Custom Property for Companies – “Relationship Status”

1. Why Create a “Relationship Status” Property?

1. Multi-Faceted Relationships
   • A single company can be both a potential client and a vendor—your practice might buy some services from them while also pitching them. A multi-select property captures these overlaps.
2. Quick at-a-Glance Insights
   • As soon as you open a Company record, you see “NDA in place,” “Partner,” or “Off limits,” letting you know immediately how to engage (or not engage) with that firm.
3. Filtering & Segmenting
   • If you want to see all companies with an “MSA in place,” it’s simple to filter by that checkbox in HubSpot.
   • Great for quickly checking which companies are “Do not serve” or “Target client” when planning outreach.
4. Maintain Professional Boundaries
   • “Off limits” or “Do not serve” helps you avoid inadvertently pitching or engaging a company if you have conflicts of interest or a strategic decision to refrain from serving them.

2. Defining “Relationship Status” as a Multi-Checkbox Property

2.1 Setting Up the Property

1. Navigate to Settings
   • In HubSpot, go to the Settings (gear icon), then Properties in the left sidebar.
   • Ensure you’re on Company properties (not Contacts or Deals).
2. Create Property
   • Click Create property.
   • Object Type: “Company.”
   • Group: “Company Information” or a custom group like “Consulting Status.”
   • Label: “Relationship Status” (or a similar name).
   • Field Type: Multiple checkboxes.
3. Add Options
   • Some statuses to consider:
     • NDA in place
     • MSA in place
     • Do not serve
     • Off limits
     • Client (could be further split into “Current Client” or “Past Client,” depending on your preference)
     • Target client
     • Partner
     • Vendor
   • You can add or remove these options at any time, or rename them to fit your specific needs.
4. Save: After creating the field, click Create (or Save) to finalize.

2.2 Why Multiple Checkboxes?

• Flexibility: One company might have multiple statuses: e.g., they could be a “Partner” and also a “Vendor,” or a “Target client” that also has an “NDA in place.”
• Easy Filtering: You can filter on each label (e.g., show all companies with “NDA in place” and also “Target client”) without losing other statuses.

3. Possible Relationship Status Values

Here’s a closer look at the suggested statuses:

1. NDA in place: You and the company have a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Important to track to know if you can share confidential info.
2. MSA in place: A Master Services Agreement is signed, which can speed up future projects. Good to note if you want to quickly see which companies have their legal framework ready.
3. Do not serve: You have decided not to serve this company for some reason (perhaps they have historically slow payment or mismatch in values). This keeps you from accidentally engaging them again.
4. Off limits: There is a conflict of interest, or your contract with another client forbids working with them. This is more a strategic or contractual restriction.
5. Client: Could be “Current” or “Past” client. If you only need a single checkbox, “Client” might suffice; if you want to differentiate, consider splitting it.
6. Target client: You plan to pitch or hope to work with them in the future. Quick way to see prospective “wish list” companies.
7. Partner: They might collaborate with you on projects or refer business to you.
8. Vendor: You buy from them (software, subcontracting services, or professional tools).

4. Updating the Relationship Status for Each Company

4.1 Manual Updates

1. Open a Company Record: Go to Companies > select the company record.
2. View All Properties: Locate “Relationship Status.”
3. Check All Relevant Boxes: E.g., “NDA in place,” “Partner,” etc.
4. Save: The multi-select choices are now attached to that Company.

4.2 Bulk Updates

• Bulk Edit: If you have multiple Company records that are “Vendors,” select them in the Companies list and update the property in bulk.
• Imports: If you import a spreadsheet with a “Relationship Status” column (where cells contain multiple statuses separated by semicolons or commas, matching your HubSpot format), you can map it to the multi-checkbox property on import.

5. Using the Relationship Status Property

1. Filtering and Lists:
   • Build an Active List of Companies (if your plan supports Company-based lists) that have “NDA in place” or “Target client,” etc.
   • Quickly see how many “Past clients” you’ve worked with.
2. Reports
   • If you want to see how many “Clients” you currently have or how many “Partners” are in your system, you can create a report grouping by Relationship Status.
3. Workflows (On Paid Plans)
   • Trigger certain actions if a Company is marked “Off limits,” such as alerting you not to associate new deals or sending an internal email if someone tries to engage them.
4. Transparency and Clarity
   • If you ever bring on a small team or assistant, they’ll see these statuses and instantly know how to engage with that Company (or not engage!).

6. Best Practices and Considerations

1. Keep Your Options Targeted: Avoid overloading the multi-check list with too many statuses. Focus on the few that truly impact your actions or strategic decisions.
2. Define Each Label Clearly: Maintain a small reference doc that explains, for instance, when to mark a company “Off limits” vs. “Do not serve.” This ensures consistency if multiple people update the CRM.
3. Combine with Other Properties: For example, you could also track “Metro Area,” “Industry,” or “Number of Employees” to further refine how you interact with the company.
4. Audit Regularly: Periodically check that your Relationship Status is accurate. Companies can move from “Target client” to “Client,” or from “Client” to “Past client.”