How do I find duplicates in Salesforce?

Use Salesforce's built-in Duplicate Management feature under Setup → Duplicate Rules. You can also run reports that match on email address, company name + last name, or phone number to identify potential duplicates across your Lead and Contact objects.

Should I clean Leads or Contacts first?

Start with Leads. Unconverted Leads that match existing Contacts are the biggest source of duplicate data in most Salesforce orgs. Clean and convert eligible Leads first, then address Contact and Account duplicates.

How do I prevent data from getting dirty in Salesforce?

Implement validation rules on critical fields, enable duplicate matching rules, require key fields during record creation, and set up automated enrichment for new records. Regular data quality dashboards help you catch issues before they compound.

Salesforce CRM Cleanup Checklist

Comprehensive checklist to audit, clean, and maintain your Salesforce org data for accurate reporting and efficient sales operations.

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Data Audit

Run a Salesforce data quality reportUse Reports to check field completeness across Leads, Contacts, and Accounts. Identify which standard and custom fields have the lowest fill rates.easy
Identify duplicate Leads and ContactsUse Salesforce's built-in Duplicate Management rules or run a report matching on email, name, and company to quantify your duplicate rate.medium
Audit Lead conversion pathsCheck for Leads that should have been converted to Contacts/Opportunities but are stuck in the Lead object, creating duplicate data.medium
Review Account hierarchy accuracyEnsure parent-child Account relationships are correct and that subsidiaries are properly linked to parent companies.hard

Clean Records

Merge duplicate Leads and ContactsUse Salesforce's merge feature (up to 3 records at a time) or a data management tool for bulk merging. Preserve the record with the most recent activity.medium
Remove or archive stale LeadsIdentify Leads with no activity in 12+ months and either re-enrich them or move them to a 'Stale' status to keep your active pipeline clean.easy
Standardize picklist valuesReview Industry, Lead Source, and other picklist fields for inconsistent values. Consolidate variations and update records in bulk.medium
Fix or remove invalid email addressesRun email verification on your database to flag invalid, disposable, and role-based addresses. Update or remove records with undeliverable emails.medium
Normalize address and phone dataStandardize address formatting (state abbreviations, ZIP codes) and phone number formats (country codes, consistent formatting).hard

Optimize Configuration

Review and clean up unused custom fieldsIdentify custom fields with low adoption (under 10% fill rate) and either promote their use or remove them to reduce complexity.easy
Set up validation rules for key fieldsCreate validation rules that enforce data quality at the point of entry — require proper email format, phone format, and critical fields on record creation.hard
Configure duplicate matching rulesSet up Salesforce Duplicate Rules with matching criteria on email, company name, and phone to prevent new duplicates from being created.medium

Enrich & Automate

Enrich incomplete records with verified dataUse Cleanlist to bulk-enrich Leads, Contacts, and Accounts missing critical fields like email, phone, title, and company details.medium
Schedule automated data quality checksSet up scheduled reports or dashboards that track data quality KPIs weekly: field completeness, duplicate rate, bounce rate, and stale record count.medium

Pro Tips

01Start with a full backup using Data Export or Data Loader before any bulk operations
02Focus on the Lead-to-Contact conversion path first — unconverted Leads are the #1 source of duplicates
03Use Salesforce's Mass Transfer and Mass Update tools for bulk field standardization
04Create a 'Data Steward' role responsible for ongoing data quality monitoring
05Integrate Cleanlist with your Salesforce org for automatic enrichment of new records

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find duplicates in Salesforce?
Use Salesforce's built-in Duplicate Management feature under Setup → Duplicate Rules. You can also run reports that match on email address, company name + last name, or phone number to identify potential duplicates across your Lead and Contact objects.
Should I clean Leads or Contacts first?
Start with Leads. Unconverted Leads that match existing Contacts are the biggest source of duplicate data in most Salesforce orgs. Clean and convert eligible Leads first, then address Contact and Account duplicates.
How do I prevent data from getting dirty in Salesforce?
Implement validation rules on critical fields, enable duplicate matching rules, require key fields during record creation, and set up automated enrichment for new records. Regular data quality dashboards help you catch issues before they compound.

Related Cleanlist Features

Data Enrichment Email Verification Waterfall Enrichment

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