How Kalungi Helped HopSkip Fix Their CRM and Get Their Time Back

Having a strong product is just one piece of the puzzle for SaaS growth. Without efficient systems, valuable time is lost managing operations instead of driving the business forward.

HopSkip was expanding rapidly, helping planners and hotels simplify venue sourcing. But as demand grew, inefficiencies in their CRM and sales processes made it harder to maintain momentum.

To stay ahead, they partnered with Kalungi to optimize HubSpot, automate workflows, and build a scalable sales funnel. 

The result? A system that runs smoothly, allowing their CEO, Sean Whalin, to focus on growth with confidence.

HopSkip: A Fast-Growing Event Tech Company Held Back by CRM Challenges

HopSkip is redefining event planning with a powerful platform that connects planners and hotels, making venue sourcing faster, easier, and more efficient. With a growing customer base and a proven track record of success, the company had all the right ingredients for continued growth.

But behind the scenes, inefficiencies in their HubSpot CRM setup, manual sales processes, and unstructured outbound efforts were costing them valuable time and slowing operations. Without a clear system in place, tracking leads, managing deals, and scaling sales became increasingly difficult.

To fix these roadblocks, HopSkip partnered with Kalungi to optimize their CRM, automate workflows, and build a predictable, scalable sales funnel that supports long-term growth.

The Challenge: A Disorganized CRM System Slowing Down Sales & Outbound Efforts

Before working with Kalungi, the company’s HubSpot instance was disorganized and not being used effectively, creating bottlenecks in lead tracking, outbound sales, and deal management.

“Our HubSpot before engaging [with Kalungi] was a mess. We were using it in the wrong way, and there were a lot of inconsistencies in record-keeping—contacts, deals, and companies.”
— Sean Whalin, Co-Founder & CEO

Key issues included:

Disorganized CRM Data: Contacts, deals, and companies were inconsistently logged, making it difficult for the team to track and manage relationships effectively. Key information was scattered, leading to confusion and inefficiencies in the sales process.

Manual Sales Processes: Without proper automation, founders were forced to manually update deal stages, track lead movements, and ensure data accuracy. This took valuable time away from high-impact activities like strategy and business growth.

Inefficient Outbound Sales Execution: Cold outreach contacts were being stored directly in HubSpot instead of a dedicated outbound tool like Apollo, making it harder to segment leads, manage follow-ups, and ensure compliance.

Poor Funnel Visibility: With no clear tracking in place, it was difficult to measure how leads moved through the pipeline, where drop-offs occurred, or how effectively sales efforts converted prospects into customers.

Sean Whalin, Co-Founder and CEO of HopSkip, knew that fixing these inefficiencies required HubSpot expertise and a significant time investment, which is why he sought an external partner.

The Solution: Automating Sales Workflows & Structuring HubSpot for Growth

Kalungi started with a comprehensive audit of HopSkip’s HubSpot setup, identifying inefficiencies and room for improvement. The findings shaped a tailored strategy to fix key gaps and build a system designed for long-term success, rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.

“Kalungi wasn’t trying to sell us a cookie-cutter solution. They did their homework with an audit, and the findings aligned with exactly what we needed.”

— Sean Whalin, Co-Founder & CEO

With a clear roadmap in place, Kalungi focused on eliminating manual processes, improving data integrity, and automating workflows to create a scalable, efficient sales system.

Outbound Sales Optimization & Compliance

To ensure HubSpot was used correctly for outbound sales, Kalungi helped HopSkip implement best practices for contact management. Cold outbound contacts were moved to the right system, keeping HubSpot organized and focused on engaged leads.

Automating Sales Funnel & Lead Stages

HopSkip lacked clear structure in their deal stages, leading to inconsistencies and manual tracking. Kalungi established defined, structured CRM stages to eliminate confusion. Automated lead status updates were also implemented, reducing the need for manual data entry and ensuring leads progressed through the funnel efficiently.

Lead Management & Reporting

Before working with Kalungi, HopSkip had limited visibility into lead progression and sales performance. Kalungi built custom dashboards to provide real-time insights into deal movement, sales activity, and conversion rates. Automated workflows were also introduced to keep deals moving through the pipeline, reducing bottlenecks and improving efficiency.

Why Kalungi Was the Right Partner for This Transformation

Kalungi’s structured, methodical approach set them apart from other marketing agencies.

“Kalungi is very methodology-based in how they think about the customer journey—from the first interaction all the way to becoming a customer. That's something that a lot of marketing agencies may leave behind. And there's a formula behind it, which is important to believe in and understand as an owner, if you're adopting this kind of framework to have put in place in your funnel.”

— Sean Whalin, Co-Founder & CEO

Beyond their proven methodology, Kalungi is a HubSpot Diamond Partner, a designation awarded only to less than 5% of agencies that meet strict performance standards in client success, retention, and HubSpot expertise. This high-tier status reflects their deep knowledge of the platform, ability to manage complex implementations, and commitment to delivering results.

When asked what he’d say to someone considering Kalungi, Sean’s response was clear:

“Give it a shot. If you believe in funnel management and use HubSpot, this is something you should invest in. HubSpot can be a beast, and if you have a lot of records, managing it yourself can become a job in itself when you're trying to also run the business.”

— Sean Whalin, Co-Founder & CEO

With a proven track record and top-tier HubSpot expertise, Kalungi was the right partner to help HopSkip build a scalable, efficient sales engine.

The Results: A Scalable, Automated System That Saves Time & Drives Growth

With Kalungi’s HubSpot optimization, the company now has a highly automated, structured CRM system that allows sales teams to move faster and focus on closing deals rather than managing data. Here are the key outcomes:

Time Savings & Increased Productivity

• Teams no longer manually update records—saving the core team’s time and effort to be directed toward growth efforts.
• More deals are progressing efficiently without human intervention.

“There were so many manual updates we were doing before. Now, we have workflows automating these processes, saving us a ton of time.”

— Sean Whalin, Co-Founder & CEO

 Outbound Sales Execution Improved

• All outbound sales efforts are now run through Apollo, keeping HubSpot clean and ensuring better outreach tracking.
• The company now follows best practices for email domains, outreach sequencing, and lead engagement.

“Now, we do all of our cold outbound out of Apollo and have different domains set up for that. We learned best practices through the Kalungi engagement, which leads to better pipeline management and, ultimately, more customers.”

— Sean Whalin, Co-Founder & CEO

Better Funnel Visibility & Predictable Growth

• Sales and marketing teams now have accurate reporting on lead flow through the funnel.
• The company can now forecast sales outcomes based on lead volume.

“We’re getting closer to a point where we can say, ‘If I generate this many MQLs, I can confidently expect this many closed deals.’”
— Sean Whalin, Co-Founder & CEO

Higher Team Morale & More Strategic Decision-Making

• Less frustration with CRM inefficiencies
• More confidence in reporting and data accuracy

Looking Ahead: What’s Next for Hopskip?

Now that their HubSpot foundation is strong, the company is focusing on more strategic growth efforts, including:

• Refining audience targeting & segmentation
• Strengthening brand positioning & messaging
• Scaling content marketing & outbound sales efforts

Sean emphasized that having a properly structured funnel is a game-changer for leadership confidence:

“As a business owner, being able to have peace of mind of knowing that your funnel is set up properly, and you're able to have the visibility to be able to manage accordingly how that contact flows through a deal, and how that deal flows through a customer.”

— Sean Whalin, Co-Founder & CEO

Want to Scale Your B2B SaaS Marketing & Sales Operations?

Kalungi specializes in HubSpot automation, CRM optimization, and full-funnel marketing strategy for B2B SaaS companies. Contact us today to see how we can help you eliminate manual work, improve efficiency, and drive growth.