HubSpot SQL Automation Strategy — 2026-04-05
Overview
Weekly call between Ben San Fratello and Mark Hope to align on the HubSpot automation strategy for defining Citrus's Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs). The core decision: use HubSpot dynamic segments to define who qualifies as an SQL, keeping that logic separate from the workflow that defines what to do with them.
Attendees: Ben San Fratello, Mark Hope
Client contact: Miriam (Citrus)
Key Decisions
Use Segments, Not Workflow Logic, to Define SQLs
The filtering logic for SQL qualification should live in a HubSpot dynamic segment (formerly "lists"), not inside the automation workflow itself. This separation makes the system modular:
- Segment = who qualifies (all 13 SQL criteria as filters)
- Workflow = what happens to people who enter the segment (notifications, tasks, emails, etc.)
"All the decisions about who you're doing it to are being made by the segment, not by the automation. The automation is what am I doing to the segment. The segment is who's in there." — Mark Hope
A dynamic segment automatically adds contacts when they meet all criteria and removes them when they no longer do, keeping the SQL list perpetually accurate without manual maintenance.
Validate Criteria Against Real Data Before Building
Citrus provided 13 SQL criteria (items 9–20, including 13A and 13B on Miriam's sheet). Before building anything, the database must be analyzed to count how many contacts actually satisfy each criterion. The expectation is that many fields will return zero matches.
Known data gaps identified:
- "Are you already juicing?" — zero contacts in the database answer yes to any variant of this field
- Countertop dimensions — precise measurements are a sales conversation point, not a reliably populated data field; the real qualifying question is simply "do you have room for it?"
Propose a Phased Rollout to Miriam
Rather than blocking progress on the full 13-criteria segment, propose starting with ~4 criteria that have meaningful data coverage. This gets the automation running and provides a working model while the full criteria set is refined.
Action Items
- [ ] Ben — Analyze Citrus HubSpot database; count contacts meeting each of the 13 SQL criteria
- [ ] Ben — Build a spreadsheet report for Miriam: one row per criterion, column B showing contact count
- [ ] Ben — Propose phased rollout to Miriam: start with 4 criteria that have data, defer the rest
- [ ] Ben — Build the initial dynamic segment + trigger workflow once criteria are confirmed
Background: SQL vs. MQL at Citrus
| Status | Definition |
|---|---|
| Sales Qualified (SQL) | Contact meets all defined criteria; ready to be actively sold to |
| Marketing Qualified (MQL) | Contact meets some criteria; continue nurturing via email and engagement, but don't push for a sale yet |
The 13 SQL criteria were defined by Miriam and include qualification questions that are typically gathered during a sales call (e.g., current juicing setup, available space for equipment). Many of these fields are populated by reps after a conversation, not by inbound form fills — which explains the data gaps.
Relevant Transcript Excerpts
On separating segment logic from workflow logic:
"You do the filtering in the list, not in the automation." — Mark Hope
On the zero-match problem:
"No contacts match the filter. So you're going to send her a note back and say, hey, I'm going to try to make sales qualified leads. But this particular field, nobody in your entire database says yes." — Mark Hope
On simplifying the countertop dimension question:
"You don't really care how many inches he's got. You just want to know if he's got a place for it." — Mark Hope
On the phased rollout approach:
"What you can be doing in the meantime is you could make a list and just pick four criteria that are on there and use those four so that you have something in your automation and you're starting to work with it a little bit, and you can later come back and add additional things." — Mark Hope
Related
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