A B2B contact database is a searchable store of work emails, phone numbers and job records for the people inside the companies you sell to. On a real outbound list, any one database matches about 60% of the rows on its own, and running three sources in sequence takes the same list into the 90s. For the providers ranked by price per email, see our comparison of the 12 best B2B data providers. This guide covers what a price list leaves out: what makes a record usable, how fast it goes stale, and when to build your own list.
Key Findings
- One B2B contact database matches about 60% of a real outbound list. Three sources in sequence take the same list into the 90s, per Reachly's outbound stack page.
- A record is usable only after five checks pass in order: the account fits the ICP, the person holds the role now, a work email is found, it verifies, and the mailbox is safe to send from.
- Contact data goes stale fast. Median tenure with a US employer is 4.1 years, and 20.6% of workers have been in their job a year or less (BLS, January 2026).
- Raw lists run 10 to 25% catch-all before verification, depending on industry and country.
- Reachly takes a mailbox out of rotation for 1 to 2 weeks when bounces pass 2%, so every record is verified before it is sent.
- Buy one database for a large, US-heavy TAM. Build a waterfall list when the TAM is narrow, regional or enterprise, or let a managed outbound team build it for you.
What is inside a B2B contact database?
Every B2B contact database holds two layers of data, and most buying mistakes come from judging one layer when the campaign depends on the other.
The company layer
The company layer describes the account: industry, headcount, location, website, tech stack and funding. It answers whether an account belongs in your TAM at all. Reachly builds this layer by mapping the TAM from 10+ data sources, then adds intent signals like headcount growth and new funding so the list is ordered by timing as well as fit. Our guide to B2B data enrichment covers how those fields get added.
The contact layer
The contact layer describes the person: name, title, work email, mobile number and LinkedIn profile. It answers whether there is someone reachable inside an account you already chose. A database can be strong on one layer and thin on the other, which is why a big company count says little about how many people you can actually email.
The fields that decide whether a record is usable
Six fields carry most of the weight. Each one breaks in its own way, so each one needs its own check.
| Field | What it tells you | What breaks it | How to check it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company domain | Which account the person belongs to | Acquisitions, rebrands, regional domains | Match it against the TAM map before any contact lookup |
| Job title | Whether the person owns the problem you solve | Promotions, inflated titles in small teams | Normalize it against the ICP titles you agreed on |
| Current employer | Whether the record is still live | Job changes, which hit about 1 in 5 people a year | Compare it with the live LinkedIn profile |
| Work email | Whether cold email can reach them | Job changes, catch-all mail servers | Verify on send day, split out catch-all |
| Mobile number | Whether cold calling is possible | Number changes, local calling rules | Buy it only for accounts in a calling sequence |
| LinkedIn profile | Whether a second channel exists | Inactive profiles | Connect only with profiles that show recent activity |
Why does no single B2B contact database cover your whole list?
Each provider builds its records from different sources, so each one misses a different slice of your list. Querying one provider and accepting the misses gives about a 60% match rate. Querying three in sequence, and paying only on a hit, takes the same list into the 90s.
How the sequence runs
Reachly holds the list in Clay and runs the lookups there. Icypeas sees every row, Prospeo sees only what Icypeas missed, and BetterContact sees what is left. Because the later lookups run on a shorter list, the cost per verified contact ends up lower than a single source charges for a worse match rate. The full build, column by column, is in our Clay waterfall enrichment tutorial.
Why region and segment move the number
Coverage depends on how visible people are online. Office-based teams with public team pages and active LinkedIn profiles match well. Brick-and-mortar businesses, founder-led services firms and private companies outside the US match far less, which is why Reachly runs a separate sourcing workflow for each of those groups. A database that tests well on US software accounts can return a fraction of that on a list of 80 accounts in Singapore, Sydney and Bangkok, so test on the rows you will actually send to.
How fast does B2B contact data go out of date?
Faster than most teams budget for. A contact database is a snapshot, and every job change after the snapshot turns a correct record into a bounce or a wrong person. The US labor data puts numbers on that churn.
| Source | Date | Figure | What it means for your list |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLS, Employee Tenure | Jan 2026 | Median tenure with current employer: 4.1 years | A record that is right today is likely wrong within a few years |
| BLS, Employee Tenure | Jan 2026 | 20.6% of wage and salary workers had been with their employer a year or less | About 1 in 5 people on any list started their job in the last year |
| BLS, Employee Tenure | Jan 2026 | Private sector median: 3.9 years, against 5.6 in the public sector | Most outbound targets sit in the faster-moving sector |
| BLS, Employee Tenure | Jan 2026 | Ages 25 to 34: median of 3.0 years, against 9.6 for ages 55 to 64 | Early-career titles like SDR and marketing manager churn fastest |
| Google, Email sender guidelines | Current | Keep the user-reported spam rate under 0.10% and never reach 0.30% | Mailbox providers judge the sender, so stale data costs the domain |
What stale data does to a sending domain
Bad records damage the sender before anyone notices them in a report. Old addresses bounce, and the wrong person marks the email as spam. That is why Reachly treats bounce rate as a stop signal: when a mailbox passes 2%, it comes out of rotation for 1 to 2 weeks while the list is cleaned. Our guide to email bounce rate covers the thresholds by provider.
When to verify
Verify right before the send, after the list is final. A record verified when the database was bought has had months to change. Run every address through a separate verifier on the day the sequence goes live, as our guide to email verification for cold email sets out.
How do you check a contact record before it reaches a sequence?
Run five checks in a fixed order, and only pass a record forward once it clears the one before. The order keeps paid lookups and verifier credits on accounts that already fit.
The record check we run
Copy this list into your own process. It works on a database export, a Clay table or a list someone handed you.
What to do with catch-all addresses
A catch-all mail server accepts mail for any address at the domain, so a verifier cannot confirm whether the person exists. On raw lists that is 10 to 25% of rows. Send to them in a smaller segment from a mailbox you watch closely, and drop the segment if its bounce rate climbs. Our explainer on catch-all email covers how verifiers grade them.
Should you buy a B2B contact database or build your own list?
Buy one database when the market is large and easy to see. Build a list from several sources when the market is small, regional or high value, and every missed account costs pipeline.
When one database is enough
A large, US-heavy TAM with plenty of office-based buyers is where a single database does well. If you are testing a new offer, a free tier or entry plan gives enough rows to send a first campaign and read the replies. The B2B data provider comparison lists which plans give free credits.
When a built list wins
A narrow TAM, an enterprise list or a campaign across APAC needs more than one source. Here the list starts from the TAM map, gets buying signals added, and only then goes through the contact waterfall. For Primal, Reachly ran signal-based campaigns on hiring, funding, declining traffic and SEO ranking drops, which produced 85+ SQLs in 6 months and an 8% positive reply rate.
| Situation | Setup | Number to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Large US TAM, testing a new offer | One database on a free or entry plan | Verified emails per 500 rows |
| Narrow or enterprise TAM | TAM map, then the waterfall, then a manual check of the top accounts | Share of ICP accounts with at least one verified contact |
| APAC or mixed regions | Waterfall tested separately per country | Verified match rate by country |
| Signal-based campaigns | Company layer refreshed with new signals before each send | Days between the signal and the first email |
| Cold calling first | Mobile numbers bought only for accounts in the call sequence | Connect rate per 100 dials |
What it costs to have it built
Reachly runs the whole thing as one service: TAM mapping, ICP definition, signal enrichment, contact sourcing and verification, then the campaigns and the meeting booking. It is one flat monthly retainer from $3,500, described on the outbound lead generation service page.
Get a verified list and the meetings it books
Reachly maps your TAM from 10+ sources, runs the provider waterfall, verifies every record and books qualified meetings, on one monthly retainer from $3,500.
Book a call with Reachly →
Frequently asked questions
What is a B2B contact?
A B2B contact is a person you reach in their work role, at a company that could buy from you. A contact becomes a qualified meeting only when the person matches the ICP criteria agreed before the campaign. When that mapping is done well, 80 to 90% of the meetings Reachly books meet those criteria.
What is a B2B database?
A B2B database is any store of company or contact records used for sales and marketing. Some hold only company data, such as industry and headcount, and are used to size a market. A B2B contact database is the subset that adds the people and the ways to reach them.
How can I find B2B contacts?
Search a contact database by title and company, run an email finder on a name and a domain, or start from the company team page and LinkedIn. Reachly emails first, then reaches non-repliers on LinkedIn, where connection requests are accepted 20 to 25% of the time on average and about 30% on the best profiles.
What are some good B2B data sources?
For the company layer, the most useful sources show change: job postings for hiring, funding announcements, traffic and ranking drops, and headcount growth on LinkedIn. Those are the signals that tell you when to reach out. For the contact layer, use email finders in sequence and a separate verifier.
