I continue to struggle with being able to accurately report on our primary lead sources + tie lead source to deal create and ultimately ARR generated. We were previously with Dynamics CRM and this was much clearer to report on. I should be able to confidently tell our VP of marketing “of all new deals created in 2025, x% came from tradeshows, x% came from web leads…” but I don’t feel like I can. I’ve explored attribution reporting which never seems to get me where I need to be. I’ve talked with my CSM about it a few times but still don’t have clear direction or a clear solution. I feel like i’m missing something with HubSpot but don’t know what it is, so i’m hoping one of you can help.
Here are some things that might be helpful:
-We are not using the lead object, we are using the lead status field on a contact record.
-When we’ve identified a lead that we want to pass off to sales, we’ll mark the lead status on the contact as qualified, then use a workflow to create the deal.
-There are so many “source” fields in HubSpot so i’m unsure of how to identify the primary “source”.
-We have a custom property called lead source that has options like “tradeshow”, “web lead”, “campaign generated” but right now we’re manually populating that in most cases. Is it common to have a custom property like this and if yes, are people using a workflow to populate it based on one of the other “source” fields? And if yes to that, do I also need to copy that over to the deal record?
Hey @Patti_R, you are actually on the right track with your custom Lead Source property. I recommend having an identical Lead Source dropdown on both the Contact and the Deal objects. This is needed as HubSpot reports on revenue based on the Deal record. Since you already use a workflow to create deals when a lead is marked Qualified, you should simply add a “Copy Property Value” step to that same workflow.
Copy the lead source from the contact property to the deal property. In the create record workflow step that creates the deal you will see an option that reads as “Copy a property to a deal property”. You may also choose to just a edit record action and accomplish this tasks. This copy action creates a permanent record on the deal that won’t change even if the contact interacts with a different campaign later.
When the lead source is updated to the deal object you can utilize the custom report builder to create a report that gives you a breakdown by lead source of your ARR and/or the count of deals. And add filters that make sense for your report.
To simplify the lead source data you could experiment with workflows such as, if original source = offline sources and original source drill down 2 contains trade show then set lead source as Tradeshow.
Hope this is helps, all the best!
Here are some HubSpot resources that you may find useful.
Hi @Jonathan_Vaz Quick follow-up question - would there be any value in creating a sync property for the lead source on the contact to the deal versus standalone properties and copying the value on deal creation?
Hey @Patti_R that’s a great question. The main risk with a sync property is that it keeps the two fields identical at all times, which can actually break your attribution reporting.
For example, if a contact returns to your website six months after a deal is closed and fills out a new form for a different campaign, their source might update. If the properties are synced, that new value will overwrite the original source on the old deal.
If you want to ensure your historical data remains accurate capturing the specific moment that actually generated the revenue using a copy property step in the workflow could be the better route. It treats the deal source as a snapshot in time rather than a dynamic field.
One lightweight way to approach this before changing the CRM setup is to map each lead-source value into three things: source type, follow-up owner, and next action.
For example, tradeshow leads may need a different post-event sequence from web leads, while campaign-generated leads may need campaign context carried into the deal record.
A simple prep sheet could list each source value, what qualifies it, who owns the first touch, and what should be copied into the deal notes.
Would that kind of source-to-action map help here, or is the main issue more about attribution reporting?