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Article Index - Reference Article

Internal HubSpot Knowledge Articles for Sales Team Enablement

 

Article 1: ChainIT Pay Sales FAQ: Product Lines, Objections, and Positioning

Purpose

This article helps AEs answer common prospect questions about ChainIT Pay, payment services, product positioning, and objections.

Key Questions and Answers

What is ChainIT Pay?

ChainIT Pay helps businesses accept, manage, and improve digital payments through secure payment infrastructure, payment workflows, identity verification, and operational support.

How should I describe ChainIT Pay in one sentence?

ChainIT Pay helps businesses process payments securely and efficiently while giving them better visibility, support, and control over how payments move through their business.

What makes ChainIT Pay different?

ChainIT Pay is not only focused on payment acceptance. We focus on the full payment workflow, including onboarding, support, visibility, risk, identity, routing, and scalability.

What if a prospect already has a processor?

That is normal. Most prospects already have something in place. Ask: “What would you improve about your current payment setup if you could?”

What if they ask about pricing immediately?

Do not quote without discovery. Say: “Pricing depends on volume, transaction type, average ticket, risk profile, and the workflow you need. Once we understand your current setup, we can determine the right structure.”

What should AEs never promise?

Do not promise approval, guaranteed savings, guaranteed rates, instant onboarding, integration timelines, or support for high-risk activity without internal review.

Sales Standard

AEs should position ChainIT Pay around business value, not just rates. The goal is to understand the prospect’s current process, pain points, and opportunity before recommending a solution.

Article 2: HubSpot Sales FAQ: Contacts, Companies, Leads, Deals, and Ownership

Purpose

This article explains the basic HubSpot objects every AE needs to understand.

Key Questions and Answers

What is a Contact?

A Contact is a person. This may be a prospect, business owner, office manager, partner, or decision maker.

What is a Company?

A Company is the business or organization associated with one or more Contacts.

What is a Lead?

A Lead is a Contact or Company that sales is actively working. A Lead is not always a Deal.

What is a Deal?

A Deal is a real revenue opportunity. A Deal should only be created when there is engagement and commercial potential.

What does ownership mean?

Ownership identifies who is responsible for the Contact, Company, Lead, or Deal. Every AE should work from records assigned to them.

What should I do before creating a new record?

Search first. For Contacts, search by email. For Companies, search by company name and domain.

Sales Standard

Contacts are people. Companies are accounts. Leads are active targets. Deals are revenue opportunities. Keep ownership and associations clean.

Article 3: Lead Qualification FAQ: When to Work, Convert, Disqualify, or Create a Deal

Purpose

This article helps AEs decide what to do with assigned Leads.

Key Questions and Answers

When should I work a Lead?

Work a Lead when it is assigned to you and there is a reasonable reason for outreach, such as an imported list, referral, campaign engagement, or target account fit.

When should I qualify a Lead?

Qualify a Lead when there is evidence of need, authority, timing, fit, payment pain, or interest.

When should I disqualify a Lead?

Disqualify a Lead when the business is not a fit, cannot be reached after appropriate attempts, has no relevant need, is outside our support model, or has risk concerns.

When should I create a Deal?

Create a Deal when the prospect has engaged and there is a real commercial opportunity.

What is not enough to create a Deal?

A record existing in HubSpot is not enough. One outbound email with no reply is not enough. A name on a list is not enough.

Sales Standard

A Lead becomes a Deal only when there is engagement, need, product fit, and a path toward revenue.

Article 4: Sales Activity FAQ: Calls, Emails, Notes, Tasks, and Follow-Up Expectations

Purpose

This article defines how AEs should document activity in HubSpot.

Key Questions and Answers

What activity should be logged?

Log calls, emails, meetings, notes, tasks, demos, objections, pricing discussions, and next steps.

Why does logging activity matter?

Logged activity shows what happened, prevents duplicate work, supports leadership visibility, and helps the team understand account status.

When should I create a task?

Create a task whenever there is a future action needed, such as a follow-up call, email, demo reminder, pricing review, or next-step check-in.

What should a good note include?

A good note includes who you spoke with, what was discussed, pain points, objections, decision makers, next steps, and timing.

What is the minimum standard after a call?

Log the call, add a summary note, update Lead or Deal status, and create the next task.

Sales Standard

If it happened, document it. If there is a next step, create a task. If it is not in HubSpot, the team may not know it happened.

Article 5: Pipeline FAQ: Deal Stages, Forecasting, Close Dates, and Next Steps

Purpose

This article helps AEs manage Deals correctly.

Key Questions and Answers

What is pipeline?

Pipeline is the active list of revenue opportunities being worked by sales.

What is a Deal stage?

A Deal stage shows where the opportunity is in the sales process.

Why does close date matter?

Close date helps leadership understand timing, forecast revenue, and identify stale Deals.

What makes a Deal stale?

A Deal is stale when it has no recent activity, no next step, outdated close date, or unclear opportunity status.

What should every Deal have?

Every Deal should have a Deal owner, stage, close date, associated Company, associated Contact, next step, and recent activity.

Sales Standard

Clean pipeline is more valuable than inflated pipeline. A Deal should always reflect a real opportunity with a clear next step.

Category: Getting Started

Article 6: Day 1 in HubSpot: How to Work Contacts, Companies, Leads, and Deals

Purpose

This article helps new HubSpot users understand the basic sales workflow.

Step 1: Understand the Main Objects

  • Contact = person
  • Company = business
  • Lead = active sales target
  • Deal = revenue opportunity

Step 2: Find Your Records

Go to:

  • CRM > Contacts
  • CRM > Companies
  • Sales > Sales Workspace > Leads
  • CRM > Deals

Step 3: Create Your First Views

Create:

  • My Contacts
  • My Companies
  • My Open Leads
  • My Open Deals
  • Follow-Up Needed

Step 4: Begin Working Records

Start with assigned Leads, overdue tasks, recently engaged Contacts, and active Deals.

Step 5: Document Activity

Log emails, calls, meetings, notes, and next steps.

Step 6: Create Deals Only When Appropriate

Create Deals only when there is real engagement and commercial opportunity.

Sales Standard

HubSpot is the system of record. Work from HubSpot, update HubSpot, and keep records clean.

Article 7: Getting Started After Your List Is Uploaded: What to Do First

Purpose

This article explains what AEs should do after their Contacts, Companies, or Leads are uploaded into HubSpot.

Step 1: Confirm Your Assigned Records

Check Contacts, Companies, and Leads to confirm records are assigned to you.

Step 2: Create Saved Views

Create views that show only your assigned records.

Recommended views:

  • My Contacts
  • My Companies
  • My Open Leads
  • Follow-Up Needed
  • No Recent Activity

Step 3: Review Data Quality

Look for missing emails, missing company associations, duplicate records, bad phone numbers, or missing ownership.

Step 4: Prioritize Outreach

Start with records that have:

  • Complete information
  • Good fit
  • Recent engagement
  • Referral source
  • Clear industry alignment

Step 5: Work Inside HubSpot

Do not continue working from the spreadsheet once the list is uploaded. HubSpot becomes the source of record.

Sales Standard

After your list is uploaded, your first job is organization. Clean views and clean records make outreach easier.

Article 8: How to Install and Use the HubSpot Email Plugin for Outlook or Gmail

Purpose

This article helps AEs connect email activity to HubSpot.

Why This Matters

The HubSpot email plugin allows sales users to log and track email activity, use templates, and keep prospect communication connected to CRM records.

Outlook Setup

  1. Open Outlook.
  2. Go to add-ins.
  3. Search for HubSpot Sales.
  4. Install the HubSpot Sales Office 365 add-in.
  5. Log in with HubSpot credentials.
  6. Open a new email.
  7. Confirm the HubSpot panel appears.
  8. Test logging an email to an existing Contact.

Gmail Setup

  1. Open Chrome.
  2. Go to the Chrome Web Store.
  3. Search for HubSpot Sales.
  4. Install the extension.
  5. Log in with HubSpot credentials.
  6. Open Gmail.
  7. Confirm HubSpot tools appear.
  8. Test email logging.

Email Logging Standard

Log sales-related emails tied to prospecting, follow-up, pricing, demos, objections, onboarding, and next steps.

Sales Standard

Important prospect communication should be visible in HubSpot so the team can understand account activity.

Article 9: Top 5 Views Every AE Should Create in HubSpot

Purpose

This article gives AEs the five most important saved views to build first.

View 1: My Contacts

Object: Contacts
Filter: Contact owner is me
Purpose: Shows Contacts assigned to you.

View 2: My Companies

Object: Companies
Filter: Company owner is me
Purpose: Shows Companies assigned to you.

View 3: My Open Leads

Object: Leads
Filter: Lead owner is me and Lead status is open or active
Purpose: Shows active Leads to work.

View 4: My Open Deals

Object: Deals
Filter: Deal owner is me and Deal stage is not Closed Won or Closed Lost
Purpose: Shows active opportunities.

View 5: Follow-Up Needed

Object: Contacts or Deals
Filter: Owner is me and Next activity date is today or overdue
Purpose: Prevents missed follow-up.

How to Create a Saved View

  1. Go to the object page.
  2. Click + Add view.
  3. Click Create new view.
  4. Name the view.
  5. Choose visibility.
  6. Add filters.
  7. Save.

Sales Standard

Start with the top five views before creating custom views.

Article 10: How to Create Your AE Sales Command Center Dashboard

Purpose

This article helps AEs create a daily dashboard for pipeline, activity, and follow-up.

Recommended Dashboard Name

My AE Sales Command Center

Recommended Reports

  1. Open Deals by Stage
  2. Deals Closing This Month
  3. Tasks Due Today and Overdue
  4. New Leads Assigned to Me
  5. Activities Completed This Week

How to Create a Dashboard

  1. Go to Reporting.
  2. Click Reports.
  3. Click Create.
  4. Select Create dashboard.
  5. Choose template or start from scratch.
  6. Name the dashboard.
  7. Set visibility.
  8. Add reports.
  9. Save.

Daily Use

Review the dashboard every morning before outreach.

Start with:

  1. Overdue tasks
  2. Active Deals
  3. New Leads
  4. Recently engaged Contacts
  5. Companies with no recent activity

Sales Standard

Your dashboard is your daily command center. Your views are your working lists.

Category: General

Article 11: Account Research SOP: How to Research a Company Before Outreach

Purpose

This SOP gives AEs a repeatable process for researching Companies before outreach.

Step 1: Review the Company Record

Check:

  • Company name
  • Website
  • Industry
  • Owner
  • Associated Contacts
  • Prior activity
  • Associated Deals
  • Notes

Step 2: Review the Website

Look for:

  • What they sell
  • Who they serve
  • Locations
  • Payment options
  • Online forms
  • Appointment booking
  • Signs of ecommerce or billing needs

Step 3: Identify Possible Payment Pain

Look for signs of:

  • Manual billing
  • Outdated payment methods
  • Appointment-based services
  • Recurring revenue
  • High-ticket invoices
  • Multi-location operations
  • Customer payment friction

Step 4: Prepare Outreach

Use research to personalize the first call or email.

Sales Standard

Do not make generic outreach when account research is available. Better research creates better conversations.

Article 12: Contact Research SOP: How to Identify Decision Makers and Influencers

Purpose

This SOP helps AEs understand who they are speaking with and who else may need to be involved.

Step 1: Review the Contact Record

Check name, title, email, phone, Company, owner, and activity history.

Step 2: Identify Role

Classify the Contact as:

  • Decision maker
  • Influencer
  • User
  • Gatekeeper
  • Referral partner
  • Unknown

Step 3: Determine Likely Concerns

Business owner: cost, cash flow, customer experience
Finance leader: fees, reconciliation, reporting
Operations leader: workflow, support, onboarding
Technology leader: integrations, reliability, security

Step 4: Look for Missing Stakeholders

Ask: “Who else is involved in payments, finance, or operations?”

Sales Standard

A Contact is not just a name. Understand their role before pitching.

Article 13: Prospecting Workflow SOP: How to Work Assigned Accounts and Contacts Daily

Purpose

This SOP gives AEs a daily prospecting rhythm.

Morning Workflow

  1. Open your AE dashboard.
  2. Review overdue tasks.
  3. Review new Leads.
  4. Review active Deals.
  5. Review Follow-Up Needed view.

Prospecting Block

Work in this order:

  1. Warm referrals
  2. Recently engaged Contacts
  3. Open Leads
  4. Assigned Companies with strong fit
  5. Cold Contacts

After Each Activity

Update the record:

  • Log call or email
  • Add note
  • Update Lead status
  • Create next task
  • Create Deal if appropriate

End-of-Day Review

Confirm no active Lead or Deal is left without a next step.

Sales Standard

Prospecting should be organized, repeatable, and documented.

Article 14: Qualification SOP: How to Decide If a Prospect Is Worth Pursuing

Purpose

This SOP helps AEs qualify prospects consistently.

Qualification Areas

Evaluate:

  1. Business fit
  2. Payment need
  3. Decision maker access
  4. Timing
  5. Volume or revenue potential
  6. Current provider
  7. Pain point
  8. Risk profile
  9. Next step

Strong Fit Signals

  • Has payment friction
  • Processes meaningful volume
  • Needs online payments
  • Has recurring billing
  • Has support issues with current provider
  • Wants better reporting
  • Needs onboarding help
  • Is open to switching

Weak Fit Signals

  • No payment need
  • No authority
  • No timing
  • Very low volume
  • High risk concerns
  • No response after reasonable attempts

Sales Standard

Qualify before creating a Deal. Not every Lead deserves pipeline.

Article 15: Deal Creation SOP: When and How to Create Deals from Contacts or Companies

Purpose

This SOP explains when and how to create Deals correctly.

When to Create a Deal

Create a Deal when:

  • Prospect engaged
  • There is a business need
  • ChainIT Pay may be a fit
  • There is potential revenue
  • There is a next step

When Not to Create a Deal

Do not create a Deal just because:

  • A Contact exists
  • A Company exists
  • A Lead was assigned
  • One email was sent
  • You want to show pipeline

How to Create From a Contact

  1. Open Contact.
  2. Find Deals section.
  3. Click Add or Create Deal.
  4. Enter Deal details.
  5. Confirm Company association.
  6. Save.

How to Create From a Company

  1. Open Company.
  2. Find Deals section.
  3. Click Add or Create Deal.
  4. Enter Deal details.
  5. Confirm Contact association.
  6. Save.

Sales Standard

Every Deal should have an associated Company, associated Contact, owner, stage, close date, and next step.

Category: Support

Article 16: ChainIT Support SOP: How to Submit Issues Inside or Outside HubSpot

Purpose

This SOP explains when and how to submit support issues.

Support Portal

https://support.chainit.com/

When to Submit a Ticket

Submit a ticket when:

  • HubSpot is not working
  • Records are missing
  • Ownership is wrong
  • Email plugin is not logging
  • Views or dashboards do not work
  • Customer issue needs support
  • System access is blocked
  • Data looks incorrect

What to Include

Every ticket should include:

  • Your name
  • System affected
  • What you were trying to do
  • What happened instead
  • Record name
  • Screenshots
  • Business impact
  • Urgency

Sales Standard

Do not guess or create workarounds. Submit a support ticket and document customer-impacting issues in HubSpot.

Article 17: HubSpot Troubleshooting SOP: What to Do When Records, Views, or Emails Are Not Working

Purpose

This SOP helps AEs troubleshoot common HubSpot issues.

Step 1: Identify the Issue

Is it related to:

  • Access
  • Records
  • Views
  • Filters
  • Email logging
  • Ownership
  • Associations
  • Dashboards

Step 2: Confirm the Basics

Check:

  • Are you in the right object?
  • Are filters hiding records?
  • Is ownership correct?
  • Are you using the right view?
  • Is the email plugin installed?
  • Are you logged in?

Step 3: Capture Evidence

Take screenshots and note the record name.

Step 4: Submit Support

Use support.chainit.com when the issue cannot be resolved quickly.

Sales Standard

Troubleshoot carefully. Do not create duplicates to fix visibility issues.

Article 18: Data Cleanup SOP: How to Report Duplicates, Missing Fields, and Bad Imports

Purpose

This SOP protects HubSpot data quality.

Common Data Issues

Report:

  • Duplicate Contacts
  • Duplicate Companies
  • Missing email
  • Missing Company association
  • Wrong owner
  • Bad import values
  • Incorrect phone numbers
  • Missing domain
  • Broken association

What Not to Do

Do not:

  • Delete records without approval
  • Merge records unless authorized
  • Re-import spreadsheets
  • Create duplicate replacement records
  • Guess field values

How to Report

Submit a support ticket with:

  • Record names
  • URLs if available
  • Screenshot
  • Issue type
  • Impact
  • Suggested correction if known

Sales Standard

Clean data creates clean pipeline. Report data issues instead of creating more cleanup.

Article 19: Customer Issue Escalation SOP: How Sales Should Handle Prospect or Customer Problems

Purpose

This SOP helps sales respond professionally to customer issues.

Step 1: Acknowledge

Say: “Thank you for flagging this. I’m going to document it and get it routed to the right team.”

Step 2: Gather Details

Ask:

  • What happened?
  • When did it happen?
  • What were you trying to do?
  • Did you receive an error?
  • Can you send a screenshot?

Step 3: Document in HubSpot

Add a note to the Contact, Company, Lead, or Deal.

Step 4: Submit Support

Use support.chainit.com with full details.

Step 5: Follow Up

Do not promise a resolution time unless confirmed.

Sales Standard

Sales owns communication, not technical guessing. Document, escalate, and follow through.

Article 20: Access and Permissions SOP: What to Do If You Cannot See Records, Views, Dashboards, or Tools

Purpose

This SOP helps AEs handle access or visibility problems.

Common Access Issues

  • Cannot see assigned Contacts
  • Cannot see Companies
  • Cannot access Leads
  • Cannot see dashboard
  • Cannot create views
  • Cannot create Deals
  • Cannot use email plugin
  • Cannot access Knowledge Base article

First Checks

Confirm:

  • You are logged into the correct HubSpot account
  • You are in the correct object
  • Filters are not hiding records
  • View visibility is correct
  • Your owner field is correct
  • You have the correct team access

When to Escalate

Submit support if access still does not work.

Sales Standard

Do not create new records because you cannot see existing ones. Access issues should be resolved, not worked around.

Category: All Categories / Search Optimization

Article 21: Sales Ops Knowledge Base Index: Where to Find the Right Guide

Purpose

This article helps users find the right guide quickly.

Start Here

Use this Knowledge Base when you need help with:

  • HubSpot setup
  • Sales workflows
  • Views and dashboards
  • Prospecting
  • Qualification
  • Deal creation
  • Support issues
  • Data hygiene
  • Sales FAQs

Recommended Starting Articles

New users:

  • Day 1 in HubSpot
  • Getting Started After Your List Is Uploaded
  • Top 5 Views Every AE Should Create

Active AEs:

  • Prospecting Workflow SOP
  • Qualification SOP
  • Deal Creation SOP

Support needs:

  • ChainIT Support SOP
  • HubSpot Troubleshooting SOP
  • Data Cleanup SOP

Sales Standard

Use the Knowledge Base first before creating one-off questions. If the guide does not answer the issue, submit support or request an update.

Article 22: HubSpot Object Map: How Contacts, Companies, Leads, Deals, Tasks, and Activities Work Together

Purpose

This article explains how HubSpot objects connect.

Object Map

Contact = person
Company = business
Lead = active sales target
Deal = revenue opportunity
Task = future action
Activity = logged interaction

Example Workflow

  1. A Contact is imported.
  2. The Contact is associated to a Company.
  3. The AE begins outreach.
  4. The Contact replies.
  5. The Contact becomes an active Lead.
  6. The AE qualifies the opportunity.
  7. A Deal is created.
  8. Tasks and activities track follow-up.

Why Associations Matter

Associations connect people, businesses, and opportunities. Without associations, pipeline visibility breaks.

Sales Standard

Every active Deal should be connected to the correct Contact and Company whenever possible.

Article 23: AE Daily Operating Rhythm: What to Check Every Morning, Midday, and End of Day

Purpose

This article gives AEs a simple daily HubSpot routine.

Morning

Check:

  • Tasks due today
  • Overdue tasks
  • New Leads
  • Open Deals
  • Follow-Up Needed view

Midday

Work:

  • Calls
  • Emails
  • Follow-ups
  • Lead status updates
  • Deal movement

End of Day

Review:

  • Did I log activity?
  • Did I update statuses?
  • Did I create tasks?
  • Did I leave any Deal without a next step?
  • Did I document customer issues?

Sales Standard

AEs should not wait until the end of the week to clean up HubSpot. Update records as work happens.

Article 24: Sales Team Data Hygiene Rules: How to Keep HubSpot Clean and Useful

Purpose

This article sets minimum data standards.

Rule 1: Search Before Creating

Search before creating Contacts, Companies, or Deals.

Rule 2: Use Required Fields Correctly

Do not enter fake values to bypass required fields.

Rule 3: Associate Records

Contacts should be connected to Companies. Deals should connect to both whenever possible.

Rule 4: Keep Ownership Clear

Every active record should have a clear owner.

Rule 5: Log Activity

Sales activity should be visible in HubSpot.

Rule 6: Avoid Duplicate Records

Duplicates create confusion and bad reporting.

Sales Standard

Clean CRM data is a sales productivity tool. Bad data slows the entire team down.

Article 25: From Prospect to Pipeline: ChainIT Pay Sales Workflow in HubSpot

Purpose

This article explains the full ChainIT Pay sales workflow inside HubSpot.

Step 1: Research

Review the Company and Contact before outreach.

Step 2: Prospect

Call, email, and follow up using HubSpot.

Step 3: Log Activity

Document calls, emails, notes, and meetings.

Step 4: Qualify

Determine fit, need, timing, authority, payment pain, and opportunity.

Step 5: Work the Lead

Update Lead status and continue follow-up.

Step 6: Create Deal

Create a Deal only when there is real commercial opportunity.

Step 7: Manage Pipeline

Update Deal stage, close date, amount, and next step.

Step 8: Escalate When Needed

Use support or leadership when pricing, compliance, risk, technical, or customer issues require review.

Sales Standard

The ChainIT Pay sales workflow is not just outreach. It is research, qualification, documentation, pipeline discipline, and clean execution.