In 2023, HubSpot handpicked five partners for a two-way data-sharing experiment using Reveal. Among them was Oneflow. 

 

With access to HubSpot’s data, Oneflow was able to target qualified customers more effectively, yielding a remarkable 190% surge in HubSpot-related opportunities for Oneflow.

 

This is the story of how they achieved success in the HubSpot ecosystem before they were given access to this two-way data sharing, and afterward.

 

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Rapid read: Oneflow’s four phases to success

**Note: This rapid read is a quick snapshot of the tactical takeaways from Oneflow’s success. If you want to get the most out of this story and understand the context behind these tactics, keep scrolling to read the full story.

 

Two-way data sharing offers advantages, but it isn’t a silver bullet. Unless it’s backed by a solid strategy and execution, more data won’t make you successful. Oneflow’s success proves this.

So how did Oneflow successfully implement 2-way data sharing into their company’s strategy?

Johan Jansson (Partner Manager at Oneflow) broke it down for me into four phases:

1. Pre-work

2. Integrating

3. Enhancing

4. Maximizing

 

Phase one: pre-work

• Create a pitch deck outlining the opportunity. You’re going to want top-down buy-in on an initiative like this. Build a pitch deck for your execs, telling the story of this opportunity. Include information like:

  • What would 2-way data sharing with Reveal and HubSpot do?

  • What is the untapped revenue potential inside of the HubSpot ecosystem for your company?

  • How does this initiative fit into broader company goals?

  • Why is this important for your whole company to be bought-into?

  • Who needs to be involved?

  • What’s your initial strategy and plan?

• Determine your focus. You can’t impact every part of your business at once, so get really clear on where you want to get wins initially. For Johan, this was in Sales.

• Outline an initial strategy that’s based on existing processes. Once you’ve determined your focus, then you can begin to set the implementation strategy. Johan outlined his Sales teams’ processes, including their day-to-day tasks, systems, and dashboards. Johan used this information to instruct RevOps on how to implement the new 2-way data sharing into Sales’ existing processes. Instead of adding anything new, he wanted to enhance the ways they were already succeeding.

 

Phase two: integrate

• Get input on your strategy. Then Johan took that strategy to his RevOps team and Sales leaders. He wanted to get their thoughts—would this strategy work and was there anything he was missing? Every company’s strategy is going to look a little different depending on their teams’ systems.

• Let RevOps do their thing. After iterating on the roll-out strategy, Johan let RevOps do their thing. RevOps made sure all of this new data was connected to Oneflow’s CRM, and actionable for Sales reps.

 

Phase three: enhance

• Set up your dashboards and tracking. Once everything is set up inside of your CRM, build a dashboard so you can keep track of the metrics that matter most. You want to be ready to jump on any big wins or inconsistencies. 

• Turn on the data and take a step back. Give your teams a few weeks to start using the data. Watch for early signs that confirm that your strategy is working well, or for queues that you might need to tweak something.

• Set up recurring meetings with involved teams and stakeholders. Set up meetings with internal teams to proactively address challenges, and set up meetings with your Reveal and HubSpot contacts to talk through ways you can do an even better job of making the data actionable.

 

Phase four: maximize

• Sell the vision. At the beginning of an initiative, everyone’s excited, but you have to make sure this excitement continues. Every day, you need to sell both the larger vision (how the company is impacted) and the ground-level vision (how the individual team member is impacted). The more your team members want to use this data, the more you can work with them to maximize how they’re using it.

• Look for and celebrate wins loudly. Keep track of the numbers, listen in meetings, and look for opportunities to celebrate wins loudly. Wins will make your sellers ask for more nearbound data, and for more opportunities to win with HubSpot’s ecosystem.

• Look for more opportunities to develop the partnerships. Maximizing the opportunity with HubSpot requires that you first make the most of the initial benefits of 2-way data sharing, but that you don’t stop there. Be ready to explore even more opportunities to win together through initiatives like co-selling and co-servicing.

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How Oneflow is winning in the HubSpot ecosystem

Every company is after the same gold: a portion of an ecosystem’s revenue.

 

But here’s the secret that many partner professionals and executives don’t want to acknowledge: what you put into the ecosystem indicates what you’ll get out of it. 

 

If you’re ready to allocate resources to the initiative, you’ll be successful. If you’re thinking you’re going to spin gold out of straw, you’re asking for a miracle.

 

Oneflow is one company that’s setting the standard for success in the HubSpot ecosystem.

 

After 7 months of leveraging this new data in Reveal, Oneflow has seen a 190% increase in created opportunities related to HubSpot. 

 

HubSpot’s Aron Gosselin, Strategic Partnership Manager, said about the initiative,

 

“This transformation has not only streamlined their operations but also strengthened customer relationships, improved customer experience and driving higher retention rates.”

 

To learn how Oneflow achieved what most companies dream of, winning in a large ecosystem, I spoke with Johan Jansson (Partner Manager at Oneflow), Aron Gosselin (Strategic Partnership Manager at HubSpot), and TJ Turner (Key Account Manager at Reveal).

 

Keep reading to learn:

• How Oneflow maximized their partnership, starting with their integration

• Why HubSpot enabled two-way data sharing 

• How Oneflow made the most of the two-way data sharing opportunity in Reveal

• The future of this partnership

 

Going all-in on the partnership

Oneflow’s relationship with HubSpot began in 2020 with an integration.

 

After witnessing the revenue impact of partnering with other ecosystems, Oneflow’s leadership team was excited to build a relationship with HubSpot.

 

“Early on, management saw the potential in HubSpot’s ecosystem. From analyzing the business opportunity to assessing the different markets we’re working in and identifying strong segments, the HubSpot ecosystem was a good match. So, Oneflow began by putting a lot of investment into the integration, and then I came in last year to scale and leverage it commercially.” —Johan Jansson

 

Oneflow did three things to differentiate itself from other companies partnering with HubSpot early on:

• They treated the integration with the same attention and rigor as a product

• They got actively involved in HubSpot’s ecosystem 

• They accepted HubSpot’s offer to do one-way data sharing

 

Treating the integration like a product

Many companies are eager to build integrations, but they often don’t give those integrations as much attention as they do to their products. Instead of investing time and resources into integrations, they operate with a “build it and they will come mindset,” hoping that simply listing them on a marketplace will attract interest. Oneflow took a different approach. They planned a strong strategy and actively engaged with the ecosystem to promote both their brand and the integration.

 

Active involvement in HubSpot’s ecosystem

While many professionals try to work with too many partners at once, Oneflow focused on building solid relationships with key partners and ecosystems like HubSpot.

 

“We’re usually very engaged and active in the ecosystem and we’re pretty open to discussing partnering with the ecosystem. Processes and automation are crucial parts, but sharing knowledge and best practices with other partner peers has also been highly valuable. This initiative has definitely strengthened my collaboration with other key partners within the HubSpot Ecosystem.”—Johan Jansson

 

 

 

Oneflow began one-way data sharing with HubSpot early on

Data sharing through platforms like Reveal and Crossbeam comes in two main forms: one-way and two-way data sharing.

 

While two-way data sharing offers the most advantages, some companies, such as HubSpot, opt for one-way sharing. They still want to access overlapping data with partners but prefer to keep certain information private.

 

Some might initially question the benefits of one-way sharing, however, one-way sharing is a strategic move. It allows partners to recognize the potential of the partnership, leverage the information, and drive mutual success.

 

This is how it worked for Oneflow. HubSpot started with one-way data sharing and realized there was a lot more opportunity they could capitalize on if they gave their partners access to their information too. 

 

“One key thing that Oneflow did really well from the start was showing their willingness to collaborate with HubSpot. They shared data one-way without necessarily benefiting from direct insight into business overlap, enabling HubSpot to explore opportunities, run marketing plays, and pursue other initiatives.”—TJ Turner, Key Account Manager, Reveal

 

Then HubSpot decided to open up two-way data sharing with Oneflow

HubSpot and Oneflow are using Reveal to effectively share CRM data which gives Oneflow the ability to find and prioritize qualified accounts inside of the HubSpot ecosystem.

 

”Reveal assists Oneflow/Partners in gaining a better understanding of their customers, prospects, and opportunities by providing unique data points that are typically not publicly accessible (tiers/hubs).

 

In the past, Oneflow used publicly accessible information to determine if a customer uses HubSpot. With HubSpot’s diverse product range, there are many factors to consider. Oneflow is particularly well-suited for Sales Hub customers. Previously, Oneflow acquired each customer through normal outbound and inbound motions. Now, they can pinpoint their ideal HubSpot customer more effectively, leading to increased efficiency in their Sales and Customer Service activities.”—Aron Gosselin

 

Oneflow’s strategy for making the most of two-way data sharing

Getting access to two-way data sharing doesn’t guarantee success. It’s the difference between information and intelligence.

Companies must figure out how to make the data actionable. 

 

Oneflow successfully did this in four phases:

1. Pre-work

2. Integrating

3. Enhancing

4. Maximizing

 

Pre-work

When the idea of two-way data sharing was first presented to them, Johan and his management team gathered to discuss the potential. They understood that to truly benefit from this opportunity, they needed to fully commit just as they did with the integration. They did this by:

 

• Establishing alignment with his executive team from the outset.

• Ensuring he had the necessary resources and support to invest in the partnership before committing to the opportunity 

• Set weekly cadences with stakeholders to communicate and manage expectations

Johan explains: 

 

“Early, I sat down with management and laid out the opportunity. I explained how I saw it and also tried to give them an estimate on scalability and revenue growth. We had already put so much investment into the integration that when they brought us this opportunity, management saw it as the obvious next step.”

 

Many partner pros fall into the trap of either considering everything a priority or not knowing which opportunities to focus on.

 

“In the beginning, I was focusing on Sales and Customer Success, and then I had Marketing on the next level of that.

 

I wanted to set the Sales foundation which included everything from outreach to resources to automation to lead distribution. So I worked with RevOps and the Sales leaders to define and set the processes internally. We wanted to build engagement and consistency, and we wanted our KPIs connected to it.

 

We set dedicated meetings, communication channels, and resources with the Sales team and sales leaders specifically around this process and project.”
—Johan Jansson

 

Integrating

“You need to start from the base…from your CRM and build from that.”

 

Johan began working with RevOps to get Reveal data integrated into Oneflow’s existing systems and processes. He knew that for Reveal to be useful, it needed to be integrated into their complete tech stack.

 

“After I got the sign-off, I started to build a playbook for myself so I had something concrete to align with the RevOps team. It’s easy for these kinds of projects to lose momentum, so it was necessary to set guidelines that multiple teams could align on.

 

We did solid groundwork internally when it came to getting buy-in, getting the process right, getting the KPIs set, working with RevOps, and rolling it out with a long-term plan for it. It might sound boring, but good preparation usually brings good opportunities.”

 

Enhancing

Once you integrate, you need to ensure everything is running smoothly and the data is impacting your company’s effectiveness.

 

Johan explained,

 

“Some partners are super happy that they are integrating. They think to themselves, ‘Well, we’ve integrated Reveal. Perfect. Now we win.’ In reality, integrating the data doesn’t solve all of your problems. It’s step one. After you’ve integrated the data, you need to make sure the data’s enhancing the lives of your sellers and other GTM teams.”

 

After Johan had gotten company-wide buy-in on the project and set the strategy with RevOps, he set up Reveal’s widget in his CRM and built out dashboards to keep track of information like:

• Number of opportunities related to HubSpot

• Active installs

• Partner sourced revenue

 

And he became the person everyone could count on regarding the initiative.

 

“It’s my responsibility to make sure that if RevOps or any other department runs into any challenges or hurdles when it comes to implementing this data, it’s taken care of. I’m getting all of Oneflow’s teams and leaders on board and a part of that is making sure they feel confident that I’m watching for problems and ready to solve them if they come up.”

 

 

Maximizing

Johan wanted to show that this data was enhancing Oneflow’s existing motions. To do that, he stressed making the impact visible. 

 

He explained,

 

“As the partner manager, it’s my job to sell the vision on the ground-level (zoomed in) as well as on the larger company and ecosystem level (zoomed out). 

 

For example, on the ground level, when we get better lead scoring information, it affects how we do lead distribution and how we actually pinpoint the right customers to approach. Then on the company level I get to show that this is successful. That’s how we give the project fuel to be even more successful internally in the company.”

 

To sell the vision, Johan shared wins openly.

 

“The consistency of sharing and seeing what everyone was achieving…That’s the important thing. With some other products, you launch something like this, and three months later, sales is like, ‘Yeah, we had some kind of thing going on there...’ But with this, it was important our teams were working on it and communicating over and over again.”

 

What comes next for this partnership

Oneflow initially differentiated itself in the HubSpot ecosystem by investing in making the best integration possible. They actively participated in the ecosystem and were open about sharing one-way data with HubSpot. Then, when HubSpot began the conversation about two-way data sharing, Oneflow jumped on that opportunity too. 

 

By showing their success with two-way data sharing, they’ve opened the door to work even closer with HubSpot to co-sell, co-service, and achieve even more success together. 

 

“Two-way sharing has been instrumental in setting us in a good position to do a lot of other things with HubSpot. It sets the stage for co-selling and co-servicing better.”—Johan Jansson

 

Advice for partner leaders

Here is Johan’s advice for HubSpot partners looking to do the same or partners looking to make the most of two-way data sharing:

 

“First ask yourself, ‘How committed is my organization to these types of initiatives? How much am I and other teams willing to invest long term to see the benefits?’

 

Partnerships are a long-term game.

 

Ask yourself those questions to be able to pitch it in the right way and put the right type of KPIs and all the things you need to show for management to really believe in it.

 

Buy-in from your organization, clear strategy, and KPIs to build consistency.

 

Maybe I’ve mentioned consistency too much, but that’s why we’ve been successful. At the same time, our RevOps team made significant investments in our sales tech stack to streamline lead qualification, routing, and nurturing. This made it even more vital to work closely with them to achieve long-term success. You won’t scale these types of partnerships without solid teamwork.”

—Johan Jansson