Make sure your sales team is working with the right data

How much of your contact database is actually accurate?

 

Businesses invest significant time and money building sales and marketing databases, but contact information can become outdated surprisingly quickly. People change jobs, companies relocate, businesses merge or close, telephone numbers change and email addresses become invalid.

 

The result is a database that may look comprehensive but contains a growing proportion of inaccurate or obsolete information.

 

At 24 I.S. Sales Intelligence, we provide B2B data cleansing services to help businesses check, correct and improve their contact databases.

 

We can identify outdated records, update contact information, remove duplicates and help ensure your sales team is working from a cleaner, more reliable database.

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Talk to us about your particular challenge, and we can very quickly help you to understand the steps involved. Call us today on 01782 409788 and speak to our friendly team.

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Why Data Quality Matters

Your Sales Team Is Only As Good As the Data They Are Working With

Your database is one of your most valuable sales and marketing assets.

 

But inaccurate data can quickly become a significant problem.

 

If your sales team is calling the wrong telephone numbers, emailing people who have left the business or targeting contacts who are no longer responsible for purchasing decisions, valuable sales time is being wasted.

 

Poor-quality data can result in:

• Failed telephone calls

• Undelivered emails

• Contacts who have left the business

• Incorrect job titles

• Duplicate records

• Incorrect company information

• Wasted sales time

• Poor campaign results

• Lower response rates

• Frustrated sales teams

 

Good data improves the efficiency of your sales activity.

What Is Data Cleansing?

What Is B2B Data Cleansing?

Data cleansing is the process of reviewing an existing database and identifying information that is incorrect, incomplete, duplicated or out of date.

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The objective is to improve the quality and usability of the information you already have.

 

Depending on your database and requirements, this can include checking and updating:

• Company names

• Contact names

• Job titles

• Telephone numbers

• Mobile numbers

• Email addresses

• Company addresses

• Websites

• Company status

• Decision makers

• Duplicate records

• Other agreed data fields

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The result is a cleaner and more useful database that your sales and marketing teams can work with more confidently.

 

The Problem With Outdated Contact Data

People Move. Businesses Change. Your Database Changes With Them.

Contact databases are not static.

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Someone who was the Finance Director of a company two years ago may now work somewhere completely different.

 

• A Sales Director may have changed role.

• A company may have been acquired.

• A business may have moved offices.

• A telephone number may no longer work.

• An email address may have been deactivated.

Yet the old information can remain in your CRM or sales database for years.

 

If you're regularly using that database for outbound sales or marketing, those inaccuracies can have a significant impact on your results.

 

Data cleansing helps bring your database back up to date.

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Our Data Cleansing Service

We Help Turn Outdated Data Into Usable Sales Data

At 24 I.S. Sales Intelligence, we can work through your existing database and identify records that need attention.

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Rather than simply deleting records that appear incorrect, we can investigate where appropriate and establish whether the information can be updated.

 

Depending on your requirements, our data cleansing service can include:

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Contact Verification

Checking whether the named contact is still associated with the organisation.

 

Job Title Verification

Confirming whether the contact still holds the relevant position.

 

Telephone Verification

Checking telephone and mobile numbers and identifying invalid or obsolete numbers.

 

Email Verification

Identifying outdated or incorrect email addresses.

 

Company Verification

Checking whether the organisation is still trading and whether key company information remains accurate.

 

Duplicate Removal

Identifying duplicate companies or contacts within your database.

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Decision Maker Identification

Where an existing contact has left or changed role, identifying the appropriate replacement contact.

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Data Cleansing for Sales Prospecting

Give Your Sales Team Better Data to Work With

Data cleansing becomes particularly important when a database is being used for outbound sales and lead generation.

If you're planning a telemarketing campaign, for example, the quality of the data can have a major effect on the amount of productive sales time available.

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Imagine your sales team has a database of 5,000 prospects.

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If a significant proportion of those records contain:

• Invalid numbers

• People who have left

• Incorrect job titles

• Duplicate contacts

• Businesses that have closed

then your 5,000 prospects may not really be 5,000 prospects at all.

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Cleaning the database first can make your sales activity considerably more efficient.

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Data Cleansing Before Telemarketing

Clean Your Data Before You Start Calling

This is particularly relevant to the services provided by 24 I.S.

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Before beginning a telemarketing campaign, we can help assess the quality of your existing contact database.

 

This can help ensure that your campaign team spends more time:

 

Speaking to the right people

rather than:

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Searching for people who have left.

 

A data cleansing exercise can therefore be an effective first stage before a wider B2B telemarketing or lead generation campaign.

[Explore our B2B Telemarketing service →]

[Explore B2B Lead Generation →]

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Data Cleansing for CRM Systems

Improve the Quality of Your CRM Data

Your CRM should provide your sales team with a reliable view of your prospects and customers.

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However, CRM data can become untidy over time as different people add, amend and import information.

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This can result in:

• Duplicate contacts

• Inconsistent company names

• Missing information

• Incorrect job titles

• Old contact details

• Inactive accounts

• Incomplete records

 

Data cleansing can help establish a more reliable foundation for your CRM and future sales activity.

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When Should You Clean Your Database?

Don't Wait Until Your Data Becomes a Problem

There isn't necessarily a single correct frequency for data cleansing.

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It depends on how quickly your data changes and how heavily you use it.

 

You might consider a cleansing exercise:

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Before a major sales campaign

Make sure your prospect database is as accurate as possible before your sales team starts calling.

 

Before a marketing campaign

Improve email and contact data before launching an outbound campaign.

 

After a period of rapid growth

New data and contacts can quickly create inconsistencies within your CRM.

 

When response rates are falling

Poor data may be one of the reasons your sales campaigns are becoming less productive.

 

As part of regular database maintenance

Regular cleansing can prevent small data-quality problems becoming much larger ones.

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How Our Data Cleansing Process Works

A Structured Approach to Improving Your Database

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1. Understand your database

We start by understanding the information you hold, the purpose of the database and the fields that are most important to you.

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2. Agree the cleansing criteria

We'll establish what needs checking, updating, removing or adding.

 

3. Review the data

Our team works through the database systematically, identifying records requiring attention.

 

4. Verify information

Where appropriate, information can be checked and updated.

 

5. Identify changes

We'll identify records where contacts have moved, information is incorrect or additional information is required.

 

6. Return a cleaner database

The result is a more accurate and usable database ready for your sales and marketing activity.

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More Than Just Data Cleaning

Useful Sales Intelligence From Your Database

One of the advantages of a properly managed data-cleansing exercise is that it can reveal information about your market that you didn't previously know.

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For example, we may identify:

• Decision makers who have changed

• Companies that have disappeared

• Organisations that have changed ownership

• New contacts within existing accounts

• Gaps in your target market

• Duplicate records

• Opportunities to expand existing accounts

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This can turn a simple data-cleaning exercise into a useful sales intelligence exercise.

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Why 24 I.S.?

Experienced People Working With Your Data

24 I.S. isn't simply a software platform that runs your database through an automated process.

 

Our service is delivered by experienced people who understand sales, prospecting and B2B contact data.

 

That distinction is important.

 

We're not just interested in whether an email address exists.

 

We understand why it matters whether you're contacting the right person, with the right job role, at the right company.

Our wider experience in telemarketing, lead generation and sales intelligence gives us a strong understanding of how accurate contact data needs to support real-world sales activity.

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Data Cleansing + Lead Generation

Build a Better Database Before Generating New Business

If your database needs more than just cleaning, we can also help identify new prospects and decision makers to expand it.

This means 24 I.S. can potentially support you through the whole process:

Clean your existing data

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Identify missing or replacement contacts

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Add new prospects

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Generate leads

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Book sales appointments

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Support your sales team

This creates a natural link between our Data Cleansing, Lead Generation and Telemarketing services.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About Data Cleansing

What is B2B data cleansing?

B2B data cleansing is the process of reviewing business contact data to identify and correct inaccurate, incomplete, duplicated or outdated information.

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Why does contact data become outdated?

People change jobs, businesses move, companies close or merge and contact details change. Even a well-maintained database can therefore deteriorate over time.

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Can you update contacts who have left a company?

Where appropriate, yes. We can identify that a contact is no longer in their role and investigate the appropriate replacement contact.

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Can you remove duplicate records?

Yes. Duplicate companies and contacts can be identified and removed or consolidated according to your requirements.

 

Can you clean our existing CRM database?

Yes. We can work with your existing contact database and agree the fields and criteria that need to be checked.

 

Should we clean our database before telemarketing?

In many cases, yes. A cleaner database can help your sales team spend more time talking to relevant prospects rather than dealing with invalid or outdated records.

 

How often should a database be cleansed?

It depends on your market and how quickly your contact information changes. Businesses with active outbound sales teams may benefit from more regular data checks.

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