Ever feel like you’ve lost control of your HubSpot automation? You’re not alone - and it’s not your fault. The problem might be hiding in plain sight: those bite-sized workflows you’ve been creating.

The Innocent Beginning of a CRM Nightmare

Let’s set the scene:

• You’re a marketer, sales rep, or customer success specialist - not a developer
• You have HubSpot as your trusty CRM
• You’ve been experimenting with workflows because, well, you’re proactive like that It started innocently enough. You automated a simple process: “When a deal moves to ‘Presentation Scheduled’, create a task for me.” It worked beautifully, so naturally, you automated more processes… and then more… and even more.

Before long, you had workflows for everything, each designed to accomplish specific, isolated goals.

When Your Automation Empire Crumbles

Then something broke. Congratulations - you’ve completed level one of the HubSpot workflow game. Unfortunately, level two is significantly harder.

The fundamental issue with this “goal-centered” approach becomes painfully clear when things malfunction. With dozens of active workflows - many triggered by the same events - troubleshooting becomes a nightmare. There’s no comprehensive view of what’s happening because everything is scattered across disconnected mini-workflows.

The Better Way: Systems Thinking for HubSpot Masters

But there’s good news. Now that you’re comfortable with workflows, you can graduate to a more effective approach:

• Stop thinking about isolated goals - start thinking about complete systems
• Replace that “goal-centered” mindset with “cause and effect” thinking
• Transform many short workflows into strategic monster workflows

The Case for Monster Workflows

Why should you consolidate into larger, more comprehensive workflows? The benefits are substantial:

• Simplified troubleshooting: When deal issues arise, you’ll know exactly where to look (your single Deal workflow)
• Enhanced visibility: Take full advantage of HubSpot’s action history to trace exactly what happened and when
• Comprehensive oversight: Get a proper bird’s-eye view of your entire system - everything is displayed in one place

Keeping It Clean and Manageable

Don’t worry about monster workflows becoming unwieldy:

• Use action sets for reusable functionality
• Implement triggerless workflows to organize and segment functionality
• Create logical sections within your larger workflows

The Bottom Line

Monster workflows consistently outperform collections of short ones. Be strategic and sparing with your triggers. This approach lets you leverage HubSpot’s tools more effectively while maintaining control over your increasingly complex automation.

Ready to transform your workflow strategy and save your CRM from death by a thousand cuts?