HubSpot and Salesforce are two of the most widely used CRM platforms, but they use different terminology for similar concepts. This cheat sheet helps businesses using both platforms (or transitioning between them) quickly understand how objects, properties, and terms map between the two systems.
If your business is migrating from Salesforce to HubSpot or vice versa, understanding the differences in terminology and data structures will help ensure a smooth transition. The terminology chart and key differences outlined in this document will assist teams in adapting quickly, preventing miscommunication and data errors.
Many businesses use both HubSpot and Salesforce together, syncing data between them for marketing and sales alignment. If your team is integrating these platforms, this guide will help you navigate key terminology differences, ensuring accurate data mapping and preventing workflow disruptions.
|
HubSpot Term |
SalesForce Equivalent |
Description |
|
Contacts |
Leads & Contacts |
In HubSpot, all individual people are stored as “contacts”, whereas Salesforce differentiates between Leads (unqualified) and contacts (qualified). |
|
Companies |
Accounts |
A Company or business entity associated with a contact or deal. |
|
Deals |
Opportunities |
A revenue-generating potential sale that moves through a pipeline. |
|
Pipeline |
Opportunity Stages |
The structured path that a deal or opportunity follows until it is closed. |
|
Tickets |
Cases |
Used to track customer issues and support interactions. |
|
Custom Objects |
Custom Objects |
Both platforms allow custom objects. |
|
Lifecycle Stage |
Lead Status / Opportunity Stage |
Defines where a contact or company is in the buyer’s journey. |
|
Lead Status |
Lead Status |
Both platforms use “Lead Status” to track the progress of a lead, but Salesforce often requires conversion into a Contact and Opportunity. |
|
Owner |
Owner |
The assigned user responsible for a contact, company, or deal. |
|
Forms |
Web-to-Lead Forms |
HubSpot forms are used to capture lead information; Salesforce has Web-to-Lead functionality for similar purposes. |
|
Workflows |
Flows / Process Builder |
Automation tools that trigger actions based on conditions. |
|
Sequences |
Sales Cadences |
Email automation for sales reps to follow up with leads systematically. |
|
Marketing Emails |
Email Campaigns |
Both platforms allow sending marketing emails, but HubSpot has a built-in email marketing tool. |
|
Reports & Dashboards |
Reports & Dashboards |
Both CRMs provide reporting tools. |
|
Playbooks |
Guided Selling / Call Scripts |
HubSpot’s Playbooks provide sales reps with best practices and scripts, similar to Salesforce’s guided selling tools. |
HubSpot Campaigns are designed to track and measure marketing efforts across multiple assets, such as emails, ads, forms, and landing pages, within a single campaign. They help marketers consolidate performance data and see how different elements contribute to conversions.
Salesforce Campaigns, on the other hand, are more focused on tracking marketing efforts related to specific leads, contacts, and opportunities, providing detailed ROI reporting and multi-touch attribution. They allow marketers to associate multiple leads or contacts with a campaign and track engagement across different touch-points.
HubSpot Sequences is a sales automation tool that enables sales reps to automate follow-ups with prospects via email and tasks. It helps nurture leads over time by allowing reps to create structured outreach sequences, including automated emails and manual tasks like calls or LinkedIn outreach.
Salesforce Sequences, available through Sales Engagement, serves a similar purpose but offers more advanced customization, deeper integration with Salesforce Sales Cloud, and additional sales coaching features. Salesforce’s Sequences integrate with Einstein AI to provide recommendations for the next best action.
We have certified integration experts to help you whether you are migrating or integrating these systems. If you’d like a free consultation, let us know!