With ThinkFuel
Once upon a time…
Independent Financial Brokers of Canada (IFB) had a team of four managing services for over 2,000 members nationwide. Their mission was clear: support independent financial advisors with professional education, advocacy, and practical tools. But the technology behind their operations was slowing them down. The inherited Microsoft Dynamics CRM was expensive, overly complex, and challenging to customize. Basic tasks—like generating daily sales reports or issuing CE certificates—were manual, fragmented, and time-consuming.
Every day…
Staff juggled disconnected systems. Email campaigns were run through Constant Contact with limited targeting. Website activity wasn’t integrated with the CRM. Event registrations required multiple CSV exports, which were hand-cleaned in Excel. A simple campaign or report often involved hours of effort and risked human error. Without a unified system, IFB couldn’t scale—at least not without hiring, which wasn’t an option.
One day…
When new CE regulations introduced province-specific requirements, IFB faced a choice: spend a lot customizing Dynamics or rethink their entire system. After considering alternatives like Salesforce and Wild Apricot, HubSpot emerged as the right fit. A colleague recommended HubSpot, and when the HubSpot sales rep introduced ThinkFuel—a Canadian partner—IFB knew they’d found a team who could align with their needs.
Because of that…
ThinkFuel led the CRM migration and built a fully customized HubSpot system tailored to IFB’s workflows. Event registrations were automated, certificates were issued instantly with session tracking and reissue functionality, and onboarding moved from monthly manual sends to real-time automation. Deal pipelines, membership renewals, Zoom Events, Google Ads, and even social scheduling were all unified in one place. ThinkFuel handled integrations, workarounds, and vendor coordination with clarity and speed.
Until finally…
What used to take hours now takes minutes. The daily sales report is ready in 10 minutes instead of three hours. Abandoned membership campaigns saw an uptick in conversion rates. The team can segment audiences, launch campaigns quickly, and track engagement across email, web, and advertising. They’ve gained agility without adding headcount.
And ever since then…
IFB continues to expand what they can do in HubSpot. From onboarding to CE delivery, everything is now digital. A custom “Find an Advisor” feature is live, and future plans include sponsor management—no external platforms required. The team has become confident, independent users of HubSpot, supported by ThinkFuel’s documentation, training videos, and responsive guidance. What started as a platform change became a smarter way of working.
