# The message from HubSpot's leadership on AI and jobs

- **Episode:** [169](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/169.md) (2025-02-06)
- **Type:** interview
- **Tags:** hubspot, leadership, ai, jobs
- **Time:** 26:02–33:06 (start 1562s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/169?t=1562](https://truthliesandwork.com/169?t=1562)

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[26:02] Leanne Elliott: I really enjoyed the message that came out from Grow and that's coming from, from HubSpot at the highest level, that AI isn't coming for your job, but somebody who uses AI more effectively probably is. And when I first heard that, I thought, well, that, that's an interesting challenge then for, um, training in development professionals or training development within a company. How, how is HubSpot approaching it? How Would you approach it if there's a business leader listening who's thinking, okay, I get it, but how do I make sure that I'm investing in my people to develop these skills? Or if an individual is listening, what can they be doing to build up their capability with AI?
[26:44] Crevan O'Malley: Yeah, I think it's a, it's a, it's a brilliant question because now we're back down, we're right down to the individual wherever he or she may work. How can you future-proof yourself? It's a It's a challenging environment we find ourselves in at the moment, but it is very much an opportunistic one for the individual to right-size their skills and capabilities to be able to show up to companies who need that skill set to take on the challenges that are there. Just to go back one step, what's the problem that we're trying to solve? The problem is You know, we talk about the growth formula. Even in the most difficult macroeconomic conditions, nobody is going into work going, well, you know, there's nothing we can do. You're challenged to go, okay, how do we grow? How do we solve the challenge externally and the problems internally to meet that challenge? And we talk about the growth formula being effectively the traffic that you create to your website or to your brand in whatever format that might be. the leads effectively, the conversion of those leads into sales effectively, what the sales team will do, the engagement part of the flywheel, and then your ability to retain those customers, make them happy, not just to like them, but deliver for them in a consistent way that they're getting value from that relationship. If you can break down those metrics and behind each of those metrics, there's a piece of the go-to-market function and enable those individuals to have the skills, the tools, and the capabilities to optimize the way in which they do their job, then I think you're going to reset the growth trajectory for your business. But it will be built on individuals who have got some of these newer skills. And I'll give you an example. When we talk about sales and we talk about conversion, like conversion rates are down, traffic is down, the ability to retain customers is down. It feels a huge challenge at the moment. I looked at some evidence recently that suggested about 50% of reps will hit quota in 2024, and that was closer to 70% a couple of years ago. So there's no doubt that people are struggling
[29:12] Al Elliott: Yeah
[29:13] Crevan O'Malley: But I'm always impressed by if 50% are hitting their quota, i.e., 50 aren't, what are the 50 who are? What are they doing? You know this in your career as I do in mine. Even in the most challenged team, the most under pressure, there's always individuals who find a way. And I think what those individuals have is a creativity, a growth mindset. an ability to understand that you don't go alone in 2024 or 2025. You use cross-functional teams, tools, processes, and insights to allow you turn up in front of your customers in a more interesting, engaging way. And then you're into conversations that can result in doing business. And as an individual, I think what you have to do is have an open mind. to the technology that's out there, engage with it. I don't think anybody needs to be, you know, an intensely technical person. The way in which these tools are built today is a very intuitive user experience. That would be something that, you know, HubSpot would pride itself on in terms of our ability to serve tools to our prospects and customers that allows them to engage with them and allows them drive up user adoption. And if more people are using the tools that you've invested in as a business, then you're going to see better results because there's a consistency in terms of the application, the process. But as an individual, growth mindset, a creative attitude to You know, the cards that you're dealt. I have this sort of image in my mind where you can give multiple people the same set of opportunity, and there will always be individuals who will leverage those resources in a more efficient way, and we've got to learn from them. I think there's a creativity to those kind of individuals, and I think where that turns up with the enablement team Because ultimately, you know, everybody knows we have to train salespeople, we have to train individuals, we want to help them grow their business so they can get new skills. But there is an awful lot of people who would look on that function as something that is a time investment and have a kind of a conversation with themselves around whether the investment in time is worth the return. In HubSpot, we talk about creating a culture of learning and, and making it Yeah, not mandatory, because that's making people feel like there is no choice. We're trying to find what we call grow-getters. It's that mindset of individual that wants to improve, that wants to iterate, that wants to constantly challenge those cards that they've been dealt and play them in an ever more efficient way. So in 2025, it's a really exciting moment in HubSpot's journey. Personally, I work very closely with the go-to-market enablement team, the training team. We've an incredible leader globally in Annie Ingram. And Annie's plan for the future of that function is one that excites me as a sales leader, because the opportunity, the targets, the quotas, all the stuff that we'll get that was always the problem. Her and her team have a set of capabilities, a set of tools that they're going to train and enable us on that I think will amplify our ability to do our job. And I think the businesses that invest in their people from a skills and a training perspective will likely be the winners in 12 or 24 months