I know it might sound cliche, but we genuinely are lifelong learners over here at Lake One, and one of the best training academies around is HubSpot. Their platform is top-notch, and their training is too. It includes software how-tos, practical exercises, plus tips, and strategies to take your skills to the next level.

What does HubSpot training entail? HubSpot has two types of training – certifications and individual courses. Certifications result in a literal badge and certificate. The courses tend to be more digestible and focused on a specific topic area. As far as the material, you can expect a video with an adjustable play speed, study guides, quizzes at the end of lessons, and, if applicable, an exam. It’s self-guided, so it’s easy to walk yourself through the material at your own pace.

According to HubSpot, there are over 165,000 professionals who have grown their careers by getting certified with HubSpot Academy. And there are a lot to choose from. As a HubSpot Platinum Partner, we get asked which HubSpot training courses we recommend quite often.

Below you’ll find a list of our top HubSpot training recommendations.  

Building the Foundation

There is a certain base level of understanding needed to embrace HubSpot – regardless of your practice area. You need to get Inbound. Inbound marketing is a business methodology that attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them. Elements of Inbound can be applied cross-functionally. 

HubSpot Inbound Certification

Time: 2 hrs

This certification gives an overview of inbound and gives you the essential base needed to understand the HubSpot methodology and why the platform functions the way it does. You’ll learn the fundamentals of inbound, the methodology, and about the flywheel. This course talks about inbound as it applies to marketing, services, and sales. 

Image Source: HubSpot.com

HubSpot Reporting

Time: 5 hours 

At Lake One, we don’t shy away from the numbers. That’s why this is a must on our list of HubSpot training recommendations. No matter your role, we believe you should have a basic understanding of HubSpot reporting, and it’s capabilities. In this training, you learn how to incorporate data-driven decision-making using HubSpot reporting tools. It will cover reporting tools for the CRM, Marketing Hub, CMS Hub, Sales Hub, and Service. Sounds like overkill? Even if you don’t complete the cert, pick and choose the lessons that pertain to your role and the reporting you’ll need. 

Note: This certification does require a HubSpot Professional license to obtain. 

HubSpot Training Recommendations for Marketers

Whether your role is the high-level strategy or you’ll be in the weeds, the courses below will give you the knowledge needed to rock HubSpot and plan for success. 

HubSpot Marketing Software Certification

Time: 5 hours

If you plan on functioning within HubSpot, this is a must. HubSpot is a big platform with many tools, and to get the most value, you need a foundation of knowledge and an understanding of how they all work together. These lessons will literally help you do marketing in HubSpot. 

Email Marketing

Time: 4 hours

No doubt, if you have HubSpot, you plan on leveraging marketing emails. From contact management and segmentation to email deliverability and analyzing your email sends, you’ll learn how to build an email marketing strategy. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to leverage the marketing tools on the platform to send and analyze emails. 

HubSpot CMS for Marketers 

Time: 2 hours

This is a specialty course, but still makes the cut for our HubSpot training recommendations. Why? This course is beneficial if you want to take your landing pages to the next level. Understanding HubSpot’s CMS is your ticket to customization and high-performing pages.

Note: This certification does require a HubSpot CMS Hub Professional account to complete. You can sign up for a sandbox account if needed. 

HubSpot Training Recommendations for Sales

From the CRM to leveraging HubSpot’s sales tools, partake in the courses below to get the basics and level up your HubSpot sales skills. 

Related Reading: Turn Your Website Into a Lead Machine with HubSpot Lead Flows

HubSpot Sales Software

Time: 2 hours

The HubSpot Sales Software Certification will help you organize your records in the HubSpot CRM to identify the best contacts to reach out to and get the most out of your Sales Hub tools. 

Sales Enablement

Time: 6 hours

According to HubSpot, the Sales Enablement Certification will teach you how to develop a marketing-driven sales enablement strategy. This course was designed with marketing managers in mind, but other marketers and sales leaders can benefit from learning the principles involved in this approach to sales enablement.

Frictionless Sales

Time: 2 hours

Are you looking to enable your sales team to spend more time selling? Or better align them to your target buyer? To help your sales team grow better, you need to find ways to remove friction from your flywheel. This course helps you learn the frictionless selling framework so your team can spend more time actually selling.

HubSpot Individual Courses

All of the training called out above are certifications. Depending on your day-to-day responsibilities, you may want to take a lesson specialized in Account Based Marketing, content strategy, or social media. We recommend just picking an area of interest and getting started!

Making the Time for Professional Development

Underutilization of HubSpot is more common than you might think. Don’t let a lack of training be the reason it happens to you. We know better than anyone that it can be challenging to make time for professional development. So here are a few tips from the Lake One team – who are actively working on practicing what we preach 🙂

• Document a Training Plan: Whether it’s the training courses listed above or others available in HubSpot Academy, decide which ones make the most sense for you and then document a training plan.

• Give Yourself a Deadline: After you’ve documented a training plan, give yourself a deadline. A little accountability can go a long way.

• Chip Away at the Training: It can be tricky to block a day, so try blocking off an hour-long block or even 30 minutes to chip away at training.

• Make It a Team Event: Tie your training into a company goal or, better yet, bring along a coworker and turn it into a friendly competition!