If you’ve ever opened your CRM and realized half your contacts are out of date, you’re not alone. Sales and marketing teams bleed hours chasing cold leads or bouncing emails just because the data in their CRM is stale. This guide is for folks who want to actually fix that—by pulling in real-time company and people data using Coresignal.
I’ll walk you through what’s worth doing, what’s not, and how to avoid the usual data enrichment headaches. No fluff, no vague promises—just straight talk on making your CRM genuinely smarter with live data.
Why Real-Time Data in Your CRM Matters (and When It Doesn't)
CRMs are only as good as the info inside. If your contacts moved jobs six months ago, or a company just raised funding and your CRM missed it, you’re out of the loop. Real-time data helps you:
- Spot new buying signals as they happen (like a company hiring heavily)
- Reach out to people at the right moment (like after a job change)
- Cut down on manual research or lost opportunities
But let’s be real: not everyone needs “real-time” all the time. If your sales cycles are long or your industry doesn’t change much, daily or even weekly updates might be fine. The trick is to match the data freshness to how you actually work.
Step 1: Decide What You Actually Need (Before You Buy Anything)
Before you run out and hook up a firehose of data, get specific:
- What data is missing or wrong in your CRM? Is it contact info, company size, funding rounds, tech stack, hiring signals?
- How often does that data really change? Some things (like company industry) rarely update, while others (like job titles) change constantly.
- Who will actually use the new data? If nobody’s going to act on it, you’re wasting your time.
- How will you know if enrichment is working? Set some basic KPIs: more meetings booked, better email open rates, fewer bounced contacts.
Pro tip: Don’t get sucked into “complete profiles” for every contact. Focus on the fields that actually drive action. More data isn’t always better—just more to clean up.
Step 2: Get to Know Coresignal (and What It’s Good At)
Coresignal is a B2B data provider focused on real-time (or close to it) company and professional data. Think public company info, org charts, employee moves, funding rounds, and more. It pulls from public web sources, so you’re not getting emails or phone numbers, but you do get up-to-date signals you won’t find elsewhere.
Where Coresignal shines:
- Tracking company growth, layoffs, or hiring sprees
- Spotting org changes (like new execs)
- Surfacing recent funding or expansion events
Where it falls short:
- No private contact info—don’t expect cell numbers or personal emails
- Not a fit for highly regulated or niche industries (think healthcare, government)
- Data is as good as what’s public—so if a company keeps a low profile, don’t expect miracles
What to ignore: Don’t treat Coresignal as a complete replacement for your CRM data or for “intent” data—that’s not its wheelhouse.
Step 3: Map Out Your Enrichment Workflow
Here’s where most projects go sideways. Before you touch any code or integrations, sketch out:
- Which CRM fields do you want to enrich?
- What triggers the enrichment?
- New lead created?
- Regular batch updates?
- Manual “refresh” button?
- How will you handle conflicts?
- If Coresignal data is different from what’s in your CRM, which wins?
- Do you overwrite, append, or flag for review?
Pro tip: Start with a pilot. Enrich a small segment—maybe your top 100 accounts—before rolling out to everyone.
Step 4: Connect Coresignal to Your CRM
There’s no magic “one-click” integration here—how you connect Coresignal depends on your CRM and your skills. Here’s the honest rundown:
Option 1: Use an Integration Platform (Zapier, Make, Tray.io)
- Best for: Non-developers, smaller teams, quick proofs of concept
- How it works: You use a middleman (like Zapier) to fetch data from Coresignal’s API and push it into your CRM.
- Limitations: These tools might not support every data field or handle big volumes well.
Steps: 1. Get API access from Coresignal (usually requires a subscription and an API key). 2. Set up a trigger (like “new contact in CRM”) in your integration platform. 3. Fetch enrichment data from Coresignal using their API. 4. Update your CRM record with the new info.
Option 2: Direct API Integration
- Best for: Tech-savvy teams, custom workflows, larger datasets
- How it works: Your developers write scripts or middleware to call the Coresignal API, process the data, and update your CRM.
- Limitations: Requires development resources and maintenance.
Steps: 1. Read the Coresignal API docs (seriously, don’t skip this). 2. Build a process to match CRM records to Coresignal data (usually by company name, domain, or LinkedIn URL). 3. Map fields carefully—don’t just dump everything in. 4. Test on a small batch and sanity-check the results before scaling up.
Common headaches: - Matching records can be tricky (company names are messy) - API limits and costs can add up fast - You’ll need error handling—sometimes data is missing or ambiguous
Option 3: Manual CSV Import
- Best for: One-off enrichments, no-code teams, small budgets
- How it works: Download data from Coresignal as a CSV, then import or merge into your CRM.
- Limitations: Not real-time, risk of duplicates, more manual clean-up
Steps: 1. Export your CRM records (with unique IDs or emails). 2. Download matching data from Coresignal. 3. Use Excel or Google Sheets to match records. 4. Re-import to your CRM, making sure to update (not duplicate) records.
Pro tip: Use this for a quarterly “spring cleaning” of your CRM if you don’t need ongoing enrichment.
Step 5: Clean Up and Monitor Your Data
Enrichment isn’t a “set it and forget it” deal. Here’s what to watch for:
- Duplicates: Automated enrichment can accidentally create double records—set up deduplication rules.
- Conflicts: Sometimes Coresignal data will contradict what’s in your CRM. Decide early how you want to handle this.
- Data decay: Even real-time data isn’t perfect—people change jobs, companies pivot. Set up regular checks or “last updated” fields.
What’s not worth your time: Obsessing over 100% accuracy. Focus on making the data better, not perfect.
Step 6: Tell Your Team (and Actually Use the Data)
The best-enriched CRM in the world is useless if nobody knows or cares about the new data. Make sure to:
- Show sales and marketing where to find the new fields
- Explain how to use the info (e.g., “Reach out to companies that just hired a new CTO”)
- Ask for feedback—if nobody’s using a data point, consider dropping it
Pro tip: Start small. Add one or two new fields. See if they help. Don’t try to boil the ocean.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
Works: - Using Coresignal for company-level signals (hiring, funding, org changes) - Automating updates for key accounts or hot leads - Regularly cleaning and updating stale data
Doesn’t work: - Expecting perfect matches (company names are messy) - Trying to enrich every field for every contact (overkill) - Relying on enrichment to magically grow sales—still takes work
Ignore: - Hype about “AI-powered enrichment” (it’s mostly just APIs and matching) - Promises of “95%+ data accuracy”—real-world results are always messier
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Start small. Get a single field updating reliably. Watch how your team uses the new data. Tweak or expand as needed. The goal isn’t a perfect CRM—it’s a CRM that’s less out of date, a little smarter, and way less frustrating to use.
Don’t get caught up in buzzwords or endless integrations. Real, usable data beats “complete data” every time.