From Sales to Delivery: how to use the Service object

WHAT IS THE SERVICE OBJECT IN HUBSPOT?

In the HubSpot Object Library, you now have access to several new objects in addition to the standard ones. Next to Contacts, Companies, Deals, and Tickets, you can now also work with Appointments, Listings, and Services.

In short:

• Appointments are often used by medical institutions (such as clinics) to manage appointments.

• Listings are useful for real estate agencies, where properties are tracked so you can see who is interested in which listing and what the characteristics are (asking price, square meters, etc).

• Services are often used by HubSpotters to manage onboarding processes or contract management. Any service that takes place after the sale can be tracked in the Service object.

Even if you do not have an Enterprise license in HubSpot, you can start using these new objects. This allows you to better align your HubSpot setup with your business processes.

And you no longer need a Service Hub license to set up a delivery process.

Go to Settings > Data Management > Object Library to find these new objects.

SERVICE OBJECT VERSUS SERVICE HUB

Service Hub or Service object. Which one do you need? Do you have to purchase Service Hub in HubSpot, or can you work with the “free” Service object?

Here are the differences:

Service Hub in HubSpot is a full suite for customer management after the sale. It broadly consists of two core functionalities:

1. Helpdesk & tickets: for registering, managing, and resolving support requests and incidents. Think of a broken machine or a software bug that needs fixing. Tickets are often created automatically via email, chat, or forms, and go through a service pipeline with statuses such as New, In Progress, and Resolved. Ideal for troubleshooting, SLA monitoring, and fast customer communication through the Conversations Inbox.
2. Customer Success Workspace: for proactively guiding customers with the goal of retention, adoption, and growth. You work with structured success plans, customer goals, health scores, and regular check-ins. This is not reactive but predictive and relationship-driven, allowing you to spot upsell or renewal opportunities early.

The Service object in HubSpot is designed for specific, project-based processes after the sale, such as onboarding, implementations, or consultancy. You follow a services pipeline with clear phases and milestones, and record all agreements, tasks, and progress. It is less about ongoing customer contact and more about timely and successful delivery of a concrete result.

Where a ticket pipeline works with ticket statuses (new, in progress, waiting for customer, etc), a service pipeline uses statuses such as “new customer,” “portal setup aligned,” “implementation completed,” “training delivered,” and “customer live.”

Service Hub → everything for ongoing customer management: fast support through tickets and proactive relationship management through customer success.
Service object → project-based process management of one-off engagements with a clear end date.

So, are you sure the Service Object adds value to your HubSpot setup? Then read on for practical tips!

1. WHAT INFORMATION DOES THE DELIVERY TEAM NEED?

One of the biggest pitfalls in the handoff from sales to delivery is the loss of crucial information, such as:

• Agreements made during the sales phase

• Specific customer wishes or conditions

• Key deadlines

By using the Service object in HubSpot, you can record all relevant agreements in different properties. This ensures the delivery team knows exactly what product to deliver or how to configure the software. Everything is centrally stored in HubSpot.

You can also connect a project management tool to HubSpot. In each phase of the onboarding process, a workflow creates tasks for the delivery team. That way, they execute the tasks in the right order and everything is managed from HubSpot.

This ensures delivery teams know exactly what has been promised without digging through scattered emails or notes.

Best practice: Create a standard checklist in the pipeline for each new project. This way, sales knows what information must at least be handed over, and delivery can get started right away. You can build this in the form of a Playbook in HubSpot.

2. ONBOARDING AS A SEPARATE PROJECT PHASE

In many organizations, onboarding is seen as a side step, when in fact it is the customer’s first true experience with your service. By setting up onboarding as a separate services pipeline within HubSpot, you create clarity:

• Sales phase: up to the signed deal

• Onboarding phase: from deal to successful go live

• Operational phase: ongoing collaboration and support

This makes it possible to monitor onboarding progress and flag obstacles in time. For example, if an onboarding takes longer than expected, a notification can be sent to the customer success manager, who can step in early to safeguard satisfaction.

3. USING DATA FOR UPSELLS AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

A major advantage of using the Service object is that you can use historical onboarding data for existing business sales. Imagine:

• HubSpot shows that during onboarding a customer mentioned “possibly wanting extra modules in the future.”

• You also see that onboarding went smoothly without major issues.

That is the perfect signal for a targeted upsell approach. You know the customer is satisfied and open to expansion.

Tip: Create reports in HubSpot that give sales insight into:

• Average onboarding duration

• Which customers gave the highest satisfaction scores (for this, you need Service Hub or an external survey tool integrated with HubSpot)

• Which additional requests or needs were logged by the delivery team

Since delivery’s primary responsibility is completing onboarding successfully, they are not focused on commercial opportunities. In your service pipeline, you can enforce that service tickets can only be moved to a certain status if an upsell opportunity is flagged. This keeps everyone alert and ensures the customer is properly served.

4. FEEDBACK LOOPS BETWEEN SALES AND DELIVERY

The Service object makes it possible not only to pass information from sales to delivery but also to send feedback from delivery back to sales.

• Are there recurring misunderstandings with new customers?

• Are certain expectations consistently set too high?

• Which agreements cause friction during onboarding?

By documenting and discussing this feedback, sales can adjust their messaging and delivery can work more efficiently. This also gives the company a clear view of what to improve and which factors most contribute to upsell opportunities.

READY, SET, DELIVER

The handoff from sales to delivery is a critical moment in the customer journey. The relationship with the new customer is still fresh and needs to be nurtured with a positive experience. With the Service object in HubSpot, you can now treat onboarding as a full-fledged phase in your processes, complete with pipelines, workflows, tasks, and reporting.

This ensures that you:

• Do not lose crucial information during handoff

• Make onboarding measurable and improvable

• Give sales direct insight into upsell opportunities

• Strengthen collaboration between teams

By applying these best practices, you transform the transition from sales to delivery from a potential risk into an opportunity to deepen the customer relationship.