Request only the missing field
Start with a known professional and choose work email, business phone or both. Strong identifiers reduce ambiguity before any source is called.
The TargetWise contact waterfall
Waterfall enrichment.
One accepted field at a time.
Waterfall enrichment checks eligible sources in sequence for each unresolved field. TargetWise keeps work-email and business-phone routes separate, returns the available result, and preserves what remains unknown.
20 emails + 5 business-phone results included
Follow one contact request
Animated example
| Source | Work email | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| TargetWise source | Waiting | Waiting |
| Partner 1 | Waiting | Waiting |
| Partners 2–6 | Waiting | Waiting |
| Partner 7 | Waiting | Waiting |
Email search readyPhone search continues
A separate search for each contact channel
Waterfall enrichment is a sequence with an acceptance gate.
A request moves to the next eligible source only while the field remains unresolved or fails the workflow’s stated acceptance rule. Email can stop while phone continues; neither field is guaranteed.
Accept or continue by field
A returned value is not automatically usable. Apply identity, evidence and field-specific checks before the route stops.
Keep one response contract
Receive matched, partial or unresolved results through TargetWise without combining each eligible supplier response yourself.
See the routing logic
Follow an email and phone through the network.
In this example, the first source has neither field. Partner 1 finds the email. The phone search continues until Partner 7 finds a number.
The example plays automatically. Switch to email-only or phone-only to see why field selection matters.
A production request can also end with one or both fields unavailable. More sources create more search opportunities, without guaranteeing a complete contact record.
Read about the source networkExplore the Waterfall Enrichment API
Follow one contact request
Animated example
| Source | Work email | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| TargetWise source | Waiting | Waiting |
| Partner 1 | Waiting | Waiting |
| Partners 2–6 | Waiting | Waiting |
| Partner 7 | Waiting | Waiting |
Email search readyPhone search continues
Make the stopping rule visible
Plot marginal yield before adding another source.
Run an authorised pilot, count only fields that pass your acceptance rule, and decide what minimum incremental yield justifies another stage. The model below is an illustration for your inputs, not measured TargetWise performance.
Browser-only decision model
Set a marginal-yield stopping rule
Use your own pilot results to see where accepted fields flatten. The starting values are fictional and are not TargetWise coverage data.
Illustrative stopping pointRegional source
603 accepted fields and 397 unresolved records after the selected route.
Primary source420 newly accepted · 42% of attempts
420 cumulativeIn route
Specialist source139 newly accepted · 24% of attempts
559 cumulativeIn route
Regional source44 newly accepted · 10% of attempts
603 cumulativeIn route
Final fallback16 newly accepted · 4% of attempts
619 cumulativeBelow threshold
Stage yield = newly accepted fields ÷ records attempted at that stage. A production rule should also include cost, latency, source rights, identity fit and field-specific acceptance criteria.
Inputs stay in this browser; this model sends no contact data and performs no enrichment request.
A percentage alone is not a production gate. Review source rights, identity fit, validation evidence, cost and latency together. For a reproducible sample design, use the contact-data evaluation workflow.
Where the value comes from
Measure accepted incremental fields, not the providers you can count.
The economic question is how many additional people you can responsibly reach for the total cost, latency and operating effort of the workflow.
| What to compare | Why it matters | What to measure |
|---|---|---|
| Incremental accepted fields | Some sources hold the same records or return values that fail your rule. A later stage adds value only when it fills a useful gap. | New accepted emails and phones beyond the previous stage, divided by records attempted there. |
| Cost per accepted field | Per-request, per-return and subscription billing create different effective costs. | All relevant usage and fixed cost divided by fields that pass the same acceptance rule. |
| Response-time budget | Extra source checks can add time even when no value is returned. | Median and tail response times in the workflow where enrichment actually runs. |
| Rights and evidence | A technically present value may not fit the intended permitted use or evidence requirement. | Source, retrieval time, validation state, geography and the rights needed for the workflow. |
| Operating effort | Separate supplier credentials, schemas and agreements take time to manage. | Work needed to integrate, monitor, retry, audit and maintain the service. |
Design the gate before the route
Know when not to keep searching.
A longer waterfall is not automatically better. Define the decision that each field must support, then stop when another lookup no longer earns its place.
Define acceptable before found
Specify correct-person identity, field type, validation evidence, freshness and permitted use before counting a result.
Use a bounded pilot
Include hard records, measure each stage separately and set cost, latency and marginal-yield limits before production.
Preserve uncertainty
Store the source and state you received. Keep unresolved or ambiguous fields visible rather than guessing or overwriting trusted CRM data.
This page explains the TargetWise routing method. The long-form waterfall guide covers the broader category; the product page covers API inputs, output states and current evaluation paths.
Every outcome has a next step
A partial result can still be useful.
Keep the fields that were returned, preserve the gaps, and choose the next action based on what your workflow needs.
Matched
The requested fields are available.
Apply your identity and data-acceptance checks before using them.
Partial
Some requested fields are missing.
Use an available email for an email workflow; leave the missing phone visible.
Not found
No accepted match was returned.
Keep the record unresolved. Check the person and company identifiers before trying again.
Your questions, answered
Before you get started.
Details to help you choose and put the data to work.
Explore the documentationTry TargetWise
See what TargetWise finds for your team.
Start with real contacts from the accounts you want to reach. Your free plan includes 20 emails and 5 business-phone results.