Field sprawl is one of the fastest ways to make a CRM less trustworthy. Teams stop using fields consistently, automation becomes brittle, and reports become harder to interpret.
Keep only fields with a clear job
Every field should support one of three things: qualification, routing, or reporting. If a field does not clearly serve one of those jobs, it probably does not need to exist in its current form.
Match stages to real operating decisions
Pipeline stages should reflect meaningful transitions in the business process, not generic activity labels. This keeps reporting more useful and makes ownership clearer.
Review usage quarterly
Governance is not a one-time cleanup. Periodic review helps teams catch duplicate fields, outdated logic, or automation dependencies before they create bigger reporting problems.