wiki/clients/current/citrus-america/2026-04-05-hubspot-status-call.md · 1047 words · 2026-04-05

CAI HubSpot Status Call — Data Structure & Qualification Workflow

Date: 2026-04-05
Client: [1]
Type: Working Session

Overview

Working session to overhaul HubSpot contact field structure and align sales qualification workflows. The team reviewed redundant fields, agreed on a two-field replacement strategy (Lifecycle Stage + Contact Type), and mapped out SQL and Opportunity automation logic. A critical blocker was surfaced: the qualification questions required to trigger the SQL workflow are not present on the contact record, making the automation non-functional.

Key personnel change: Karly Oykhman (returning from maternity leave) replaces Ben San Fratello as the primary Asymmetric HubSpot contact for this account.


Attendees

Name Org Role
Melissa Cusumano Asymmetric Account Lead
Karly Oykhman Asymmetric HubSpot / Automation
Mark Hope Asymmetric Strategy
Ben San Fratello Asymmetric (departing)
Avokerie Onorimuo Asymmetric
Miriam Framson Citrus America Primary Client Contact

Key Decisions

1. Replace Redundant Fields with Two Canonical Properties

The team agreed to retire several overlapping custom fields in favor of two definitive properties:

Old Field Replaced By
Inbound Lead Lead Source
Sales Rep Yes/No Contact Type
Marketing Flag HubSpot native Marketing Contact Status
Ranking Lifecycle Stage
Unused address fields (e.g., County) (hidden/removed)

Contact Type captures the role of a person in the database (e.g., "Active Sales Rep," "Inactive Sales Rep," "Customer," "Media"). It is not tied to the sales funnel.

Lifecycle Stage captures where a prospect sits in the sales funnel (Prospect → Lead → MQL → SQL → Opportunity → Customer). It is only relevant for contacts moving through the sales process; reps and other non-prospect types will not have this populated.

2. Lead Source Structure

Lead Source will use a two-tier model:
- Lead Source — category (e.g., "Trade Show," "Website," "Phone")
- Lead Source Detail — specific event or channel (e.g., "NGA Show 2024")

This enables aggregate reporting on source categories while preserving event-level detail.

3. Sales Rep List Filter Update

The "Sales Representatives" view will be updated to filter on Contact Type = Active Sales Rep rather than the old Sales Rep Yes/No boolean. Reps no longer active (KLH, HRI, Dickie, Align) will be set to Inactive Sales Rep.

4. SQL Automation Logic — OR Trigger

To become a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL), a contact must have at least one of the ~10 sales qualification questions answered. This is an OR condition (not AND), intentionally setting a lower bar to move leads forward faster.

5. Opportunity Automation Logic — BANT Threshold

To become an Opportunity, a contact must meet a defined BANT threshold. Two approaches were discussed; Miriam will consult Brian to decide:

When a contact reaches Opportunity status, a deal is automatically created via a linked workflow.


Critical Blocker: SQL Qualification Questions Missing from Contact Record

Status: Unresolved — action assigned to Karly

The SQL workflow cannot fire because the ~10 sales qualification questions (e.g., "What types of applications do you think you'll be using for the juicer?") are not surfaced anywhere on the contact record. Reps have no interface to enter this data, so the automation trigger condition can never be met.

Proposed solution: Karly will investigate creating a custom internal form or modifying the contact layout to provide a clear, structured interface for reps to input qualification answers. The form should:
- Reflect the lead qualification spreadsheet Miriam provided
- Include all SQL qualification questions as dropdowns or selectable fields
- Be accessible directly from the contact record
- Clarify whether fields live at the contact or company level (team leans toward contact, with optional sync to company)


Action Items


Supporting Context

Ranking Field (Retiring)

The Ranking field (0–5 stars, used at trade shows) was a proxy for lifecycle stage:
- 0 = non-marketing contact, no email
- 1 = Prospect
- 2 = Lead
- 3 = MQL
- 4 = SQL
- 5 = Opportunity

This mapping was informal and inconsistently applied. It is being retired in favor of Lifecycle Stage, which makes the progression explicit and automatable.

BANT Fields

BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) fields are already present on the contact record and scored 0–4 or 0–5. The existing BANT→Opportunity workflow draft checks for any value in all four fields, which is insufficient — a score of 0 across all fields would incorrectly trigger it. The updated workflow will enforce a meaningful threshold per the decision above.

Contact Stage vs. Lifecycle Stage

An existing custom Contact Stage field partially duplicates Lifecycle Stage. The team agreed to consolidate on Lifecycle Stage (HubSpot native) and either remove Contact Stage or sync it from deal stage data so it reflects pipeline position at the contact/company level.


Sources

  1. Index|Citrus America
  2. Index|Citrus America Client Index
  3. Lifecycle Stage Contact Type Pattern|Lifecycle Stage + Contact Type Field Pattern
  4. Bant Opportunity Automation|Bant → Opportunity Automation