The CRM Cleanup Playbook

Lock down fields that must never be touched.

• Identify every property tied to an active system:

  • Sequencing and outbound tools

  • Signals and awareness scoring

  • Attribution and reporting tools

• Add these to an explicit exclude list before any deletion

Remove the fields with zero risk.

• Delete all empty custom fields at 0% fill with 0 usages.

• Delete all very low fill custom fields (<5%, 0 usages).

• Delete legacy migration fields with <50% fill and no active workflow dependencies.

Make case-by-case decisions on fields between 5-49% fill.

• For each field, check:

  • Is it being populated by an integration?

  • Is it referenced in an active workflow?

• Keep it if its active.

Handle duplicates in bulk.

• Find company pairs with identical company domain name values.

• Pick the primary record using this order:

  • Most associated deals

  • Most associated contacts

  • Highest fill rate on key custom fields

  • Oldest create date

• Merge in the CRM and all associated contacts, deals, activities, and notes carry forward automatically.

Handle name duplicates one at a time.

• For every same-name, different-domain pair, check branch indicators:

  • Different city or state

  • Different street address or phone number

  • Already linked via Parent Company

  • Name or domain includes a city or location identifier

• If any indicator is true, keep the records separate and link via Parent Company.

Use one framework across every remaining edge case.

• Exact domain match: merge with primary record rules.

• Same name, same city, formatting artifact in domain: merge after confirming same address.

• Same name, one record has no domain: research the correct domain, update, then merge.

• Same name, domain has city or location in it: keep separate

• Same name, same address different domain: check for redirects.

Create a record so this doesn't happen again.

• Log every deleted field and every merged record.

• Publish a field creation governance doc so new fields get reviewed before creation.

• Set a quarterly recurring audit to catch drift early.