---
title: BluepointATM — Contact Type Property Setup
type: article
created: '2026-04-05'
updated: '2026-04-05'
source_docs:
- raw/2025-10-30-bluepoint-hubspot-training-98186739.md
tags:
- hubspot
- bluepoint
- contact-management
- crm
- segmentation
layer: 2
client_source: null
industry_context: null
transferable: true
---

# BluepointATM — Contact Type Property Setup

## Overview

During a HubSpot training session with BluePoint, the team identified a gap in their contact segmentation: HubSpot's native `Lifecycle Stage` property tracks *where* a contact is in the sales funnel, but there was no field to capture *what kind of relationship* a contact represents. A new custom property — `Contact Type` — was created to fill this gap and enable targeted communication, filtered views, and bulk editing workflows.

See also: [[wiki/clients/bluepoint/index]] | [[wiki/knowledge/hubspot/lifecycle-stage-strategy]]

---

## The Problem

BluePoint's HubSpot instance contained a mix of contact types — active leads, past customers, GPO partners, and vendors — all stored without differentiation. This made it difficult to:

- Exclude non-leads from sales automation and drip campaigns
- Build filtered views scoped to a specific relationship type
- Audit past customer relationships at a glance

---

## The Solution: `Contact Type` Property

A new custom contact property was created manually in HubSpot with the following configuration:

| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| **Property Name** | Contact Type |
| **Object** | Contact |
| **Field Type** | Dropdown (single-select) |

### Dropdown Options

| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| **Lead** | Anyone not yet a customer; actively being worked in the sales funnel |
| **Customer** | Past or current paying customers |
| **GPO Partner** | Organizations like Integra that refer leads and provide partnership support |
| **Vendor** | Companies BluePoint pays for services (e.g., telecom, software) |

> **Design note:** The team debated whether to include Vendors. The consensus was to err on the side of inclusion — having vendor contacts in HubSpot allows email history to be tracked centrally, even if vendors are excluded from all marketing automation.

---

## Relationship to `Lifecycle Stage`

`Contact Type` and `Lifecycle Stage` serve complementary but distinct purposes:

- **`Lifecycle Stage`** = position in the sales funnel (Lead → MQL → SQL → Opportunity → Customer)
- **`Contact Type`** = the nature of the relationship (Lead, Customer, GPO Partner, Vendor)

A contact tagged as `Contact Type: GPO Partner` would not progress through the lifecycle funnel at all — they exist outside of it. This distinction is what makes `Contact Type` necessary as a separate field rather than a lifecycle stage value.

---

## How to Add the Property to the Sidebar View

1. Open any contact record
2. Click **Actions → Customize Properties**
3. Search for `Contact Type` and check the box to add it
4. Drag it to a logical position (recommended: near `Lifecycle Stage`)
5. Click **Save** — this updates the sidebar layout for your user account

> **Note:** Sidebar customizations in HubSpot are per-user by default. Wade and Mike may need to configure their views independently to ensure alignment.

---

## Bulk Editing Existing Contacts

To assign `Contact Type` to a large group of existing contacts at once:

1. Navigate to **Contacts → Views**
2. Create or open a filtered view (e.g., filter by `Lead Status` to isolate active leads)
3. Set the page size to **100** to see all contacts at once
4. Check the **select all** checkbox at the top of the list
5. Click **Edit** from the action bar
6. Set `Contact Type = Lead` (or the appropriate value) and confirm
7. HubSpot will apply the update to all selected records in bulk

> **Tip:** Use **Edit Columns** in the list view to add `Contact Type` as a visible column before bulk editing — this makes it easy to verify the update applied correctly.

---

## Action Items (from session)

- [ ] **Mike Stebbins** — Begin updating existing contacts with the new `Contact Type` property, starting with the Active Leads view
- [ ] **Mike Stebbins** — Verify that sidebar changes made by Mark are reflected in Mike's own HubSpot view; reconfigure if needed

---

## Related

- [[wiki/knowledge/hubspot/lifecycle-stage-strategy]]
- [[wiki/knowledge/hubspot/bulk-editing-contacts]]
- [[wiki/knowledge/hubspot/callrail-integration-plan]]
- [[wiki/clients/bluepoint/index]]