Your CRM is only as good as the data inside it. Garbage in, garbage out. This chapter is about getting your contacts into your CRM the right way — organized, clean, and actionable.
📋 Where Do Your Contacts Live Right Now?
Before you start importing, take stock of where your contacts currently are:
Phone contacts (personal and business)
Email contacts (Gmail, Outlook)
Excel or Google Sheets
Old CRM exports
Business card piles
Social media connections
Open house sign-in sheets
Your brokerage's lead system
Referral partner lists
Past transaction files
The Import Process
Export Everything to CSV
Most platforms let you export contacts as a CSV file. Do this for every source — phone, email, spreadsheets, old CRMs. One CSV per source.
Clean Before You Import
Open each CSV and remove obvious junk: test entries, duplicates, people you don't recognize, incomplete records with no name or contact info.
Standardize Your Fields
Make sure columns are consistent: First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Source, Notes. Match these to your CRM's import fields.
Tag by Source
Before importing, add a 'Source' column: 'Phone Contacts,' 'Open House 2024,' 'Past Clients,' 'Sphere.' This makes segmentation easier later.
Import in Batches
Don't dump everything in at once. Import by source so you can verify each batch. Start with your most important contacts — past clients and sphere.
Merge Duplicates
Most CRMs have a duplicate detection tool. Run it after each import. Review and merge — don't just delete.
🗂️ Essential Contact Fields
At minimum, every contact in your CRM should have:
Full Name
Obviously — but first AND last
Phone Number
Mobile preferred
Email Address
For marketing and communication
Source
Where did they come from?
Type/Category
Buyer, seller, sphere, investor, etc.
Address
Current or target neighbourhood
Notes
Personal details, preferences, conversation history
Last Contact Date
When did you last reach out?
The "Add As You Go" Rule
Importing your existing contacts is just the start. From this day forward, every new person you meet gets added to the CRM within 24 hours. No exceptions.
Met someone at a coffee shop? Add them. Got a call from a FSBO? Add them. Someone DM'd you on Instagram? Add them. The goal is simple: if they exist, they're in the CRM.
🔑 Key Takeaway
Your database is your business. Treat the import process seriously — clean data now saves you hours of frustration later. And make adding new contacts a daily reflex, not a chore.