CRM Contacts
Finding a contact's phone number
Looking up a missing number from the contact, what it costs, and what to do when it finds nothing.
Last updated September 2, 2026
Plenty of contacts arrive with an email address and nothing else. Find phone number on the contact searches a business contact database and writes a number back onto the record if it finds one.
Running a lookup
Open the contact and choose Find phone number. It usually takes a few seconds; occasionally the provider is slow and you are told so. If a number is found it is saved onto the contact — there is nothing to copy across.
It is a metered service
Lookups draw on a monthly allowance shared by your whole organisation. Use them on contacts you intend to call, not as a bulk enrichment pass over the database — the allowance is finite and shared.
When it finds nothing
- Sole traders and very small businesses are frequently absent — no allowance is wasted on a miss.
- Try the company instead: a business number from its listing is often more useful than a personal mobile.
- Check the email address on the contact is their work address; a personal one gives the search nothing to match a business against.
CHECK WHO YOU HAVE REACHED
A found number is a best match from a third-party database, not a confirmation. People change jobs and databases lag, so confirm you are speaking to the right person at the right business before you launch into the pitch.