The Essence
The Product is the strategic definition of what you sell — before any customer, any deal, any customization. It's your offering architecture: what you can provide, how it's structured, what it costs, what it requires.
Products don't describe what someone bought; they describe what you can sell. They're blueprints, not buildings. When you get Product architecture right, you create the foundation for consistent selling, accurate pricing, and reliable delivery across every customer relationship.
This distinction matters: Products remain pristine templates while Line Items capture customer-specific adaptations.
"Products are blueprints, not buildings. They describe what you can sell — not what someone bought. That's what Line Items are for."
The Catalog Architecture
Education
- Office Hours - Free
- Office Hours - Base
- Office Hours - Strategy
- Office Hours - Partnership
Services
- CVP Scoping
- CVP Implementation
- Integration Services
- Strategic Planning
Partnerships
- Retainer Agreement
- Ongoing Advisory
- Managed Services
Products exist before customers engage — the complete catalog of what you can deliver.
Unified View Contribution
Revenue View
Primary contributor. Products define what generates revenue. Product catalog structure determines pricing architecture, margin analysis, and revenue categorization. Without clean Product architecture, revenue reporting becomes an exercise in reconciliation rather than insight.
Business Context
Primary contributor. Product performance data reveals market intelligence — which offerings resonate, which pricing works, which configurations succeed. Aggregate Product data informs strategic decisions about portfolio evolution.
Customer View
Supporting contributor. Product associations on Contacts show what people are interested in (Wish Listed), have purchased, or are actively using. This shapes how you understand and serve them.
Team Enablement
Supporting contributor. Product documentation and requirements inform delivery teams. Clear Product definitions enable consistent fulfillment regardless of who's delivering.
Sarah's Story
Before Sarah Chen ever engaged with Value-First, the Product catalog existed. Office Hours seats at various tiers — Free, Base, Strategy, Partnership. CVP Scoping as a defined engagement with standard scope and pricing. CVP Implementation with multiple phases and configurations. Each Product represented something Value-First could deliver, with clear definitions of what it included, what it cost, and what resources it required.
When Sarah first explored Value-First's offerings, she browsed Product pages on the website. Each page pulled from the Product record: description, pricing, what's included, who it's for. She wasn't looking at custom proposals; she was understanding the catalog of possibilities.
When Sarah added "Office Hours - Strategy Seat" to her Wish List, she created an association between her Contact and that Product. This Signal indicated interest without commitment — she was considering this Product, not buying it yet.
When Sarah's company eventually purchased CVP Implementation, the Product record didn't change — it remained the strategic definition. What changed was that Line Items were created based on that Product, customized for Sarah's specific engagement: scope adjusted for three locations, timeline adapted for their organizational complexity, pricing negotiated for annual commitment.
The Product stayed pristine — the blueprint. The Line Items captured the customer-specific adaptation — the project plan. When Sarah explores new offerings later, she'll browse the same Product catalog, even as her organization's specific configurations diverge from standard definitions.
What It Holds
Identity and Catalog Position
Pricing Architecture
Delivery Requirements
Configuration Options
Documentation and Enablement
What It Connects To
Primary Associations
Products become Line Items when configured for specific customers. The Product is the template; the Line Item is the instance.
Products can associate directly to Deals to indicate what's being discussed (before Line Item configuration).
"Wish Listed," "Purchased," or "Active User" associations indicate relationship to specific people.
Products may specify what Service type gets activated upon purchase.
Product-related content: datasheets, guides, case studies.
Contact-to-Product Labels
Contact is considering this Product (intent signal)
Contact has bought this Product (historical)
Contact is currently using/receiving this Product
Product-to-Object Labels
Product is part of a bundle or package
Prerequisites for this Product
Service type activated upon purchase
Documentation and content
Why These Labels Matter
Contact-to-Product associations capture intent and history without transactions. "Wish Listed" is a powerful intent signal — Sarah is considering something. "Active User" tells you what she's currently receiving. These associations enable personalized engagement based on product interest, not just purchases.
Common Patterns
The Catalog Pattern
The Tiered Offering Pattern
The Bundle Pattern
The Configuration Pattern
The Versioning Pattern
Value-First vs. Industrial-Age
| ✗ Traditional Thinking | ✓ Value-First Thinking |
|---|---|
| Product = SKU for inventory/billing | Product = Strategic offering definition |
| Product catalog hidden until sales conversation | Product catalog enables self-service discovery |
| Pricing gated behind "contact sales" | Pricing transparent in Product record |
| Products exist for ERP integration | Products are HubSpot-native, powering portal and CRM |
| Product data lives in separate systems | Products exist for customer understanding |
| Products defined by operations | Products defined by customer value delivered |
Why This Shift Matters
When Products exist only for billing systems, customers can't explore what you offer without talking to sales. Discovery is gated. Self-service is impossible. The buying process starts with friction.
When Products are customer-facing strategic definitions, everything changes. Customers browse and learn at their own pace. The portal shows what's available. Wish Lists capture intent. The buying process respects human autonomy.
In Practice
Implementation details and configuration
What You'll See in HubSpot
Products live under Sales → Products. Each Product has:
- Product details: Name, description, SKU, pricing
- Product properties: Custom fields for delivery requirements, resource needs, etc.
- Associations: Related Line Items, Contacts, Listings
The Product library view shows your catalog, filterable by type, category, and status.
Key Properties
Key Properties
Native HubSpot Properties
| Property | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
name Native | Text | Product name (customer-facing) |
description Native | Text | Brief description |
hs_sku Native | Text | SKU identifier |
price Native | Currency | Standard unit price |
hs_cost_of_goods_sold Native | Currency | Unit cost (for margin analysis) |
hs_recurring_billing_period Native | Enumeration | Monthly, Annually, etc. |
hs_product_type Native | Enumeration | Product type categorization |
hs_folder_id Native | Folder | Product library organization |
Value-First Custom Properties
| Property | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
vf_product_category | Enumeration | Strategic category (Education, Services, Partnerships, Tools) |
vf_product_tier | Enumeration | Tier level within category |
vf_delivery_time_estimate | Text | Standard delivery timeframe |
vf_resource_requirements | Multi-checkbox | What's needed to deliver |
vf_prerequisites | Multi-checkbox | What customer needs before this Product |
vf_value_path_stage_fit | Multi-checkbox | Which Value Path stages this Product serves |
vf_unified_goal_contribution | Enumeration | Primary unified goal this Product supports |
vf_implementation_complexity | Enumeration | Low → Medium → High → Enterprise |
Portal Experience
In the My Value Path Portal, Products power catalog discovery:
Product Catalog
- Browse all available Products with descriptions and pricing
- Filter by category, tier, Value Path stage fit
- See what's included, who it's for, what to expect
My Products
- Wish List — Products Sarah is considering (Contact → Product "Wish Listed")
- Active — Products Sarah is currently using (Contact → Product "Active User")
- History — Products Sarah has purchased (Contact → Product "Purchased")
"Sarah can see what you offer, what it costs, and what's included — without talking to sales. Discovery is self-service; conversation happens when she's ready."
From Default to Value-First
Do Products exist for everything you sell? Are descriptions customer-facing (not internal jargon)? Is pricing represented accurately?
Create custom properties for delivery requirements, Value Path fit, and unified goal contribution.
Configure Products to appear in customer portal. Ensure descriptions make sense to customers, not just internal teams.
Enable Contact → Product associations with "Wish Listed" label. Create Signals when Wish List additions occur.
Associate Products with related Listings: datasheets, guides, case studies, relevant episodes.
See It In Action
Experience in the Value Path Simulator
Key Moment: Notice how Sarah can understand what's available, what it costs, and what it includes — all before any sales conversation. The Product architecture enables discovery; it doesn't gate it.