CRM data modeling
Design the object model, fields, and relationships that make the CRM a reliable source of truth for routing, reporting, and activation.
Related
Bad modeling here breaks everything downstream: routing, scoring, forecasting. Get the foundation right before you automate a single play.
The object model
Understand Lead vs. Contact vs. Account, and the lead-to-account matching that ties them together. Most routing logic depends on this relationship being correct.
Fields and scores
Custom fields hold enriched attributes and computed scores. Keep field-level security tight, and never hardcode a calculated value where a formula or rollup belongs.
Dedupe and history
Dedupe and merge rules on domain and email as canonical keys. Field history and change tracking for auditability, so you can answer “who changed this and when.”
Whose call this is
The object model and governance rules belong to Operations. Engineering activates data into these structures at speed, but does not redefine them unilaterally. When in doubt, that is a governance conversation.
Keep reading
All guides →Enrichment waterfalls
Chain data providers in sequence so a miss from one becomes a hit from the next, maximizing coverage while paying mostly on verified data.
BuildSignal-based outbound
Trigger outreach off buying signals that mark an account entering a buying window, instead of blasting a static ICP list.
BuildAI & agentic workflows
Use LLMs as per-row functions and research agents inside GTM workflows: classification, extraction, qualification, and first-draft personalization at list scale.