--- title: HubSpot Blog | Lead Spring CRM description: I'm Ross Crook, a CRM and automation specialist with 20+ years in marketing operations. I build CRM systems that convert leads and ultimately drives revenue --- [![Lead Spring CRM](https://lead-spring.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo_no_tagline_newcolor.png?format=webp&width=160&height=53&name=logo_no_tagline_newcolor.png)](https://lead-spring.com) - [Services ▾](https://lead-spring.com/services) ▾ - [HubSpot Consulting](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-perth) - [AI Skills](https://lead-spring.com/ai-skills) - [Use Cases](https://lead-spring.com/use-cases) - [Pricing](https://lead-spring.com/pricing) - [About ▾](https://lead-spring.com/about) ▾ - [FAQs](https://lead-spring.com/faqs) - [Resources ▾](https://lead-spring.com/blog) ▾ - [HubSpot Blog](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog) [Book Free Consultation](https://lead-spring.com/#contact) Written By Someone Who Actually Builds These # HubSpot *Blog* I've set up HubSpot for tradies, agencies, and everyone in between, right across Perth and regional WA. This is where I write down what actually works, what's a waste of a Tuesday afternoon, and the mistakes I still see businesses make in week one. No vendor spin, no theory, just what I'd tell you over a coffee. ## [![HubSpot AI and Claude compared side by side: HubSpot AI runs automatically inside your CRM, while Claude handles thinking, writing and analysis across your tools.](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Claud%20AI%20vs%20Hubspot%20AI.png) Latest Post HubSpot AI vs Claude: What Each Does Best, and What Claude Adds Beyond HubSpot HubSpot AI gets a lot of attention right now, and for good reason. It's built into the CRM you're already paying for. But it isn't the only AI you can point at your HubSpot data. You can also connect Claude, and the two are good at different jobs. ![Ross Crook](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Ross%20colour.jpg) Ross Crook · Oct 23, 2026, 9:22:34 AM](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/hubspot-ai-vs-claude-what-each-does-best-and-what-claude-adds-beyond-hubspot) All Posts - [HubSpot AI vs Claude: What Each Does Best, and What Claude Adds Beyond HubSpot](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/hubspot-ai-vs-claude-what-each-does-best-and-what-claude-adds-beyond-hubspot) - [Interest Rates Are Rising. Here's What a CRM Can Do for Your Business When Money Gets Tight](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/interest-rates-are-rising.-heres-what-a-crm-can-do-for-your-business-when-money-gets-tight) - [Questions to Ask Before You Hire a HubSpot Consultant](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/questions-to-ask-before-you-hire-a-hubspot-consultant) - [How HubSpot's AI Actually Helps a Small Team Get More Done](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/how-hubspots-ai-actually-helps-a-small-team-get-more-done) - [20 of the Most Popular HubSpot Apps, and How They Actually Rate](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/20-of-the-most-popular-hubspot-apps-and-how-they-actually-rate) - [HubSpot Pricing Explained: What You're Actually Paying For (and How to Avoid Overpaying)](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/hubspot-pricing-explained-what-youre-actually-paying-for-and-how-to-avoid-overpaying) - [Why Choose HubSpot? The Honest Case for a Small Business Under 20 People](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/why-choose-hubspot-the-honest-case-for-a-small-business-under-20-people) - [How to Set Up HubSpot CRM for a Small Business in Perth](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/how-to-set-up-hubspot-crm-for-a-small-business-in-perth) ![](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Interest%20rates.png) HubSpot, CRM Strategy, Small Business ### [Interest Rates Are Rising. Here's What a CRM Can Do for Your Business When Money Gets Tight](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/interest-rates-are-rising.-heres-what-a-crm-can-do-for-your-business-when-money-gets-tight) On 29 September the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate to 4.60%. That's the fourth increase this year, 1.00 percentage point in total, and the highest the rate has been in 15 years. The RBA has said further rises remain possible. ![Ross Crook](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Ross%20colour.jpg) Ross Crook · Oct 5, 2026, 10:14:18 AM ![Small business owner interviewing a HubSpot consultant with a checklist of questions on the table](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/POST-%206.svg) HubSpot, Trust & Advice, Small Business ### [Questions to Ask Before You Hire a HubSpot Consultant](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/questions-to-ask-before-you-hire-a-hubspot-consultant) I'm about to give you a list of questions that might talk you out of hiring me. I'm fine with that. If a question below makes you think twice about the person you're talking to, that's the question doing its job, and it's a much cheaper lesson to learn in a first conversation than six months into a contract. ![Ross Crook](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Ross%20colour.jpg) Ross Crook · Sep 17, 2026, 4:11:42 PM ![Small business owner reviewing AI-drafted follow-up emails and summaries inside HubSpot](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Hubspot%20%26%20AI.png) HubSpot, AI, Small Business ### [How HubSpot's AI Actually Helps a Small Team Get More Done](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/how-hubspots-ai-actually-helps-a-small-team-get-more-done) Let's deal with the elephant in the room first. When people hear "AI in your CRM," a lot of them hear "fewer jobs." That's not what I'm seeing on the ground with small businesses. Nobody I work with has used HubSpot's AI to replace a person. What they've used it for is getting three or four hours of admin off someone's plate every week, so that person can spend their time on the parts of the job an AI genuinely can't do: building the relationship, reading the room on a tricky negotiation, making a judgment call a script can't make for them. ![Ross Crook](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Ross%20colour.jpg) Ross Crook · Sep 2, 2026, 9:16:16 AM ![](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/POST-1~3.svg) HubSpot, CRM Setup, Small Business ### [20 of the Most Popular HubSpot Apps, and How They Actually Rate](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/20-of-the-most-popular-hubspot-apps-and-how-they-actually-rate) Most "best HubSpot apps" lists are just the ones with the most installs. That tells you what people click, not what they keep using. So I did something different: I took the most popular apps on the HubSpot App Marketplace and pulled the real customer rating for each one. ![Ross Crook](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Ross%20colour.jpg) Ross Crook · Aug 19, 2026, 7:50:08 PM ![](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/POST-1_1.svg) HubSpot, CRM Setup, Small Business ### [HubSpot Pricing Explained: What You're Actually Paying For (and How to Avoid Overpaying)](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/hubspot-pricing-explained-what-youre-actually-paying-for-and-how-to-avoid-overpaying) I get asked about HubSpot pricing more than almost anything else I do. Not "does HubSpot work," but "how much is this actually going to cost me," because the honest answer is that HubSpot's pricing is genuinely hard to figure out from the website alone. Not because it's designed to trick you, but because it's built from several moving parts that all interact with each other, and most quotes you'll see online quote one part while ignoring the rest. ![Ross Crook](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Ross%20colour.jpg) Ross Crook · Aug 4, 2026, 1:32:29 PM ![](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Why%20choose%20Hubsopt.png) HubSpot, CRM Setup, Small Business ### [Why Choose HubSpot? The Honest Case for a Small Business Under 20 People](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/why-choose-hubspot-the-honest-case-for-a-small-business-under-20-people) You're a small business owner. Fewer than 20 people, probably closer to 5 or 10. You're the one who ends up choosing the CRM, and you don't have a dedicated IT person or an admin whose whole job is managing software. You need something that works properly from week one, not a platform you'll still be configuring in a year. ![Ross Crook](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Ross%20colour.jpg) Ross Crook · Jul 22, 2026, 4:57:09 PM ![](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/pipeline-board.png) HubSpot, CRM Setup, Small Business ### [How to Set Up HubSpot CRM for a Small Business in Perth](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog/how-to-set-up-hubspot-crm-for-a-small-business-in-perth) Most small businesses sign up for HubSpot, import a contact list, and stop there. Six months later the pipeline is empty, nobody's logging calls, and the "free CRM" everyone recommended feels like a filing cabinet nobody opens. ![Ross Crook](https://lead-spring.com/hubfs/Ross%20colour.jpg) Ross Crook · Jul 7, 2026, 2:59:00 PM ## Want This Handled For You, Not Just Read About? Book a free 30-minute conversation. We'll look at your current CRM and marketing setup and tell you honestly where to focus first. [Book a Free Consultation](https://lead-spring.com/#contact) [View Services](https://lead-spring.com/services) © 2026 Lead Spring CRM · Serving Perth · Mandurah · Bunbury · Busselton · Western Australia · [Home](https://lead-spring.com/) · [Services](https://lead-spring.com/services) · [HubSpot Consulting](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-perth) · [About](https://lead-spring.com/about) · [Pricing](https://lead-spring.com/pricing) · [AI Skills](https://lead-spring.com/ai-skills) · [Use Cases](https://lead-spring.com/use-cases) · [Resources](https://lead-spring.com/blog) · [HubSpot Blog](https://lead-spring.com/hubspot-blog) · [Contact](https://lead-spring.com/#contact) · [Privacy Policy](https://lead-spring.com/privacypolicy) · CRM Perth · CRM Mandurah · CRM Bunbury · CRM Busselton · HubSpot Consultant Australia ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://lead-spring.com/#business", "@type" : "ProfessionalService", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "AU", "addressLocality" : "Attadale", "addressRegion" : "WA", "postalCode" : "6156" }, "areaServed" : [ { "@type" : "City", "name" : "Perth" }, { "@type" : "City", "name" : "Mandurah" }, { "@type" : "City", "name" : "Bunbury" }, { "@type" : "City", "name" : "Busselton" }, { "@type" : "State", "name" : "Western Australia" } ], "description" : "Perth's independent CRM and marketing automation consultant. 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