What are HubSpot payments and how can you use them?
Jun 04, 2025
If you've been wrestling with managing multiple prospecting attempts in HubSpot without creating a data nightmare, you're not alone. The lead object might just be the solution you didn't know you needed, but only if you understand why it exists and how it fits into your broader CRM strategy.
In this overview, I'll explain the strategic purpose of HubSpot's lead object, when you should (and shouldn't) use it, and how it transforms your sales process.
For the nitty-gritty setup details and technical walkthrough, watch this comprehensive video that covers everything from configuration to automation workflows.
HubSpot's original single-object approach was refreshingly simple compared to the confusing "lead becomes contact" systems of older CRMs. But as businesses scaled, many discovered that contact properties like lead status, lifecycle stages, and deal pipelines weren't enough to manage the messy reality of modern prospecting.
The problem was clear: sales teams needed multiple attempts to engage prospects, but traditional tools couldn't handle this complexity without creating data chaos.
Lead status properties were frequently neglected by busy reps focused on their next conversation, not CRM updates. This left sales operations teams with unreliable data that lagged behind reality.
Enter the lead object, HubSpot's answer to managing prospecting and qualification activities before deals are worth creating, with proper tracking of multiple engagement attempts.
The lead object represents a specific prospecting effort associated with a contact or company. Unlike the single contact record, the lead object supports many-to-one relationships, meaning one contact can have multiple leads created over time as you make different attempts to engage them.
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Each lead moves through its own lead pipeline with stages like:
New → Attempting → Connected → Qualified/Disqualified.
This creates a clear audit trail of every prospecting effort, whether successful or not, without cluttering your deal pipeline with premature opportunities.
Think of it as a dedicated workspace for managing the "will they, won't they" phase of sales – the bit between initial interest and genuine opportunity.
This is where things can get confusing, and it's crucial to understand the distinction.
HubSpot has both:
The lead object should sit between the "Lead" lifecycle stage and the "Opportunity" stage. It's the tool for working someone's interest through to a qualified opportunity, replacing the old lead status property that caused so many headaches.
Here's the key:
A contact at "Lead" lifecycle stage is not the same as having a lead object. The lead object is created when you want to actively prospect or qualify that contact, typically when they move to Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) or Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) stages.
Perhaps the biggest game-changer is how HubSpot automatically moves leads through stages based on email and meeting activity.
When you log an email or call, the lead moves from "New" to "Attempting."
When HubSpot detects a reply or meeting booking, it automatically progresses to "Connected."
This built-in automation solves the chronic problem of reps forgetting to update lead status, giving you trustworthy data without additional manual work.
Before lead objects, many businesses created deals prematurely to track prospects they were "watching", inflating pipelines with low-quality opportunities and distorting forecasts. The lead object keeps your deal pipeline focused on genuine revenue opportunities while managing prospecting activities separately.
This leads to more accurate pipeline forecasting, better win rates, and cleaner CRM data that actually reflects reality.
The lead object's many-to-one relationship with contacts means you can track multiple prospecting efforts over time. Had a lead go cold due to bad timing? Disqualify that lead, but create a new one when circumstances change. Each attempt gets its own record and outcome, providing valuable insights into your prospecting effectiveness.
With dedicated disqualification reasons and clear stage progression, you get much better data for understanding why prospects don't convert. This enables more sophisticated segmentation, better coaching opportunities, and data-driven improvements to your sales process.
Honestly? No, but it will improve the sales process for most businesses.
Consider the lead object if you:
Avoid the lead object if you:
The key is honest assessment: will this solve actual problems you're experiencing, or just add complexity for its own sake?
The biggest mistake is making lead creation manual work for sales reps. If you're asking busy salespeople to remember to create leads, you're fighting an uphill battle. So, consider automating lead creation through workflows triggered by specific contact sources (like the CRM UI) or actions.
High-intent website visitors and CRM-created contacts are perfect candidates for automatic lead creation, putting prospects straight into the sales workflow without additional admin burden.
Using just the contact name or company name for lead objects creates confusion between different CRM entities. Consider combining contact and company names, or adding context like the source or campaign that generated the lead. This small detail prevents mix-ups and keeps concepts clearly separated in users' minds.
Your team needs crystal-clear understanding of the difference between lifecycle stage "Lead" and lead objects.
Consider renaming the lifecycle stage if it helps create distinction, and ensure everyone understands when and why lead objects are created.
Leads can proliferate just like deals, with reluctance to close them out properly. Consider implementing auto-disqualification workflows that clean up stale leads after a set period, keeping your pipeline focused on active opportunities while creating space for future re-engagement.
Getting the lead object right requires more than just flicking a switch in HubSpot.
You'll need to plan your approach, build supporting workflows, train your team, and integrate it properly with your existing sales process.
You have two main paths forward: tackle the implementation yourself or work with a HubSpot partner agency (like us). If you're confident with HubSpot's technical aspects and have the internal bandwidth, implementing the lead object yourself is certainly possible. Our video tutorial provides the step-by-step guidance you'll need.
However, many businesses find value in working with a HubSpot partner agency who can help design the implementation around your specific sales process, build the necessary automation workflows, and provide training that ensures adoption across your team. This approach often leads to faster time-to-value and fewer implementation headaches.
The choice depends on your internal expertise, available time, and the complexity of your sales process. Either way, the key is approaching implementation strategically rather than just enabling the feature and hoping for the best.
Understanding the lead object is just the beginning. The real value comes from integrating it properly into your sales process, training your team effectively, and building the supporting workflows that make it truly powerful.
If you're convinced the lead object could benefit your business, the next step is getting hands-on with the setup and configuration.
The lead object isn't just about enabling a feature; it's about fundamentally improving how your business manages the complexity of modern B2B sales. When done right, it's transformative. When done wrong, it's just another thing to maintain.
