Sarah McDevitt is the Senior Director of Partner Strategy at HubSpot and is responsible for aligning their Partners, Internal resources and key stakeholders around communication, enablement and programs that drive better productivity.

 

Sarah is also a leading speaker, writer, the podcast host of Owning the Outcome and previous to HubSpot has worked for some of the most respected digital agencies around including Radical and Red Ant.

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1. From running digital media agencies to shaping global partner strategy, what’s the thread that connects every chapter of your journey?

 

The thread has always been about enablement and transformation at scale. Whether I was helping brands navigate the shift from traditional to digital media at MEC Interaction, building digital capabilities at Radical, or now shaping partner strategy at HubSpot - it's been about empowering others to succeed in changing landscapes. The core has remained constant: taking complex systems and making them accessible, actionable, and impactful for the people who need to use them. With AI it's never been more important!

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2. You’ve built your career around digital transformation, partnerships, and enablement, what’s been the biggest mindset shift you’ve seen in partners since joining HubSpot?

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Partners have moved from being "order takers" to "outcome owners." When I started at HubSpot in 2019, most partners were content with implementation work - set up the CRM, build the workflows, hand it over. Now, the successful ones understand they need to own the business results. They're asking "What revenue impact did this deliver?" instead of "How many workflows did we build?" This shift from tactical execution to strategic partnership has been profound.

 

3. You’ve led teams through massive change, from the early digital media days to SaaS partner ecosystems, what’s one leadership lesson that’s stood the test of time?

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Quite a few but as a people leader "If you love them, let them go." I learned this deeply in my agency days and it's served me through every leadership role since. The best leaders I've worked with created more leaders, not followers. At HubSpot, I've learned that my job is to be a caretaker in people's career journeys - supporting their growth even when it means they outgrow their current role. The leaders who try to hold onto people ultimately lose them anyway, but with resentment. The ones who actively develop people beyond their current position build loyalty that lasts careers.

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4. In a world obsessed with “growth,” how do you define sustainable success for partners today?

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Sustainable success is about building relationship moats - competitive advantages that AI can't replicate. It's not about revenue growth at any cost; it's about creating such deep, valuable relationships with clients that they become true partners in business transformation. Partners who focus on authentic connection, who understand their clients' businesses deeply enough to guide strategy (not just implement tactics), who can combine AI efficiency with human insight - those are the ones building sustainable futures.

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5. HubSpot’s Partner Program is known for its culture of collaboration. What's the secret to getting alignment between internal teams and external partners at scale?

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Radical transparency around outcomes, not activities. We've learned that when everyone—internal teams and external partners—is aligned on the same success metrics and has real-time visibility into progress, magic happens. It's not about managing the "how" but being crystal clear on the "what" and "why." We share insight, celebrate joint wins, and address gaps openly. The partners who thrive in our ecosystem are the ones who embrace this transparency rather than trying to manage around it.

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6. You host the Owning the Outcome podcast, what’s one standout insight or story from your guests that completely changed your perspective?

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There have been MANY! But a partner shared that in our rush to scale everything with technology, we're often automating the wrong things. They told a story about a partner who automated all client communications to improve efficiency but ended up losing clients because they felt like they were "just talking to a computer." It reinforced my belief that as we advance with AI, the human elements - the check-ins, the understanding, the authentic care - become more valuable, not less.

 

​ 7. What’s the biggest challenge facing partner-driven digital sales teams right now and what’s the opportunity hiding inside it?

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The challenge is the shortcut mentality - the pressure to skip proper discovery and scoping to get deals moving faster. I've watched too many partners say "that's grand, we can do that" without truly understanding what success looks like for the client. This eagerness to please and move quickly leads to scope creep, misaligned expectations, and projects that drift endlessly because nobody defined what "done" actually means.

But here's the massive opportunity: while everyone else is rushing to close deals, the partners who invest time in thorough discovery and crystal-clear scoping are building unshakeable client relationships. When you take the time upfront to understand not just what a client wants, but why they want it and what success will look like, you create accountability on both sides. You can identify potential roadblocks before they become crises, set realistic expectations, and deliver outcomes that actually matter.

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​8. You’ve moved from digital agency leadership to global SaaS strategy, what do you think agency leaders need to understand about the future of sales enablement?

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You can't just be implementers anymore. Your technical depth with platforms like HubSpot is valuable, but only when combined with strategic thinking. The agencies thriving now are the ones telling clients: "We understand HubSpot deeply enough to guide your strategy realistically." That practical knowledge becomes strategic gold when you can spot which AI initiatives will crash due to data quality issues or integration problems. Your implementation expertise is your edge in strategic conversations - if you position it correctly.

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​9. If you could give one piece of advice to someone stepping into their first partner strategy role, what would it be?

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Start with the outcomes, not the activities. Too many people in partner roles get caught up managing programs, tracking metrics, and coordinating activities. The successful partner strategists I know obsess over one question: "What business results are we creating together?" Everything else - the programs, the enablement, the coordination - flows from that north star.

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10. Looking ahead, how do you see the relationship between technology, human connection, and partner success evolving in the next five years?

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​We're heading towards what I call "Relational Intelligence" - where the combination of AI efficiency and authentic human connection creates competitive moats that can't be replicated. Partners who master this balance will build what I think of as relationship-driven businesses where AI handles the routine work, freeing humans to focus on the strategic, empathetic, and creative work that builds lasting partnerships. The future belongs to those who can make AI + human connection = trust.

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11. Do you recommend any useful digital sales tools or platforms that can help founders or professionals raise their online sales expertise?

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Beyond HubSpot (obviously), I'm seeing partners succeed with tools that enhance rather than replace human connection. HubSpot's AI workflow tools can automate the routine nurturing sequences, but use that efficiency gain to invest more time in one-on-one client strategy sessions. The predictive lead scoring helps you prioritize which prospects deserve your deepest discovery efforts. And the conversation intelligence features in Sales Hub help you analyze what's actually resonating in your sales calls so you can refine your approach. But here's the key insight from my experience with partners: the most successful ones use these HubSpot AI tools to create more capacity for human connection, not to replace it.​​​​​​​