Client connectivity is a vital part of business. Firms may not be in business without connecting with their clients and contacts regularly. Whether its executives meeting on strategic efforts, project managers working closely with clients and potential clients, or business developers drumming up strategic partnerships, having relevant information at your fingertips encourages timely communication.
Firms may track client and contact information in a formal CRM software, in spreadsheets, or across many platforms. When there’s no single source of truth, employees at any level can be disconnected and not trust the data that they try to use.
Create a space where CRM data is critical to the business. It actually is critical, but it’s not always perceived that way. It’s never too early to clean up data and start using technology to keep it tidy. So when should data be reviewed?
Spoiler alert: The answer is NOT an annual data review when a firm is preparing a holiday card list.
If you or your team are on the journey to clean and reliable data, you first need to identify the integrity of the current data. This will take pulling data from multiple sources, if applicable, and viewing as one dataset. This may include reviewing client and contact lists, running searches and for both datasets, and researching and identifying duplicates or conflicting data.
Depending on the amount of work ahead, the cleanup efforts can be done by one or two people. However, for greater efforts, this is best done with a team. The team doesn’t have to consist of marketing only. Once there’s a game plan, admins or interns can be a part of the solution, too! The list can be divided by sections of the alphabet, or by group at the firm. Giving the team a timeline can help ensure it is completed timely.
This cleanup effort can be a moving target. One example is clients moving addresses, or contacts moving companies. LinkedIn and client websites can be great resources when researching the details. You want clean data, but don’t let perfection slow you down. You’re aiming for better data – not perfect data.
Tricks such as V-lookup, bulk update, and sorting by client name are just a few ways to increase efficiency. Making updates in real time shave time off the process as well.
Now that there’s been a great effort to get the data into a trust-worthy state, let’s keep it tidy… year-round. There are many ways to streamline the effort of data integrity, especially for Deltek users.
Give the staff with the knowledge the power to update. No need to gate keep the data or bottleneck the process. Data integrity can be a team effort moving forward, with some oversight of course.
Your firm’s CRM data shouldn’t be something you hope is accurate or something you only touch when it’s time to send out holiday cards. It should be a trusted, go-to resource that empowers everyone—from project managers to executives—to make confident decisions and build stronger client relationships.
Building that trust starts with a cleanup plan, continues with ongoing processes, and thrives when your entire team is equipped to contribute. With tools like dashboards, scheduled reports, and automation in Deltek Vantagepoint, keeping your data clean isn’t just possible—it’s scalable. The goal? A CRM system that’s not just a place to store contact info, but a powerful business asset. And when your team trusts the data, they’ll use it. When they use it, the firm wins. Need help getting there? We’re here for that. Let’s turn your CRM into a system your whole firm can believe in. 💪