Process Guides: The Evolution of HubSpot Playbooks
Process Guides: the V2 of the traditional playbook
For a long time, playbooks were the default tool for guiding the Sales Team in HubSpot. Useful on paper, but often cumbersome to use in real life situations.
Les Process Guides come to correct this problem.
We can see them as the natural evolution of game guides: smarter, more contextual and above all... more adapted to a real sales conversation.
Instead of imposing an identical rigid path for all calls, Process Guides are adjusted in real time according to the representative's responses. The result: we only show what is relevant, at the right time.
A Process Guide is an interactive guide designed by administrators to support representatives during a call or a meeting.
Unlike a simple checklist, it can:
- Show or hide sections based on answers
- Link questions directly to CRM properties
- Include clear and contextualized instructions
- Be created quickly, without heavy configuration
Why classic playbooks are reaching their limits
On the ground, we often see it:
- Too long guides
- Questions that are irrelevant depending on the context
- Representatives who drop out... or who improvise
In a qualifying call, no one wants to scroll through a 4-page document to find The good section.
Process Guides solve this problem by introducing simple but powerful logic: ****if information is known or irrelevant, we move on.
Concrete example: sale of industrial machinery
Consider a sales representative at a manufacturing company that sells specialized industrial equipment.
Purpose of the call
Qualify quickly if the prospect is a good fit before investing technical time.
With a well-designed Process Guide in HubSpot
The representative opens the guide directly from the prospect or opportunity sheet.
Step 1 — Basic Background
- Business type
- Manufacturing sector
- Territory served
This information can already be pre-filled from the CRM.
Step 2 — Budget
- Does the prospect have an identified budget for this project?
The answer is yes
The guide automatically displays budget range, schedule, and approval process questions.
The answer is no
The entire budget section disappears and we go directly to the assessment of operational needs.
Step 3 — Operational need
- Current production capacity
- Problem to be solved
- Impact on the production chain
Step 4 — Decision
- Who is involved in the decision
- Purchase criteria
- Realistic timelines
The representative follows a logical, frictionless thread while documenting structured data directly in HubSpot CRM.
Why Process Guides Make a Real Difference
For the sales team
- Less time looking for what to ask for
- More focus on the discussion
- Fewer notes to transcribe after the call
For managers
- Better adherence to methodologies (BANT, MEDDIC, etc.)
- More consistent data across reps
- A clearer vision of the quality of the qualification
CRM operation side
Process Guides are positioned between two worlds:
- More dynamic than static notes
- Less cumbersome than automated workflows
They become intelligent tools, capable of guiding, structuring, and capturing information at the right time.
Key functions
1. CRM data already in place
When a representative opens a Process Guide, HubSpot automatically retrieves information that's already known about the contact, business, or opportunity.
This way we avoid double entries... and errors.
2. Smart notes and AI suggestions
Representatives can take notes during or after the call.
HubSpot then analyze these notes (or even a call transcript) to propose relevant property updates, to be validated in one click.
3. Advanced conditional logic
Some questions become mandatory only if the context requires it.
If a property is required in the CRM, it is also required in the Process Guide, total consistency.
How does it work, in concrete terms
- Administrators build the guides with:
- questions related to CRM properties
- conditional sections
- clear instructions
- flexible actions (updating, creating, or combining records)
- Representatives launch the guide directly from a form:
- Contact
- Firm
- Opportunity
- ticket or custom object
- The guide is adapted in real time according to the answers provided.
- At the end:
- the interaction is recorded as activity
- CRM data is updated cleanly and can be used immediately
Les Process Guides in HubSpot represent the natural evolution of traditional playbooks: dynamic guides that adapt in real time to the context of the conversation. Thanks to conditional logic and direct integration with CRM, representatives follow a clear process without being slowed down by unnecessary steps.
The result: better qualification, cleaner data and much more effective sales calls.
