CRM records ready for the next customer follow-up

1. Starting export: keep this copy unchanged

One fictional CRM export dated 3 October 2026. R1–R4 identify export rows; D-101–D-103 are source deal numbers. R4 repeats every business field of R3 in the same export.

2. Supporting facts supplied by the fictional team

The checked account/contact register links A-014 (Example Coast) to C-014 and the confirmed email coast@example.test. It links A-023 (Example East) to C-031 and east@example.test.

A manager’s assignment note names Mariam as the owner of D-101 and confirms “Email buyer” on 5 October 2026. The agreed stage list maps “Quoted” to “Quote sent”; both mean a quote has been sent to the buyer.

No checked account/contact is available for D-102. Its shared mailbox cannot establish who the customer is. These confirmations are invented inputs representing human checks, not facts discovered by the cleanup.

3. Rules for this example

1. Check the account, contact and contact route before marking a deal ready for customer follow-up. Missing identity stays unresolved; never guess from a shared email or similar name.
2. Use the checked register for account names and the agreed list for stage labels. Relabelling a stage does not advance a sale.
3. Require a named owner, next action and due date for this follow-up list. Fill missing details only from a recorded confirmation.
4. Count an identical repeated export row once only when its source deal number and every business field match within this export. Keep both raw rows and their mapping. A missing deal number or conflicting field requires review. This rule does not merge or delete CRM records.

4. Issue and change log

1. R1 / D-101 — confirmed corrections. Reviewer A changes “Coast” to “Example Coast” using the checked register. The manager’s note supplies Mariam, “Email buyer” and 5 October 2026. No other business field changes.
2. R2 / D-102 — identity unresolved. No business field changes. Faisal must check the account/contact by 4 October 2026. Keep this deal on the open-deal and review registers; hold customer follow-up until identity is confirmed. It is not a lost deal.
3. R3 / D-103 — label agreed. Reviewer A changes “Quoted” to “Quote sent” using the agreed mapping. The owner, contact, action and date stay the same.
4. R4 → R3 / D-103 — repeated export row. Both originals stay in the raw copy. R4 points to the D-103 working record, along with R3, so the deal appears once. No source CRM record is changed.

Reviewer A, the manager and sales owners are fictional roles. The log describes human checks within this example; it is not evidence of a deployed cleanup system.

5. Working list after review

Count check: 4 original export rows → 3 distinct deals = 2 ready + 1 held. Every original row is accounted for. No deal is removed from the open-deal register and no sales total is calculated.

6. Keep the next review useful

Before changing live records, try the proposed changes on an approved test copy, separate from the records your team uses. Check that the right people can access customer history and that updates do not trigger unintended messages or workflows. Agree what can be restored: an export and change log do not guarantee a complete undo.

As a starting routine, check required fields when a deal is entered and review unresolved and overdue items each week. Agree who supplies missing facts and who confirms each correction. A filled field alone is not proof that it is right.