Streamlining Your HubSpot Deal Communications: Bulk Emails Done Right

Hey ESHOPMAN community! Ever found yourself scratching your head, wondering why sending bulk emails to contacts associated with deals in HubSpot isn't as straightforward as sending to a regular contact list? You're definitely not alone. It's a question that popped up recently in the HubSpot Community, and it's a common point of confusion for many RevOps professionals, marketers, and e-commerce store operators leveraging HubSpot for their sales pipeline.

The original poster in the community thread articulated this perfectly, expressing a bit of surprise that this functionality wasn't immediately obvious. They knew how to email contacts but wanted to target clients 'currently sitting in our deals pipeline.' This makes perfect sense, right? You've got these valuable prospects or existing customers in various stages of a deal, and you want to communicate with them collectively – maybe to share a new product update relevant to their pending purchase, a special offer, or just a timely follow-up.

So, what's the deal (pun intended) with sending emails to deal-associated contacts? A savvy community member stepped in with a clear explanation. The core reason regular bulk email sends don't inherently work for deals is that HubSpot needs to 'know' which deal to personalize for, especially if a contact is associated with multiple deals. Deal-specific personalization tokens – think deal amount, deal stage, associated products – only make sense in the context of a specific deal. This is where HubSpot's powerful deal-based workflows come into play.

Method 1: The Gold Standard - Deal-Based Workflows

This is the go-to method if you need to personalize emails with deal-specific information. Deal-based workflows are incredibly powerful for nurturing prospects through your sales funnel, automating follow-ups, or sending targeted content based on their progress.

Here's how you generally set it up:

1. Navigate to Workflows: In your HubSpot portal, go to Automation > Workflows.
2. Create a New Workflow: Click 'Create workflow' and select 'Deal-based'. This is crucial because it allows the workflow to 'see' and act upon deal properties.
3. Set Enrollment Triggers: Define when a deal should enter this workflow. This could be based on a specific deal stage (e.g., 'Proposal Sent', 'Contract Signed'), deal amount, creation date, or any other deal property. For example, 'Deal stage is any of: [your desired stages]'.
4. Add Actions: Once a deal is enrolled, you can add actions. The key action here is 'Send email'. You'll need to have an automated marketing email prepared beforehand (Automation > Emails > Automated).
5. Personalize with Deal Tokens: Within your automated email, you can use deal personalization tokens (e.g., {{ deal.dealname }}, {{ deal.amount }}). HubSpot will automatically pull the correct deal information for the contact associated with the enrolled deal.

This method ensures that your communications are highly relevant and personalized, which is essential for building trust and driving conversions, especially when you’re trying to build ecommerce website from scratch and establish a strong brand presence.

Method 2: The Simpler Alternative - Contact Segmentation

What if you don't need deal-specific personalization? Maybe you just want to send a general announcement to all contacts who currently have an open deal, regardless of the deal's specifics. In this scenario, the community expert offered a simpler, contact-based segmentation approach.

This method leverages HubSpot's list functionality:

1. Go to Lists: In your HubSpot portal, navigate to CRM > Lists.
2. Create a New List: Click 'Create list' and choose 'Contact-based'.
3. Add Filters for Deals: Here's the trick:
   • Click 'Add filter'.
   • In the dropdown, instead of selecting a Contact property, look for 'Deal properties' or change the object type from 'Contact' to 'Deal'.
   • You can then filter by deal properties like 'Deal stage is any of: [select your desired stages, e.g., 'Qualified to buy', 'Presentation scheduled', 'Decision maker bought-in']'.
   • This will create a list of contacts who are associated with deals matching your criteria.
4. Send Your Email: Once your list is populated, you can send a standard marketing email to this list, just as you would with any other contact segment.

While this method won't allow for deal-specific personalization tokens, it's perfect for broader communications to your engaged deal contacts.

When to Use Which

The choice between these two methods boils down to your need for personalization. If you need to reference specific deal details like the product name, deal value, or a unique link related to that particular deal, then deal-based workflows are your champion. If you're sending a more general update that applies to anyone in a certain deal stage – perhaps a 'thank you for considering us' or a heads-up about a company-wide promotion – then a contact list filtered by deal properties will do the job efficiently. Think of it as choosing the right tool for the job to maintain efficient RevOps.

ESHOPMAN Team Comment

This community discussion perfectly highlights a common HubSpot dilemma, and we wholeheartedly agree with the expert's insights. Deal-based workflows are non-negotiable for serious e-commerce and sales teams needing deep personalization. The alternative contact list method is a clever workaround for broader announcements, but it underscores the power of HubSpot's object-based automation. ESHOPMAN is built to help you leverage these exact capabilities, ensuring your storefront and CRM talk seamlessly for truly integrated customer journeys.

So, the next time you're looking to reach out to your clients in deals, remember you have powerful options within HubSpot. Whether you're carefully nurturing a lead with highly personalized messages through a deal-based workflow or sending a general update to a segmented group, HubSpot provides the tools to keep your communications targeted and effective. For those of you looking to really integrate your sales and marketing efforts, especially if you're working to build ecommerce website from scratch or enhance an existing one, understanding these nuances in HubSpot is key. It helps you manage your customer relationships more effectively and ensures no opportunity slips through the cracks. Happy emailing!