What is a Paid Seat, and Which HubSpot Users Need One?

It's important to understand that in HubSpot, there are paid seats and unpaid seats. A paid seat provides access to advanced features on the platform on a per-user basis and is intended for users who actively use the platform to improve their business performance.

Unpaid seats, on the other hand, are designed for individuals who use HubSpot passively, with limited access. It's critical to note that both types of seats are valuable. While avoiding unnecessary expenses is wise, investing in employees as paid members can bring immense potential and deliver substantial benefits.

Types of HubSpot Users

Marketers

The Marketing Hub offers unlimited unpaid seats. This is beneficial for employees, freelancers, part-time family members, and individuals with multiple roles in the organization.

So, even though you may only have some marketing team members who actually need the marketing tools, you can invite anyone in your organization to access customer contact information as needed.

Sales Representatives

While the free version of HubSpot provides a taste of its capabilities with a restricted set of tools, templates, and reports, a paid seat becomes imperative when multiple individuals are involved in sales management. Each sales representative necessitates their own paid seat, granting them access to an extensive suite of enhanced automation tools, indispensable integrations, and advanced analytics that drive success.

HubSpot users responsible for managing sales-qualified leads and deals benefit immensely from a paid seat. By leveraging these seats, they experience heightened efficiency, improved close rates, shortened sales cycles, and seamless handoffs between teams. Notably, the suite of tools becomes increasingly substantial as users move up the tiers.

Customer Service

Within the domain of customer service, free seats allow users to create a single service ticket pipeline, connect a team email, and access certain reporting features without customization. However, if an organization has multiple customer service representatives, each individual requires their own paid seat to unlock additional features.

Service tools like conversation routing and automated email sequences streamline service activities to delight your customers. Ultimately, service automation empowers the customer service team to achieve more with fewer resources while maintaining an exceptional level of quality.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Paid Seat

When choosing how many paid seats you need, consider factors like the size of your business, your budget, and your goals. If your team is within the allocated size covered by your subscription, you may not need any additional paid seats, which is good for your budget and aligns with your objectives. HubSpot Sales and Service can scale with your organization as it grows.

However, if your aim is rapid market expansion and you have the financial resources, starting with a small number of seats may not be the most effective approach. In such cases, it might be more beneficial to invest in a lower tier with more paid seats or go for a higher tier that offers advanced tools. This allows you to fully leverage the power of HubSpot right from the start. It's important to plan how to integrate these advanced tools into your workflow to avoid paying for tools you won't use.

Overall, the key is to carefully consider your needs and goals when determining the number of paid seats required, ensuring that you make the most efficient use of your resources while maximizing the potential of HubSpot.

How to Get Started with a Paid Seat

Are you prepared to move on to more paid seats? Here's a guide to get you started;

1. Evaluate each tier's offering (including some "paid seats" that come with that tier.)
2. Count the number of seats needed
3. Weigh the cost. Do you need a lower tier plus more added seats or higher tier with better features and more included seats?

Demystifying Paid Seats

If you're grappling with the question of who requires a HubSpot paid seat and whether it's time to explore higher HubSpot tiers for optimal value, The Gist is here to help. Our team of certified HubSpot Solutions Partners offers top-notch setup and support services.

From evaluating HubSpot options to onboarding and campaign management, The Gist can help you get the most out of this powerful platform. Step forward boldly to delight customers and meet business goals with The Gist. Contact us today to get started.