Pre-Deployment Data Readiness Gate (Onboarding)

Pre-Deployment Data Readiness Gate (Onboarding)

1. 01

   Freeze the client's contact schema before any workflow is built

   Export the current field list from the CRM and mark each field as required, optional, or deprecated. Any field that no one can name an owner for gets archived rather than migrated.

2. 02

   Run a deduplication pass and record the merge rate

   Log how many records collapsed (for example 12,400 down to 9,800) so the client sees the starting condition in writing. That number becomes the baseline for every later hygiene claim.

3. 03

   Confirm consent and opt-in provenance for each channel

   Email, SMS, and WhatsApp carry different consent rules. Pull the source of opt-in for a sample of 200 records per channel and flag any batch with no traceable origin.

4. 04

   Map lifecycle stages to the client's actual sales motion

   Interview one sales rep and one account manager, then reconcile their described stages against the CRM picklist. Mismatched stage definitions are the most common cause of broken scoring downstream.

5. 05

   Document the integration inventory with auth method and rate limits

   List every connected system (storefront, helpdesk, ad platform, billing) plus whether it authenticates by API key or OAuth and what its request ceiling is. Platforms such as Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign expose different limits, and the ceiling shapes how many journeys can run at once.

6. 06

   Set the scoring model inputs and publish the weighting table

   Write down which behaviors add points, which subtract, and what threshold triggers sales handoff. A scoring model with undocumented weights cannot be defended when a client asks why a lead was ignored.

7. 07

   Get written sign-off on the readiness report before build starts

   The report lists unresolved data gaps, the agreed baseline metrics, and the named client contact for each integration. Build work that starts before sign-off tends to reopen scope mid-delivery.