If you're knee-deep in B2B marketing or sales ops, you know the drill: too many tools, not enough time, and leads slipping through the cracks. You’ve got a CRM humming along, but it’s only as good as the data you feed it. Enter N.rich—a platform that helps you identify, score, and activate leads from your target accounts. The catch? It won’t magically talk to your CRM out of the box. But with a little setup, you can send enriched, sales-ready leads to your CRM automatically.
This guide is for anyone who wants to actually use their marketing data—no more CSVs gathering dust, no more sales teams chasing ghosts. Just clear, step-by-step advice, some hard-won lessons, and a few things to watch out for.
Why bother integrating N.rich with your CRM?
Let’s be honest: manually copying lead data between systems is a pain and, frankly, a waste of time. But there’s more to it than just saving time:
- No more leads falling through the cracks. Automated sync means every hot lead ends up where your reps actually work.
- Better data, better decisions. Enriched firmographic and intent data in your CRM lets you prioritize real opportunities.
- Less finger-pointing. Marketing and sales see the same information. Arguments go down, close rates go up.
- Faster follow-up. The faster you act, the more likely you are to win the deal.
But—and it’s a big but—if you rush the setup or buy into the “seamless” hype, you’ll just end up with noisy data and annoyed reps. So let’s do this right.
Step 1: Map out your lead flow before you touch any settings
Before connecting anything, sketch out how leads should move from N.rich to your CRM. Sounds basic, but skipping this step is how you end up with duplicates or junk data.
Ask yourself:
- What counts as a “lead” worth sending? Web visits? Ad clicks? Only high scores?
- Which CRM fields actually matter? Don’t sync everything—just what your team will use.
- Do you want new records, updates to existing ones, or both?
Pro tip: Talk to the folks in sales first. Find out what data they use (and what they ignore). No sense pushing account-level intent data if no one’s ever going to look at it.
Step 2: Check your CRM integration options
N.rich doesn’t have a native integration with every CRM under the sun (and no tool really does, despite what the salespeople say). Here’s what actually works:
- Native integrations: N.rich supports direct connections to Salesforce and HubSpot. If you’re using one of these, you’re in luck—setup is straightforward.
- Third-party connectors: For other CRMs (like Microsoft Dynamics, Pipedrive, Zoho), you’ll need to use tools like Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), or custom middleware.
- Manual exports: Worst case, you can export enriched leads as CSV and import them. It’s not elegant, but sometimes it’s good enough—especially if you’re just piloting.
Ignore “universal” connectors that promise to map everything automatically. They almost always need manual tweaking.
Step 3: Set up the integration (with honest caveats)
If you’re using Salesforce or HubSpot:
- Log into N.rich and go to Integrations.
- Connect your CRM account. You’ll need admin rights—if you don’t have them, beg your admin nicely.
- Choose what to sync. Pick the lead or contact fields that matter. Don’t just “select all”—that’s how you get duplicates and useless data.
- Map fields carefully. Double-check field types (text, picklist, etc.) to avoid sync errors.
- Set up triggers. Decide if you want leads sent in real time, on a schedule, or based on specific actions (e.g., score over 80).
- Test with a handful of records. Don’t trust the “integration successful” message—actually check your CRM to see what shows up.
Heads up: Field mapping is where things go sideways. If you have custom fields or different lead assignment rules, expect to tweak the setup a few times.
If you’re using another CRM:
- Pick your connector. Zapier is the most popular, but Make or Tray.io are fine too. Just make sure your CRM is supported.
- Set up a Zap (or scenario) to watch for new leads in N.rich.
- Most connectors will pull from N.rich via webhooks, API, or scheduled checks.
- Map your lead fields. Again, less is more—just sync what’s needed.
- Handle deduplication. This is key. Use something unique (email, account domain) to avoid flooding your CRM with repeats.
- Test carefully. Run a few sample leads through the flow and check for errors or missing data.
What doesn’t work: Don’t expect real-time sync with every CRM. Some connectors only update once an hour. If speed is critical, consider a direct API integration (but be ready to write code or pay a developer).
Step 4: Decide what data to sync (and what to ignore)
Just because you can sync every field doesn’t mean you should. More data isn’t always better—it’s just more noise.
Focus on: - Contact info (name, email, phone) - Company info (domain, industry, size) - Lead source (so sales knows where they came from) - Intent score or buying signals (the stuff that actually tells you they’re interested) - Key page visits or actions
Skip or limit: - Every pageview or click—no one in sales wants that in their CRM. - “Nice to have” data you never use. - Anything that makes your CRM harder to search or report on.
Pro tip: Give sales a heads-up before you start pushing new data fields. Nothing kills adoption faster than surprise clutter.
Step 5: Build in error checking and cleanup
Integrations break. Syncs fail. Data gets messy. Don’t wait for a rep to spot a problem—build in checks from day one.
- Use validation rules in your CRM. Block obviously bad data from being saved.
- Set up alerts for failed syncs. Most connectors can send an email if something goes wrong—use it.
- Schedule regular audits. Once a month, pull a list of synced leads and spot-check a few. If you see junk, fix your workflow.
Don’t get cocky—nobody’s integration is perfect forever.
Step 6: Train your team (and actually listen to their feedback)
Your integration is only as good as what sales and marketing do with it. If you dump a bunch of new fields into the CRM with no explanation, people will ignore them or, worse, get annoyed.
- Hold a short walkthrough. Show what’s new, where to find N.rich data, and why it matters.
- Ask for feedback. If sales says the data isn’t useful, believe them—and tweak your setup.
- Document what’s synced. Even a simple Google Doc helps new hires (and saves your sanity later).
What works, what doesn’t, and what to skip
Here’s the blunt truth after helping teams do this for years:
What works: - Clear, simple field mapping. - Only syncing what sales actually uses. - Starting small (one or two triggers) and expanding as you go.
What doesn’t: - Overcomplicating your integration with every possible data point. - Trusting “set and forget” promises—always check your data. - Ignoring feedback from the people using the CRM.
Skip: - Any integration that takes more time to maintain than it saves. - Fancy dashboards nobody looks at.
Keep it simple and iterate
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Start with the basics: get high-quality leads from N.rich into your CRM cleanly, with the right data. See how it works, get feedback, and improve from there. The best integrations are the ones your team actually uses—so keep it simple, stay skeptical of “magic” solutions, and tweak what doesn’t work.
You’ll be surprised how much smoother your lead management gets when your tools actually talk to each other—without a bunch of extra noise.