In this concise interview, Professor Pete Alexander hosts Michelle Benfer, VP of Sales at HubSpot, for a rapid‑fire "6 Questions in 7 Minutes" session. Michelle introduces herself and HubSpot’s all‑in‑one inbound marketing, sales, and service platform for SMBs. She describes the industry as fun, competitive, collaborative, and high‑growth, appreciating its progressive business practices. When asked which chapter of a fictitious business book every company should read, she emphasizes hiring top talent as the decisive factor for execution and results. Her core advice to leaders is to work smarter, not harder: prioritize high‑impact activities, allocate time based on long‑term value, and delegate effectively. She outlines a personal time‑allocation framework that focuses on tasks that deliver the biggest "bang for the buck" over weeks, months, and quarters. Michelle recommends fellow leaders Sara Blakely (Spanx CEO) and Dani Herzberg (Senior Director of Sales, Slack) as future podcast guests. She shares a brief anecdote about her first paid job at McDonald’s, noting the service‑industry lessons and a memorable incident that led to the restaurant’s temporary closure. Finally, she directs listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn (Michelle Hughes Benfer) and points to HubSpot’s careers page for hiring opportunities.
Chapters
This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Thanks, Pete. My name is Michelle Benford. I am the VP of Sales at HubSpot. If you're not familiar with HubSpot, it is an all-in-one marketing, sales, and service platform. It is built to help small, medium businesses implement inbound marketing strategy and grow better.
Michelle, it's great to have you on the show, and as a former power user at multiple companies of HubSpot, I cannot tell you how excited I am to have you on the show. Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?
Mm, love that question. I have a lot of fun. It's fun, it's competitive, it's collaborative, it's high growth. I also think it's progressive when it comes to business practices, which I really appreciate. So that, plus working with incredible people.
Mm, I love it. Question number 3: I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
Ooh, that's good. All the answers for business. Hiring top talent.
That's really something. Yeah, because obviously if you don't, it's probably gonna, I would think, just make the company slow down, cause more stress for other people around them, any number of things if you don't get the best talent. Wouldn't you agree?
Totally. I mean, you can have the best strategy in the world, but if you don't have the right people to execute it, and to do it well and to learn from how they can get better, then you won't be able to have the best results.
Bingo. Question number 4: Other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
Work smarter. I actually would recommend people don't work so hard. You know, we're all stretched, we're all stressed out, especially lately. We have a lot on our plates. How can businesses and individuals who work for businesses figure out, figure out how they can work smarter in fewer hours? How can you be more productive? How can you focus on the right things? How can you execute more effectively? How can you delegate more effectively and figure out how you can get more results in less time?
Absolutely. And is there any particular techniques that you find work really especially well for you?
Yeah, I would say, you know, for me, it's— I look at every day and I look at the tasks that I have and I look at the hours in my day and I figure out where do I need to spend the most time that's going to have the bigger— biggest impact, not on today, but for the next week, for the next month, for the next quarter, for the next year. And so I really try to look at where do I want to spend my calories that are going to give me the biggest impact and bang for the buck. And so the more that I spend my time on high-value activities as opposed to checking off the to-do list, that ends up paying dividends in how effective I can be in the long term.
I think that's so insightful. Yeah, focusing on the big picture, big impact things because, yeah, it can feel good to check off boxes. But if it's just nit items, it's really not moving the needle.
Yeah, there's a problem sometimes with to-do lists. And you're just focused on the task and the busy work. Mm-hmm.
Great. Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast? Hmm.
Great question. I don't know if you can get her. I'm a real big fan of Sara Blakely, who's the CEO of Spanx. She's pretty phenomenal. But I would probably recommend— I don't know if you know Dani Herzberg. She is a senior director of sales at Slack. And that has been a really interesting company. I mean, obviously high growth. It is a product that can work for really any type of a business, especially now as people need to communicate more effectively and remote. She could probably give you some really great insights.
I love that. I'll reach out to her. Thank you so much. And our final question, question number 6, please tell me about your first job. Hmm.
So my very— well, my first job not paid was a paper girl, but my first job paid was working at McDonald's. And there's a lot to learn. Anytime, any type of service industry, you know, you have to learn how to work with all different types of personalities, all different types of people. It didn't end well for me. I ate something from there that made me very, very sick, and they had to shut down that McDonald's for 2 full days, and I never returned. But nonetheless, a lot to learn. I was 14 years old. As soon as I could get my working papers, I did.
Oh boy, 14 years old too. Wow, my goodness. Well, Michelle, thank you so much for being on the show. How could people find you?
They can find me on LinkedIn. That's the best spot. It's Michelle Benfer, also listed as Michelle Hughes Benfer. And we're currently hiring here at HubSpot, so feel free to either DM me or go to hubspot.com/careers.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
