Introduction to the Company Record Type

1. Why Use Company Records at All?

1. Improved Organization: Even if you’re a solo consultant primarily focused on individual contacts (CEOs, managers, etc.), Company records provide a single snapshot of who is employed at that organization.
2. Shared Context Across Contacts: If multiple people from the same firm are in your CRM, you can see them grouped under the Company record. This ensures you know who else at that company might be relevant for a project or referral.
3. Reporting & Analytics: Some of HubSpot’s reporting features become more powerful when you have data at the Company level, especially if you work with recurring or retainer-based engagements involving multiple stakeholders at one organization.
4. Less Redundancy: Rather than storing the same “Company Name,” “Address,” or “Website” information on every Contact, you can store it once in a Company record. Contacts simply associate with that Company.

2. Reasons Independent Consultants May Not Spend As Much Time in Company Records

1. Individual Relationships are Paramount: For many solopreneurs or boutique firms, direct relationships with specific people (Contacts) matter more than the overall organization’s structure.
2. Deal-Focused: You might track your engagements as Deals in HubSpot, with each Deal tied to relevant contacts. The Company association is secondary for day-to-day interactions.
3. Simplicity: In smaller consulting practices, you often rely on personal knowledge of who’s who, rather than drilling into a Company record for corporate details.

Nevertheless, having at least a basic Company record is beneficial because it ties all employees of that organization together in your CRM.

3. Creating or Associating Companies

1. Automatic Association
   • HubSpot can auto-create Companies based on the domain of a Contact’s email address (e.g., “mckinsey.com”) if you leave this feature enabled (accessible in Settings > Objects > Companies).
   • This can save time but may also create duplicates if people use multiple domains.
2. Manual Creation
   • If auto-creation isn’t active or if you prefer more control, you can manually create a Company record.
   • Go to Contacts > Companies > Create company. Provide the company’s name, domain, address, industry, etc.
3. Associating Contacts
   • When viewing a Contact record, look for Associated Company or “Add Company” to tie that contact to the right firm.
   • If you manage multiple contacts from a single firm, associating them all with the correct Company record ensures a single, unified view of that organization.

4. Ensuring One Company Record per Actual Organization

1. Avoid Duplicates
   • It’s easy to end up with “McKinsey,” “McKinsey & Co.,” and “McKinsey & Company” as separate records for the same real company.
   • Try to standardize the naming convention (e.g., “McKinsey & Company”) and merge or delete duplicates.
2. Merging Duplicates
   • Within Companies, select the duplicate record > Actions > Merge. Pick the other company record to merge into.
   • The combined record retains the primary record’s data but also merges relevant data from the secondary record.
3. Benefits of a Single, Accurate Company Record
   • Cleaner reporting (e.g., revenue or deals by company).
   • Less confusion when searching or filtering.
   • Ensures all associated contacts appear in one place.

5. Other Possible Uses of Company Records

1. Tracking Company-Level Data
   • Store info like the firm’s annual revenue, number of employees, or industry.
   • Helpful if you’re segmenting or focusing on clients above a certain size.
2. Notes and Attachments
   • If your client engagement involves organizational-level documents (e.g., an NDA, corporate overview), you can attach them to the Company record rather than to a single Contact.
3. Company-Specific Workflows or Automations
   • If your plan supports it, you can trigger workflows based on Company properties (e.g., emailing you a reminder when a Company’s renewal is approaching, or updating a status after a certain industry is set).

6. Best Practices for Independent Consultants

1. Create a Company Record for Each Client Org
   • Even if you won’t interact with it daily, it’s good to have basic info: official name, domain, address.
   • Associate relevant contacts as soon as you add them to HubSpot.
2. Merge or Delete Duplicates
   • Perform periodic checks if you suspect multiple versions of the same company exist.
   • Keep a consistent naming format (e.g., “Company, Inc.” vs. “Company Inc”) to reduce confusion.
3. Optional Fields
   • Fill in only the fields you truly need (e.g., domain, address). You don’t have to populate every detail if it’s not relevant to your consulting practice.
4. Link Companies to Deals
   • When you create a Deal in HubSpot, associate both the primary Contact and the Company. This helps with reporting if you want to see how many deals each Company has over time.