Your CRM is only as useful as the data inside it. If you're tired of chasing half-complete records, bounced emails, or sales reps grumbling about outdated info, you’re in the right place. This guide walks through how to use Flashintel to beef up your CRM contacts with real, usable data—without drowning in buzzwords or empty promises.
If you use Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, or any other CRM, and you want to actually trust the data in there, keep reading. You’ll see what works, what to avoid, and how to keep things sane.
Why Bother Enriching CRM Contacts?
Let’s be honest: most CRMs turn into graveyards of stale data unless someone puts in the work to keep them updated. People change jobs. Emails go bad. Phone numbers get recycled. You need data enrichment if you want:
- Better outreach: Fewer bounced emails, more direct dials, and up-to-date job titles.
- Faster research: No more hunting LinkedIn for missing company info or revenue numbers.
- Smarter segmentation: Actually target by persona, not just a guess.
But not all enrichment is created equal. Some tools promise the moon and give you a bunch of “guessed” data that’s just plain wrong. Flashintel’s data enrichment features are worth a look—if you set them up right and know what to expect.
Step 1: Get Your CRM Ready for Enrichment
Before you even touch Flashintel, do some basic housekeeping. Otherwise, you’ll just end up enriching a bunch of garbage.
- De-duplicate your contacts. No point paying to enrich the same John Smith three times.
- Remove obvious junk. Delete test records, “asdf@asdf.com” emails, and other nonsense.
- Back up your CRM. Stuff happens. Export your contacts so you can undo any mistakes.
Pro tip: Most enrichment tools—including Flashintel—charge per record or “match.” Cleaning up first saves money and headaches.
Step 2: Connect Flashintel to Your CRM
Flashintel supports direct integrations with big-name CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot, plus CSV imports for everyone else. Either way, don’t rush this step.
For Direct CRM Integrations
- Log in to Flashintel.
- Go to the integrations/settings page.
- Find your CRM. Click “Connect” and follow the prompts.
- You’ll usually need admin rights to your CRM.
- Grant only the permissions you actually need (read/write contacts, not your entire CRM).
For Manual CSV Import
- Export your contacts from your CRM as a CSV file.
- Clean up column headers—use clear labels like “First Name,” “Email,” “Company.”
- In Flashintel, go to data enrichment > CSV upload.
- Upload your file and map the columns.
What to ignore: “One-click” integrations are never as simple as they sound. Always check a small batch first before turning it loose on your whole database.
Step 3: Pick the Right Data Fields to Enrich
Flashintel gives you a laundry list of fields you could enrich—emails, phones, job titles, company info, social profiles, and more. The trick is to only pull what you’ll actually use.
- Must-haves: Validated email, direct phone, current job title, company name.
- Nice-to-haves: LinkedIn URL, company size, industry, revenue.
- Skip: Anything you’ll never use (e.g., Twitter handles for B2B sales? Probably not.)
Pro tip: The more fields you enrich, the more you pay. Focus on what helps your team take action.
Step 4: Run a Test Enrichment (Don’t Skip This)
Don’t enrich your whole database right away. Run a test batch—maybe 50 or 100 records.
- Select a sample: Try a mix of your best contacts and a few randos.
- Run the enrichment.
- Review the results in Flashintel before updating your CRM:
- Are the emails valid?
- Do the phone numbers look legit (not all 555s or obviously wrong)?
- Are job titles and companies current?
Red flag: If more than 10–15% of enriched records look wrong or empty, stop and dig in. No tool is perfect, but garbage in/garbage out still applies.
Step 5: Push Enriched Data Back to Your CRM
Once you’re happy with the test batch, it’s time to bring the improved data into your CRM. Here’s where things can get messy.
For Direct Integration
- Double-check which fields will be overwritten.
- Set rules for merging data (e.g., “only update if blank,” or “always replace”).
- Run a second, slightly bigger batch before rolling out to everyone.
For CSV Import
- Download the enriched CSV from Flashintel.
- Import into your CRM, mapping columns carefully.
- Use your CRM’s “update existing records” option, not “create new contacts.”
What to watch out for: Overwriting good data with bad. Always keep a backup and test on a small group first.
Step 6: Set Up Ongoing Enrichment (Optional, But Useful)
If you want your CRM to stay fresh, set up automatic enrichment. Flashintel lets you schedule regular syncs, so new contacts get enriched as they come in.
- Start with a monthly or quarterly schedule. Weekly is usually overkill unless you’re adding tons of new leads.
- Review reports every so often—don’t assume everything stays accurate forever.
- Turn off fields you don’t actually use. More data = more noise.
Pro tip: Automation is great, but don’t trust it blindly. Spot check results every now and then.
What Works Well with Flashintel (and What Doesn’t)
The Good
- Solid coverage for B2B contacts: Direct dials and verified emails are generally accurate.
- Company data is decent: Revenue, industry, and company size are usually reliable (but double-check against LinkedIn if it really matters).
- Easy to use: The UI isn’t a maze, and the CSV import actually works.
The Not-So-Good
- Consumer contacts are a crapshoot: If you’re B2C, don’t expect miracles.
- International data is iffy: US/Canada are strong; EMEA and APAC can be hit or miss.
- Social profiles can be stale: LinkedIn URLs are fairly reliable, but Twitter and Facebook links? Often outdated.
Ignore the Hype
- No, you won’t get 100% fill rates on every field. No tool can do that.
- “AI-powered enrichment” is just marketing talk. Check the data quality yourself.
- You still need a human sense check for high-value contacts.
Keeping It Simple: A Quick Checklist
- Clean your CRM first.
- Connect Flashintel carefully.
- Enrich only the fields you truly need.
- Always, always test with a small batch.
- Back up before pushing new data live.
- Automate enrichment only if it actually helps.
- Review the results—don’t just trust the numbers.
Final Thoughts
Don’t overcomplicate things. Pick the fields that matter, enrich in small batches, and check your results. Fancy dashboards and AI claims won’t save you from bad data. Start simple, rinse and repeat, and you’ll have a CRM that your sales team might actually want to use. And if you’re ever in doubt, remember: less is more when it comes to enrichment—just the data you’ll actually use, nothing more.