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How to Use HubSpot for Political Business Development and Forecasting

Learn how the Political practice uses HubSpot to manage business development, forecast revenue, and maintain accurate deal data.

HubSpot is the Political practice's system of record for business development and forecasting.

Every pitch, opportunity, and active client should be reflected in HubSpot so leadership has an accurate view of expected revenue and staffing needs. While budget documents remain the source for detailed budgeting, HubSpot is where forecasting and pipeline management happen.

Why We Use HubSpot

HubSpot helps the Political practice:

  • Track business development activity in one place
  • Forecast future revenue accurately
  • Monitor the health of the sales pipeline
  • Support staffing and operational planning
  • Preserve institutional knowledge through notes and activity history

Leadership reviews HubSpot data weekly, so keeping your records current helps ensure business decisions are based on accurate information.

Your Primary Responsibilities

Every member of the Political practice is responsible for keeping their business development activity current.

Your core responsibilities are to:

  • Log business development interactions
  • Create deals when active opportunities begin
  • Keep deals accurate as opportunities evolve
  • Review your deals every Thursday
  • Document meaningful changes with concise notes

VMG staff are not expected to maintain detailed budget allocations in HubSpot if you are using standardized budget documents. Budget documents remain the primary source for detailed forecasting, and those values are synchronized into HubSpot as part of the weekly forecasting process.

The Political Workflow

Most opportunities follow the same high-level process:

  1. Develop a new lead or business opportunity.
  2. Begin actively pursuing the work.
  3. Create a deal in HubSpot.
  4. Update the opportunity as it progresses.
  5. Review the deal every Thursday until the opportunity is complete.

This process gives leadership an accurate weekly snapshot of the Political practice's pipeline and expected revenue.

Logging Business Development Activity

HubSpot should capture meaningful business development interactions, including:

  • Pitch meetings
  • RFPs
  • Prospect conversations
  • Business development emails
  • Phone calls
  • Coffee or meal meetings
  • LinkedIn outreach

Routine client execution work generally does not need to be logged unless it materially affects the business opportunity.

Related article: Logging Business Development Activity in HubSpot 

 

Leads vs. Deals

Create a Lead when:

  • The opportunity is exploratory
  • No proposal has been made
  • Revenue is uncertain or several election cycles away

Leads are not weighted and are primarily used to remind you to follow up later.

Create a Deal once you are actively pursuing work.

Examples include:

  • An RFP
  • A pitch
  • An expansion opportunity
  • A client you've begun seriously pursuing and for whom you might project revenue

Deals are included in revenue forecasts.

Creating Political Deals

Once an opportunity becomes an active pursuit, create a deal in the Political pipeline.

When creating a deal, you'll identify the appropriate client record, select the Political pipeline, enter an initial budget estimate, and complete the required Political-specific properties.

For complete instructions, see Creating Political Deals in HubSpot

Weekly Deal Reviews

  1. Every Wednesday, make sure your budget docs are updated.

  2. Every Thursday, review each active deal to ensure it accurately reflects the current opportunity.

During this review you'll:

  • Verify the deal stage
  • Update forecast confidence if needed
  • Confirm dates and budget estimates
  • Add a brief status note explaining any significant changes

This weekly review is one of the most important responsibilities for every deal owner.

For the complete checklist and best practices, see:Weekly Deal Review Checklist for the Political Practice

 

 

Best Practices

To keep HubSpot accurate and useful:

  • Enter information as soon as it becomes available.
  • Use your best estimate when exact details aren't yet known.
  • Update opportunities whenever circumstances change.
  • Keep weekly notes concise and focused on meaningful updates.
  • Remember that HubSpot is the official source of truth for Political practice forecasting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to log every client email?

No. Focus on business development activity and meaningful interactions that advance or affect an opportunity.

Should I wait until I know the final budget before creating a deal?

No. Create the deal once the opportunity is actively being pursued and update the budget estimate as more information becomes available.

When should I update HubSpot?

Update deals whenever meaningful changes occur, and review every active deal each Thursday to confirm that all information is current.