How to Hire the Right HubSpot Certified Trainer

As HubSpot expands their offerings into sales, services, native integrations - and more - it can feel overwhelming to keep up. A HubSpot Certified Trainer can help. 

In this article, we explore what a HubSpot trainer is, why you might work with one, what you can get from a training, and how to find a trainer near you today. 

What is a HubSpot Certified Trainer?

A HubSpot Certified Trainer is an individual that has passed HubSpot’s Trainer Certification course. Trainers receive their certification after demonstrating their expertise in HubSpot’s software, completing an in-depth video training course, passing a knowledge test, and completing a targeted hands-on practicum. 

HubSpot Certified Trainers are considered experts at implementing HubSpot’s software strategically while also demonstrating strong teaching skills for a variety of learning styles. 

What is the difference between a HubSpot Certified Trainer and HubSpot Academy?

If you’ve ever watched a HubSpot Academy video you know the amount of attention, care, and detail the Academy invests into every training video. HubSpot Academy and HubSpot’s Certification courses are one of the best ways to learn HubSpot’s software for free. 

What is the value of working with a HubSpot Certified Trainer?

While Academy videos will demonstrate how to use the software, a HubSpot Certified Trainer can help you understand how to use the software in a way that is specific to your business. A trainer won’t just talk about how to segment a database, they’ll figure out how to segment your database in a way that makes sense for your long-term success with the platform. 

Working with a HubSpot Certified Trainer enables your team to learn how to use HubSpot in a hyper-focused training that aligns with your specific business goals. 

Want to hear more about the value of working with a HubSpot Trainer for your business? Watch this short clip:

What are some reasons you might want to hire a HubSpot Trainer?

• You’ve just purchased HubSpot and aren’t familiar with the tool. 
• You’re upgrading to HubSpot Professional or Enterprise and want to get the most value from your upgrade.
• You’ve just purchased a new HubSpot product - Like HubSpot Sales and CRM or HubSpot Service - and want to know how to align your products together strategically.
• You’re hiring a new team member that needs to get up to speed - fast.
• You’ve had HubSpot for quite some time but aren’t sure you’re getting the most value from the software.
• Your HubSpot portal is simply a mess, and you don’t know how to clean it up -- or where to even start.
• You have specific business goals to meet with HubSpot - such as the need to implement a workflow strategy, create marketing attribution reports, integrate with Salesforce, implement HubSpot CRM for your business, or build a knowledge base for your company.

These are just a few of the reasons where a trainer can provide direct value to your team. 

How are HubSpot trainings usually delivered?

Every organization and trainer is different, but an established HubSpot Trainer will have the ability to offer you:

• HubSpot On-Site Training: Whether one-on-one with an individual or with an entire department, a trainer can travel to your business to deliver a real hands-on training
• Virtual HubSpot Training: Using a video conferencing software, a trainer can deliver on-screen trainings from wherever they are.
• On-Demand and Long-Term HubSpot Support: Some trainers may offer support long-term through on-demand and consultative support so you can learn and grow at your own pace. 
• A Combination: Sometimes it makes sense for the first training to be delivered in-person, and followup or secondary trainings to be delivered virtually. 

What can I expect to get from a HubSpot training program?

Again, every organization and trainer is different. For those that have a lot of experience in the space you can expect:

• • A business discovery call: The value of working with a HubSpot trainer comes from the opportunity to work with someone who understands your business goals, your short- and long term-lead generation goals, how you currently work within the software, who will be using the platform, and what you want to solve for 12-18 months from the training. A discovery call allows the trainer to understand the foundation of your business and develop a customized training plan to meet your specific needs. 
    
    
  • A conversation about the training format: The trainer will want to understand who the training is for, how many people will attend, and how you imagine the training being delivered. Will it be on-site? Will it be remote? How long will the training be? Will it span multiple days? Do you want a classroom style training, or something more hands-on? Or perhaps, your team would benefit from a combination approach in a longer training session to keep things fresh. 
    
    
  • Optional - Pre-training survey: If you’re planning a training for a team - or an entire department - the trainer may present everyone attending with an individualized training survey to determine: what the individual’s role is within the company, how they plan to use the software, what background they have with HubSpot - if any, what is the ONE thing they want to walk away from, and what their learning style is. Additionally, this is a great opportunity to solve for any accessibility concerns for your staff. 
    
    
  • A customized agenda: Now that the trainer understands your goals and needs, they will put together a customized agenda and training plan for you to review. This is your chance to ensure the training will deliver exactly what you expect it to. 
    
    
  • A list of requirements leading up to the training: Your trainer will make sure they have everything they need to deliver a successful training including learning materials (notebooks, pens, etc), whiteboards, a projector, audio equipment, and any special requests. If the training is on-site, they may coordinate the distribution of materials and resources with you directly.
    
    
  • Pre-training hands-on work: Depending on everyone’s experience level the training may be most productive if the staff completes prep work prior to the training. This may include: obtaining the Inbound Marketing or HubSpot Marketing Certification from HubSpot Academy, completing a knowledge-check survey, etc.
    
    However, really impactful trainers will ask staff to take their prep work a bit further.
    
    For example, if your goal is to teach your staff how to build a really successful lead generation email campaign using HubSpot Workflows, the trainer may ask for everyone to come prepared with the email copy for three nurture emails. Then, your staff will build emails, add them to the workflow tool, optimize the flow, and adjust settings for best practices using tangible assets for your marketing strategy. This pre-preparation allows you to not only train your staff effectively in how to use the tool - but your staff leaves the training with tangible marketing assets you can utilize right away.

Trainers that have you add lorem ipsum text for training aren’t fully utilizing the benefit of their strategic time with your staff. You should work with a trainer that will help you create usable marketing, sales, or service assets. This is where the true value of working with an experienced trainer comes in. 

What questions should I ask before hiring a HubSpot Certified Trainer?

1. How long have you used HubSpot? Are you a HubSpot Partner Agency?

Aim to work with someone who has been using the software hands-on for a variety of businesses for at least 2 years. If possible, find someone who has even more experience. This ensures that you’re working with someone who truly understands the tool and how it has changed over time. This is especially important if you’ve had HubSpot for many years. Older versions of HubSpot may be using outdated, complicated backend setups. An experienced trainer can help you unravel that. 

2. What are your other HubSpot certifications?

Ask your trainer to demonstrate their expertise in other areas of HubSpot by showcasing their certifications in areas outside of the Marketing tool. 

3. How many training sessions have they delivered?

Experience matters when it comes to delivering team trainings. An experienced trainer will have worked with a variety of businesses in a variety of formats to ensure the training time is managed well and that everything goes smoothly for you. 

4. What are some examples of training agendas they’ve delivered?

This is a great way to get an inside-look into the preparation and style of the trainer you’re looking to hire. And, it might inspire some ideas for your own training session.

5. What format can they deliver the training in? And what are the long-term training options?

You probably know which training style would work best for you and your staff. Make sure the trainer has experience training this way. Are they willing to travel to you? Do they already have access to a remote video software for virtual trainings? Do they offer long-term on-demand training services for targeted follow up? 

6. Do they have testimonials or case studies from successful trainings?

Experienced trainers typically follow up their training with an experience survey so they can strive to do better. Ask your trainer for testimonials and case studies they’ve built from successful trainings. Don’t be afraid to ask to speak with someone who has completed the course as well to get the inside scoop.

7. How much will the training cost? What additional charges would there be for on-site training?

You really can’t beat the value of having someone come to complete a training on-site. The over-the-shoulder help you can offer your staff while they’re in the tool enables everyone to get their specific questions answered. But you also don’t want to be nickel-and-dimed for unnecessary travel expenses. Ask your trainer for a comprehensive overview of costs so you get the most bang for your buck. 

8. When can the training be delivered?

Sometimes you need help immediately so be sure you are working with someone that can move as fast as you need them to. 

9. When can we book time for you to learn more about our business, marketing, and sales goals?

If you wanted a generalized high-level training, you could get that for no cost at HubSpot Academy. Be sure you work with someone that takes the time to understand your business at a granular level so they can be sure to train your staff in a way that makes sense for your long-term success. Excellent trainers will identify ways to streamline and simplify existing processes and be sure you utilize foldering, naming conventions, and other best practices for complex businesses.

10. What materials do I get after the training?

Depending on the format and subject, the trainer should leave you with the pre-training survey results, the presentation decks, homework assignments or worksheets, links to all of the tangible marketing materials your team created, a performance survey (how did you feel about the training?), and a summary of next steps (what should your team focus on next?). Depending on your training package, you may also receive a bucket of on-demand training hours for your team to utilize as they dive in. 

Where can I find a HubSpot Certified Trainer?

HubSpot keeps an up-to-date directory of certified HubSpot trainers here: https://academy.hubspot.com/hubspot-certified-trainer/find-a-trainer

Or, get in touch with us today to work with one of our trainers. 

What is advanced HubSpot training?

An Advanced HubSpot Training is a customized training program that allows power users of HubSpot to improve, scale, or streamline their HubSpot instance with customized advice and training from HubSpot software experts.

If you already know HubSpot's software but want to take your portal to the next level, an advanced HubSpot training is for you. If you’ve been using the tool for a while, you likely won’t need foundational introductions to basic functionality. Instead, an advanced HubSpot training would aim to take what you have set up already and make it work better. Some ways to do that would be:

• Integrating with another tool: whether you want to connect to HubSpot Sales or HubSpot Service - or integrate with an outside tool like Salesforce, a HubSpot Certified Trainer can help
  
  
• Streamlining and simplifying processes: are you using extremely complex workflows, completing a lot of manual work, or feeling like your setup isn’t scalable? Then work with a trainer to identify opportunities to make your day-to-day life with HubSpot easier. Did you know moving complex data-assignment workflows to HubSpot Database can completely remove the need for several interconnected workflows? 
  
  
• Creating a standards guide: If there are a lot of cooks in your HubSpot kitchen then creating a standardization of processes, naming conventions, foldering, permissions, and content segmentation is a must. A trainer can help you organize your portal so you can grow without the clutter. 

HubSpot can be overwhelming to learn…

We get it. It’s an enormous software. Just when you feel like you’re a pro, they update the interface or add a brand new (awesome) feature. 

Did you know that Precision Marketing Group has three HubSpot Certified Trainers on staff? We’ve executed successful trainings across the globe and love helping people understand how to use the tool in the best way.

Still not convinced? Katie Carlin from HubSpot highlights why Precision Marketing Group has been a trusted HubSpot partner for 11 years:

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by HubSpot or just need someone to guide you in the right direction, I hope you’ll reach out. Wishing you success with your HubSpot endeavors!