How to Fix Broken Prospect Data Before It Hurts Your Pipeline

Ever had an umbrella flip out on you during a storm? 

Or your blender lid fly off in the middle of making a smoothie?  

Perhaps your microwave broke halfway through heating up your dinner? 

It’s an unfortunate fact of life that things are going to break – and the results can be annoying, embarrassing, or downright catastrophic (nobody wants a lukewarm dinner, after all). 

But one place things really shouldn’t be breaking is at work. Take your prospect data, for example. If it’s broken or downright inaccurate, you’ll have to deal with incorrect contact information, duplicates, or outdated records – all of which slow down your workflows at best, and cause those embarrassing mistakes or missed opportunities at worst. 

Fixing broken prospect data is crucial – yep, really – for maintaining an efficient pipeline. But that doesn’t mean you have to dedicate loads of time and effort to it. Promise. In fact, we’re going to talk about how to fix broken prospect data today. Coming right up:  

• Why Broken Prospect Data Matters More Than You Think
• Signs That Your Prospect Data Is Broken
• How to Fix Prospect Data (and Not Just Clean It)
• Best Practices for Maintaining Clean Prospect Data
• The Role of Automation in Data Maintenance
• Complementary Tools for Better Data Management

With the right tools and strategies, fixing your prospect data will be easier than cleaning smoothie out of your kitchen. Get your sponge out – let’s get going. 

Why Broken Prospect Data Matters More Than You Think

Picture the scene. You spot a new lead – and it is hot. You start daydreaming about what you’ll do with your monthly bonus, how you’ll handle the admiration of your peers, what you’ll say as you graciously accept that promotion…

Thing you come back to earth with a bump – turns out your hot lead has the wrong name and job title. Your daydreams evaporate, your time’s wasted, and your pipeline’s derailed. 

Even worse? You and your team start mistrusting the CRM and relying on spreadsheets, 2004-style. Next thing you know, forecasting’s skewed, lead scoring falls apart, and conversion rates tank. In other words, not good, not fun, and not great for your business, either.

Signs That Your Prospect Data Is Broken

Bad data (selfishly) doesn’t usually come with a flashing red warning – but it does leave clues. Here’s what to look out for: 

Clue #1: Bounce rates through the roof. You just launched a 200-contact cold email campaign. Forty bounce. Enough said. 

Clue #2: Your replies are… unexpected. You email “Hi Alex” and get a reply that starts with, “Actually, my name is Sam.” Oops.

Clue #3: CRM déjà vu. You’ve got three entries for the same person: one with a Gmail, one with a work email, one with an old title from 2019. You don’t know which to use, so you guess – or worse, skip the lead altogether.

Clue #4: SDRs are grumpy. If they’re spending more time fixing fields than sending messages, your data’s broken. And nobody wants a grumpy SDR. 

How to Fix Prospect Data (and Not Just Clean It)

Ok, let’s get onto the good stuff: how to fix broken prospect data – and keep it squeaky clean going forward. 

Step 1: Enrich what you’ve got. Use tools like Surfe (hiya) to autofill missing data as you work – grab verified emails, phone numbers, job titles, and company info directly from LinkedIn, without tab switching or copy-paste headaches.

Let’s say you found a perfect-fit lead, but all you have is a name and company. Surfe pulls their email, role, and LinkedIn profile URL into your CRM in seconds – without Googling, guessing, or risky cold calls to the wrong number.

Step 2: Sync it all, in real time. Your CRM, marketing tools, and sales platforms should be in constant communication. Tools like Zapier or native CRM integrations keep updates flowing so nobody’s working from stale info.

Step 3: Validate at the door. Use rules to catch poor data before it enters your system. If someone enters “bossman” as a title, or leaves the email field blank, don’t let it slide. What we love about enrichment tools is that they do this all for you. 

After all, it’s easier to stop bad data from entering than to chase it down later.

Best Practices for Maintaining Clean Prospect Data

Once you’ve fixed your data, don’t let it fall apart. Keep it clean with these habits:

1. Standardize your inputs. Agree on title formats (VP of Sales, not “sales bigwig”), company names (“Salesforce” not “Sales force”), and email structures. Create dropdowns or autofill rules to reduce, er, creative input.
2. Audit often, but don’t do it manually. Schedule monthly or quarterly audits using a tool like Surfe. Spot duplicates, missing fields, and outdated records before they build up – and without having to dedicate days to a manual sweep. 
3. Kill the silos. If marketing’s working off a different list to sales, you’re begging for duplicate outreach or mixed messages. Use one source of truth – and make sure it’s updated in real time.

Because nothing says “we value your business” like emailing someone twice with two different names. See what we mean?

The Role of Automation in Data Maintenance

When it comes down to it, we don’t automate for speed. We automate for peace of mind – ok, and so we don’t have to lose hours to a manual task that doesn’t have to be manual. 

Take, oh, we don’t know, Surfe as an example. Surfe automatically enriches contacts as you browse LinkedIn, pulling accurate data straight into your CRM. You don’t have to think about it, and your reps don’t have to cross-check fifteen tabs.

Plus, real-time syncing ensures updates never get missed. If a contact switches jobs, you’ll know. If they change titles, so does their CRM record. No more sending an Account Executive pitch to a Product Manager – happy days! 

You can also set up workflows that notify you when emails bounce, job titles change, or key fields go blank. Just FYI. 

Complementary Tools for Better Data Management

Ok, we’ve spoken a lot about Surfe – what other tools will help you out? 

Salesloft: your enriched data gets used properly. Reps personalize outreach based on updated info, leading to better replies and fewer awkward “who is this?” emails.

Zapier: automate workflows between Surfe, your CRM, Slack, Gmail, and beyond. Enriched data flows where it’s needed – no copy-paste required.

Outreach.io: schedule follow-ups, adjust cadences, and prioritize leads using accurate, enriched profiles. Surfe feeds Outreach the good stuff; Outreach turns it into smart outreach (pun fully intended).

Let’s Wrap It Up! 

We’re not going to promise to clean your kitchen for you, but we can promise to fix your broken prospect data – and keep it sparkling going forward. 

At the end of the day, fixing broken prospect data is an ongoing process – but one that pays off by improving lead quality, conversion rates, and pipeline visibility. We like the sound of that. 

How to Fix Broken Prospect Data FAQs 

What Is Prospect Data in Sales?

Prospect data is the information you collect about potential customers – like their name, job title, company, email, and LinkedIn profile. It’s the backbone of your outreach strategy: good prospect data helps you target the right people at the right time, while bad prospect data leads you to email “Alex” who is actually called “Sam” and pitching your product to someone who left the company last year. To close more deals and avoid awkward moments, your prospect data needs to be accurate, complete, and regularly updated.

How Can I Tell If My Prospect Data Is Broken?

Prospect data doesn’t come with a warning label, but it definitely shows symptoms. High email bounce rates? Broken. Low reply rates? Also broken. Multiple CRM entries for the same person? You guessed it – broken. If your sales team spends more time cleaning up contact fields than actually selling, that’s a sure sign something’s off. Broken prospect data slows everything down, from outreach to forecasting, and turns your CRM into a cluttered mess of duplicate contacts and outdated info.

What’s the Best Way to Fix Broken Prospect Data?

To fix broken prospect data, you need more than a quick clean – you need a strategy. Start by enriching your existing records using tools like Surfe, which pulls accurate info from LinkedIn directly into your CRM. Then, make sure your systems are synced in real time so updates flow automatically. Finally, set up validation rules at the point of entry to catch dodgy data before it spreads. The key is to create a setup where good data goes in and stays good – without constant manual babysitting.

How Do You Keep Prospect Data Clean Over Time?

Maintaining clean prospect data isn’t a one-time fix – it’s a team sport. Start by standardizing how you enter data (no more “sales wizard” titles, please). Run regular audits using tools like Surfe to spot and fix duplicates or outdated records before they stack up. Most importantly, centralize your data across teams to avoid silos. If marketing and sales are working from different contact lists, you’re guaranteed a mess. With a little structure – and a little automation – you can keep your data squeaky clean without lifting a finger.

Can Automation Really Help With Prospect Data Management?

Absolutely – and your sales team will thank you for it. Automation keeps your prospect data updated and accurate without constant manual effort. Tools like Surfe enrich contacts as you browse LinkedIn, syncing new info straight to your CRM. You can also trigger alerts when job titles change or emails bounce, so nothing slips through the cracks. Think of it as a silent assistant who never sleeps, never forgets, and never accidentally types “bossman” into the job title field.