I Accidentally Destroyed My Nimble CRM Database

Not totally, severely damaged, and that’s ok. Here’s what happened. In preparation for starting to work with two new Nimble CRM clients who have substantially large and junked up databases, I decided to experiment with AI to see if I could deploy that in the cleanup. I always test things on myself first. Sacrificial lamb. Smart.

Things were going great until I wanted to make it even better and then tragedy struck. I was testing the import merge commands hoping to get a better final product. I did not think that through completely and ended up creating a massive amount of duplicates. Things went downhill from there.

Pissed off and frustrated, I deleted the last import. This was a mistake as imported records had merged with existing ones and tagged those with … the tag I was deleting. Dohhh! What now?

I did a fairly comprehensive check to make sure that contacts that I was currently working with were still there and, with a few exceptions, they were. Adding those I had accidentally deleted was an easy task.

I then began a process of checking records page by page and I was appalled! How in the hell did a huge chunk of these records even get in my database? Years of mindless imports, from a variety of sources, was the obvious culprit. When I used to do contact syncing from Google to Nimble was another.

Google syncing to Nimble is one-way only … Google to Nimble. Even if I was syncing, my Google database would not have been damaged and it is my master database that I can refer to if needed. Outlook syncing, however, is two-way and deleting all of these contacts from Nimble could potentially damage Outlook as well.

It is important to note that contact deletion in Nimble does have protections. If you manually delete records in Nimble, you can wholesale or selectively recover those before you empty the trash or it is automatically purged based on your settings. Deletions via syncing include a similar safeguard.

It is extremely easy to create contacts in Nimble either from my Gmail inbox or from Nimble’s inbox due to two-way email syncing. This is how I easily recreated records where needed.

The great news is that I feel liberated! In this day and age we often become data hoarders. He with the biggest contact database wins regardless of the quality of that database. I recall a client once telling me that he didn’t need more prospects. He needed better prospects. I’m happily moving forward based on that premise.

I’m still cleaning. This has been a tedious process, but a good one and I have learned some great lessons starting with taking the time before adding contacts. Do it right and do it sparingly. I am impatient by nature and driven by a high sense of urgency. I suppose that what don’t kill you will only make you stronger!

I also know that, while my AI powered cleanup routine will probably never be perfect due to limitations outside of my control, used judiciously, it will be a huge help in that process! Baby steps. I’m close to finalizing it.

Please be sure to check out these top 100 sales blogs on Feedspot. I am honored to be one of them!

Are you thinking about a CRM? If you would like to explore whether or not Nimble CRM might be right for you, please book a free 30-minute Zoom consultation with me by going to my calendar. To learn more about our Nimble training and implementation services, please visit our Nimble CRM training services page.

In addition to Nimble CRM, I also offer sales training and training on LinkedIn as well as getting started with AI (Artificial Intelligence). I can even assist with hiring new salespeople with initial interviews and pre-hire DISC personality assessments.

I would also be happy to connect you to managed I.T. and telephony services or to a marketing professional who I know and trust or to an automated yet personalized and human-to-human LinkedIn prospecting system. Please reach out to me at craig@adaptive-business.com for an introduction!

Bio
Twitter
YouTube
Latest Posts

Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!