Why a CRM Clean-Up Is the Smartest Move You Can Make This Year
Most CRMs don’t fail because they’re missing features. They fail because they quietly drift out of alignment with how the business actually runs.
New offers get added. Old campaigns linger. Tags multiply. Automations fire when they shouldn’t, or worse, don’t fire at all. Before long, your CRM feels heavy instead of helpful.
A proper CRM clean-up isn’t about organizing for the sake of organizing. It’s about making sure your systems are actively supporting revenue, not slowing it down.
I know this firsthand.
My Annual CRM Clean-Up (And Why This Year Was Different)
Every year, I do some version of a CRM clean-up. In the past, I focused on specific areas, automations one year, tags another, pipelines another.
This year, I did a comprehensive review of everything in my CRM.
Why? Because my CRM reflected six years of trying things.
Different offers. Different audiences. Different experiments. All useful at the time, but no longer aligned with how I actually run my business today.
Over the last 18 months, I’ve narrowed my focus around the Revenue Accelerator. I’ve made it very clear:
What my lead magnet is
What my sales process is
What my core offerings are
How client management and retention work
Once that clarity was in place, I was ready to let go of things I built when I first launched my CRM business.
Here’s what that clean-up looked like:
Custom fields: reduced from 472 to 188
Tags: reduced from 189 to 51
Funnels & Automations: organized by purpose and deleted more than half
Now everything is organized by intent. I can see the information I need when I need it. And that clarity set me up for the next step: reporting that actually tells the truth.
Step 1: Alignment
Make sure your CRM matches how your business works today
Before touching anything technical, get clear on how revenue really flows.
Your CRM should support:
Lead generation
Sales
Client management
Client retention
If you can’t trace the journey from first contact to long-term client, the system is out of sync.
Step 2: Evaluate
Identify what’s outdated, broken, or no longer needed
Look for:
Gaps where the system doesn’t support the process
Elements tied to old offers or strategies
Automations no one trusts anymore
This step is about removing friction, not chasing perfection.
Step 3: Update
Clean, fix, and simplify with intention
Create a plan to:
Fill revenue-blocking gaps
Remove outdated elements
Fix what’s broken
Delete what no longer serves a purpose
Key areas to review:
Tags
Custom fields
Appointment types
Automations
Website and lead pages
Clarity beats complexity every time.
Step 4: Update Reporting
Make sure your dashboard reflects how you sell today
This is the step most people skip, and it’s the one that turns a clean CRM into a revenue system.
Once your structure is solid, your reporting should answer simple, important questions without manual digging. The CRM Dashboard already gives you the foundation to do this, if it’s set up intentionally. Below are the core KPIs to track.
Lead & Pipeline Health
New leads by source
Opportunities created
Opportunity conversion rate
Pipeline value and stage distribution
Sales Activity & Speed
Appointment set rate
Appointment show rate
Revenue Performance
Closed-won revenue
Close rate by pipeline
Revenue Comparisons
Renewals
Renewal timeline
Renewal rates
When reporting matches your cleaned-up structure, decisions get faster and sales conversations feel grounded instead of reactive.
Clean Systems Create Calm Momentum
A CRM clean-up restores trust. Follow-up feels easier. Sales feels supported. Reporting finally reflects reality.
If you want help stepping back, identifying what to fix first, and making sure your systems and reporting work together, that’s exactly why I created the Revenue Reset Bundle.
It combines a focused assessment, clear priorities, and practical guidance so you can reset your CRM with intention and get revenue moving again, without the stress.
👉 Learn more about the Revenue Reset Bundle and start your reset.
