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Creating a New Contact and Associated Deal

Staff reference for creating a contact record, logging first contact, and opening a deal once a client shows real interest.

Purpose

Quick context before the steps: every new client starts as a contact record, and once they show real interest in a program, that contact gets a deal. This article covers both.

At a Glance

  • Email is the unique identifier HubSpot uses to prevent duplicate contacts, so check for an existing record before creating a new one.
  • The dog's name field is optional but should be filled in when known; it improves record accuracy and personalizes outreach.
  • Phone number, lifecycle stage, and referral source are required on every new contact, not optional fields to skip.
  • New leads generally start hot; a former client reaching back out is not automatically an active opportunity and should be assessed on where they are today.
  • A deal opens in the program discoveries pipeline as soon as a client shows even tentative interest, named for the client or the program under discussion.

Creating the Contact, Then the Deal

  1. Click the orange create-contact button to start a new record.
  2. Enter email first. This is the field that prevents duplicates, so search for the client before assuming they are new.
  3. Add phone number, lifecycle stage, and referral source. All three are required, along with the dog's name field when you have it.
  4. Use notes and the persona section to capture anything that helps us understand this client, not just contact details.
  5. Let HubSpot auto-fill what it can (profile photo from the email domain, last-contacted date, website activity) and fill in the rest yourself as you learn it, such as the source date.
  6. Make first contact. Log a note, send an email, place a call, or send a scheduling link; the default meeting link runs 30 minutes, syncs to Google Calendar, tracks clicks, and notifies you when someone books.
  7. Sign into Ring Central before calling. An inbound call surfaces the caller's information immediately; an outbound call is recorded and transcribed to the contact's profile automatically.
  8. Create a follow-up task on the spot, for example three business days out, so the next touch does not depend on memory.
  9. Open a deal once interest is real, for example a training or behavior camp conversation. Place it in the program discoveries pipeline, named for the client or program.
  10. Associate related contacts or companies (a veterinarian, for instance) and add line items such as a behavior camp cost; the total auto-populates. These line items are internal and support building a quote, they are not client-facing yet.
  11. Use a playbook during the call to keep the conversation structured. Notes save automatically, and you can tag the call type, such as follow-up or discovery.

Edge Cases and Troubleshooting

  • You suspect a contact already exists under a different email. Search before creating a new record; two email addresses for the same client will otherwise create an accidental duplicate.
  • A former client reaches back out. Do not default them to hot; set the lifecycle stage based on where they actually stand today, not on how they used to be classified.
  • Referral source feels obvious, so it is tempting to skip. Do not. It is a required field even when the answer seems clear from context.
  • Interest sounds tentative rather than firm. Open the deal anyway. Even tentative interest is enough to justify a record in the program discoveries pipeline; the specifics can be filled in later.

Vendor Reference

  • Create contacts: HubSpot's generic contact-creation mechanics.
  • Create deals: HubSpot's generic deal-creation mechanics. Our own additions on top of both, the dog's name field, the required referral source, the program discoveries pipeline name, and the Ring Central call-logging tie-in, are our setup, not vendor-documented behavior.

Who to Ask

Ask your manager rather than guessing when something about an intake is unclear, for example an ambiguous referral source or an unfamiliar program request.

Once the contact record exists, its lifecycle stage and value tier are covered in Contact Dashboard Overview; any messaging tied to it runs through Conversations Inbox Dashboard.