Getting B2B outreach right is harder than most people admit. You're chasing the right people, but their info is buried, out-of-date, or just plain wrong. And even if you find an email, you still need to stand out from a hundred other cold pitches. If you’re tired of tools that overpromise and underdeliver, and want something that actually helps you find and reach leads, this guide is for you.
I’ll walk through what actually matters in a tool like Contactout, which features save you time, and which ones sound good but rarely move the needle. If your job depends on building a solid list of prospects (and actually reaching them), you’ll want to read on.
What Does Contactout Actually Do?
Let’s start simple: Contactout is a sales prospecting tool. It helps you find emails, phone numbers, and social profiles for people (mostly professionals) so you can reach out to them for sales, recruiting, partnerships—you name it.
But here’s the catch: almost every tool says they “find emails.” What really matters is how accurate, fast, and usable that data is. That’s what separates a decent tool from one that just burns your time (and budget).
1. The Chrome Extension: Your Shortcut to Direct Contact Info
The heart of Contactout is its Chrome extension. This isn’t just a little button that sits there doing nothing. When you’re on LinkedIn, the extension lights up and shows direct contact info for the person whose profile you’re viewing—emails (personal and work), phone numbers, and sometimes even extra social links.
Why it matters: - Saves time: No more copy-pasting names into four other tools, or sending InMails that never get read. - Finds real emails: Not just “guesses” based on company domains (which usually bounce), but actual addresses pulled from their database. - Bulk actions: You can pull info for multiple profiles at once, then export it to a CSV or your CRM.
What’s not perfect:
- It works best on LinkedIn. If your workflow is elsewhere, it’s a bit less magical.
- Sometimes, you’ll still get a dud email, but the hit rate is much better than most.
Pro tip: Always double-check bulk exports for obvious duds before blasting out emails. Even the best tools miss sometimes.
2. The Contactout Database: Not Just LinkedIn
While the extension gets most of the love, Contactout’s web app has a full-blown database you can search directly. It’s basically a giant Rolodex of professionals, with filters for things like: - Job title - Company size - Location - Industry - Seniority level
You can build lists, save searches, and segment by whatever matters to you.
What’s useful: - Fast to build a targeted list from scratch. - Great for discovering new leads, not just tracking down emails for people you already know.
Where it falls short:
- Smaller companies or non-corporate roles are sometimes underrepresented. If you’re hunting for startup founders, you’ll have better luck than if you’re looking for, say, local plumbers.
Pro tip: Use the “recently updated” filter if you want fresher data—older records are more likely to bounce.
3. Accuracy and Data Depth: The Real Deal-Breaker
You can have all the bells and whistles, but if the emails bounce or the info is five years old, it’s worthless.
Contactout’s strengths: - Personal emails: This is where Contactout really stands out. Most tools only guess at work emails, but Contactout often finds personal addresses (think Gmail, Yahoo, etc.). These are much less likely to bounce and more likely to get a response. - Supplemental data: You’ll often get phone numbers, alternate emails, and sometimes social media—helpful for multi-channel outreach.
Limitations: - No database is perfect. You’ll still get some outdated info—especially for people who’ve recently changed jobs. - Contactout is a bit weaker outside North America and Western Europe. Data thins out for other regions.
Pro tip: Always use an email verifier before bulk campaigns—no matter how good the tool. Contactout’s built-in checks are decent, but it’s worth being paranoid.
4. Integrations and Exports: Keeping Your Workflow Simple
If a tool can’t play nice with your CRM or outreach system, it’ll just slow you down.
Contactout’s approach: - Easy CSV exports: You can quickly push lists into Excel, Google Sheets, or upload to your CRM. - Direct integrations: There are native integrations with Salesforce, Hubspot, and a few others. Not as many as the biggest enterprise tools, but enough for most teams. - Zapier support: If you’re handy, you can hook it into almost anything else.
What’s missing: - No deep “automation” or built-in drip campaigns. Contactout is about getting you the data, not sending the emails for you. - If you live entirely inside tools like Outreach.io or Salesloft, you’ll be doing some manual exporting.
Pro tip: Use Google Sheets for an extra layer of data cleaning before importing to your CRM. It’ll save you headaches later.
5. Team Features: Scaling Up Without Losing Track
If you’re working solo, you may not care about team features. But if you’re running a sales or recruiting team, these handy bits matter: - Shared folders and lists: Everyone can see which leads have already been found, so you don’t duplicate work. - Usage tracking: See who’s using up credits, and where you’re getting the most value. - Admin controls: Set roles, manage billing, kick out freeloaders.
Limitations: - No deep reporting or analytics. This isn’t Hubspot. If you want dashboards and funnel tracking, you’ll need to build your own.
Pro tip: Regularly clean up shared lists—old, stale data adds up fast and will confuse your team.
6. Pricing: Is It Worth the Money?
Let’s be blunt: Contactout isn’t the cheapest tool, but it’s not crazy expensive either. You pay for credits (i.e., each contact you unlock). There’s a free trial, but serious outreach means you’ll need a paid plan.
What you get for the money: - Higher accuracy than most of the cheap/free scrapers. - Access to personal emails—this is the “secret sauce” for response rates.
When to pass: - If you’re just starting out and only need a handful of leads, the free trial or even free alternatives might be enough. - If you need super-deep data enrichment (like everything about a company), you’ll need to pair Contactout with other tools.
Pro tip: Track your cost per successful reply or booked meeting, not just per contact. That’s the real ROI.
7. What to Ignore (and What’s Overhyped)
Some features sound nice but rarely move the needle: - Social media scraping: Most “extra” data is just LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook links. Helpful, but don’t expect phone numbers for everyone. - AI copywriting: Contactout doesn’t do this (and that’s fine). Most “AI email writers” churn out bland, generic pitches anyway. - Built-in campaign tools: Contactout keeps it simple. If you want full-on outreach automation, look elsewhere.
The Bottom Line: Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Expect Magic
Contactout is a solid choice if your main goal is to find accurate, direct contact info for professionals—especially if you live in LinkedIn and care about response rates. It’s not a do-everything sales platform, and it won’t send emails for you or write your pitch. But it does what it claims, and does it better than most.
Don’t overcomplicate things. Start small, test a few lists, see what works in your niche. Clean your data, personalize your outreach, and iterate. Most tools are only as good as the process you build around them—and Contactout is no exception.
Happy hunting.