If you’re running B2B sales or marketing, you already know how much bad data slows you down. Out-of-date contacts, missing info, generic emails—every little gap means wasted effort. This guide is for anyone who’s sick of guessing and wants a grounded, practical approach to making their contact lists actually useful. We'll walk through how to use Lonescale tools to enrich your B2B contacts, what works, what to skip, and a few pitfalls to avoid.
Why bother enriching B2B contact data?
Let’s get this out of the way: enrichment isn’t magic. It just means filling in missing details about the companies and people you want to reach. Done right, it lets you:
- Personalize outreach (which actually gets replies)
- Route leads more intelligently
- Build better reports and forecasts
But enrichment isn’t a silver bullet. If your base data is garbage, no tool will turn it into gold. So, start with as clean a list as you can get—then enrich.
Step 1: Get your contact list ready
Don’t skip this. The saying “garbage in, garbage out” is dead-on here. Before you even open Lonescale, do a quick cleanup:
- Remove duplicates: No one likes getting the same email twice.
- Standardize formats: Make sure names, phone numbers, and company names are consistent.
- Delete obvious junk: Contacts with missing emails, weird characters, or test data? Ditch them.
Pro tip: Even a simple Excel “Remove Duplicates” and some manual scanning will save you headaches later.
Step 2: Upload your data into Lonescale
Lonescale supports several ways to upload data, but you’ll probably use CSV files. They don’t need to be fancy, but they should include:
- First name
- Last name
- Company name (or domain, if you have it)
- Email (if you’ve got it)
- Any other fields you want to match or fill in
How to upload: 1. Log into your Lonescale account. 2. Choose the “Data Enrichment” section. 3. Upload your CSV, mapping your columns to Lonescale’s fields. 4. Double-check the preview—catching errors now saves you pain later.
What works: Lonescale’s mapping is fairly forgiving, but weird column names (like “Biz Name” instead of “Company”) can trip it up.
What doesn’t: Uploading lists with a ton of missing or obviously fake data. Lonescale can’t enrich what doesn’t exist.
Step 3: Pick your enrichment options
Here’s where you decide what you actually want to add to your contacts. Lonescale lets you enrich:
- Company data: Industry, size, location, website, funding, tech stack, etc.
- Contact data: Job title, direct phone, LinkedIn profile, work email, and more.
- Intent signals: (If you pay for it) Indicators that a company is in the market for your product.
Don’t just select everything. More data isn’t always better. Focus on what’ll actually help your workflow:
- Sales? Titles, direct emails, and LinkedIn are gold.
- Marketing segmentation? Industry, company size, and location matter.
- Account-based? Tech stack and recent funding can be useful.
Pro tip: Extra data means extra cost. Only enrich what you’ll use.
Step 4: Run the enrichment
Click “Enrich” and let Lonescale do its thing. How long it takes depends on your list size and what you’re pulling in. For most lists, it’s a few minutes.
What to expect: - Some contacts will come back with all fields filled; others will have gaps. No tool has 100% coverage, no matter what the sales guy says. - You’ll get a downloadable file or results in the dashboard, depending on your settings.
Watch out for: - Old info: Some job titles or emails might be stale, especially for fast-moving industries. - Guesswork: If you see a lot of “info@company.com” emails, that’s a red flag. Consider filtering these out before sharing with sales.
Step 5: Review and clean your enriched data
This is where most teams drop the ball. Don’t just import everything straight into your CRM.
- Scan for blanks and generic emails: If you just paid to enrich a list and still have lots of “hello@” or “contact@” addresses, consider removing those.
- Check for obvious mismatches: Sometimes, enrichment tools might fill in the wrong company or title. Spot-check a sample.
- Tag enriched records: Add a field in your CRM or spreadsheet noting the data came from Lonescale and when. This saves confusion later.
Pro tip: Test a small batch before enriching your whole database. See if the results are actually helping your reps or marketers.
Step 6: Put your enriched data to work
Don’t let your shiny new data just sit there. Here’s what to do next:
- Update CRM records: Merge new fields in, but don’t overwrite critical info unless you’re sure it’s better.
- Personalize outreach: Use titles, company news, or LinkedIn links in your messaging.
- Segment and prioritize: Build lists for your best-fit accounts, or score leads based on new data.
- Share with the team: Let your sales or marketing folks know what’s new, and get feedback on what’s actually useful in the field.
What works: Using enriched data to trigger smarter, more relevant outreach—think referencing someone’s tech stack or recent funding.
What doesn’t: Blindly trusting new data, or flooding your CRM with every possible field “just in case.”
What Lonescale does well (and what it doesn’t)
The good: - Solid coverage: Lonescale’s company data is usually accurate for SMBs and mid-market. - LinkedIn enrichment: If you care about social selling, this is a plus. - Intent signals: Not perfect, but better than pure guesswork for timing outreach.
What to watch for: - Contact emails: It’s hit-or-miss, especially outside North America or for niche industries. - Real-time updates: Data is as fresh as public sources. For fast-changing orgs, double-check before hitting send. - Price creep: The more fields you enrich and the more contacts, the higher the bill. Know what you need.
Ignore the hype: No enrichment tool gives you verified, direct dials for C-level execs at Fortune 500s. If that’s what you’re after, you’ll be disappointed.
Common mistakes (and how to dodge them)
- Enriching junk data: If your source list is full of typos or bad emails, fix that first.
- Overcomplicating: You don’t need every field. Pick what actually moves the needle.
- Skipping review: Trust, but verify. Always spot-check results.
- Not involving end users: Get feedback from sales and marketing on what helps. Don’t just dump in new fields and hope.
Final thoughts: Keep it simple, iterate, and cut what you don’t need
Don’t overthink enrichment. Start small, focus on the data that actually helps your team, and ignore the rest. Lonescale can save you a lot of manual research, but only if you’re clear about what you need and keep your process tight. If it’s not moving the needle, adjust. The best enrichment strategy is the one your team actually uses.
Now, get your list cleaned, enriched, and back out to your team—without all the fuss.