasets, your team can handle linking manually through the Data Integrations tab. Either way, the goal is the same: connect what already exists before creating anything new, so your HubSpot stays clean and free of duplicates.
Ready to get your HubSpot connected to Dakota and start working with real-time allocator data? Book a demo today.
Step 5: Start Pulling Data Into HubSpot
Once setup is complete and your existing records are connected, your team is ready to start pulling new accounts and contacts into HubSpot through the Data Integrations tab inside Dakota Marketplace. Use the filters to narrow down the accounts that are relevant to your strategy, select the ones you want, and link or create them in a single action.
You can pull up to 200 records at a time, and from that point forward every connected record stays current automatically. For a full walkthrough of how to pull accounts and contacts into HubSpot, we cover the process step by step.
Step 6: Your Two-Week Check-In
Two weeks after your setup call, our team schedules a check-in to answer any questions that have come up as your team starts working with the product. This is a normal and expected part of the onboarding process. Most firms have a handful of questions once they start using the integration day to day, and the two-week check-in is designed to make sure none of those questions go unanswered.
Use this call to flag anything that is not working the way you expected, ask about features your team has not explored yet, and discuss any adjustments to your data package or field mapping.
Setup Is Easier Than You Think
Once the integration is live and your team is comfortable with it, our customer success team is available for anything that comes up: pulling reports, linking new records, troubleshooting, or adjusting your configuration as your firm's needs change.
You do not need to figure things out on your own. Our HubSpot integration is designed to be a long-term part of your workflow, and we are here to make sure it stays that way.
The firms that put off setting up our HubSpot integration almost always say the same thing afterward: they wish they had done it sooner.
An hour-long setup call, a clear data package, and a two-week check-in is all it takes to get your team working with real-time allocator data directly inside the CRM they already use every day.
Book a demo of the Dakota HubSpot integration today.
