For revenue operations teams, the challenges in 2025 are new: not in finding leads, but in accurately identifying who the right people are in the right accounts—and having clean, complete data about those people. Without coverage (known buying committee members) and accuracy (verified, up-to-date data), even the smartest strategies in ABM, intent-powered outreach, and ICP targeting fall apart.

This is where Waterfall Enrichment becomes the backbone of modern GTM execution.

Waterfall enrichment is the process by which account and contact records are further enriched using several data providers in a layered structure of priority order to maximize match rates, fill in missing fields, validate contact channels, and ensure accuracy—all without unnecessary data spend.

It's not just a data task; it's the infrastructure that enables sales execution, pipeline velocity, and revenue conversion.

Why Waterfall Enrichment Matters in 2025

1. Buying Committees Keep Getting Larger

B2B deals now commonly involve 6–12 stakeholders, including:

• Economic buyer
  
  

• Champion/user
  
  

• Technical evaluator
  
  

• Security/Compliance
  
  

• Procurement/legal
  
  

If your CRM only tracks one contact per account, your GTM strategy is operating blind.

2. Data Decays Every Month

On average, 30–40% of contact data becomes outdated each year due to:

• Job changes
  
  

• Company restructuring
  
  

• New emerging roles (e.g., RevOps, Platform Engineer)
  
  

If enrichment isn’t continuous, your campaigns are stale before they start.

3. Different Vendors Have Different Strengths

No vendor (ZoomInfo, Cognism, Apollo, Clearbit, Seamless) has:

• 100% global coverage
  
  

• Perfect phone/email verification
  
  

• Uniform technographic accuracy
  
  

Waterfall enrichment ensures you pull the best data from each source without overspending.

What is Waterfall Enrichment? (Simple Definition)

Instead of relying on one provider:

1. Try enrichment from your primary vendor.
   
   

2. If incomplete → send to secondary vendor.
   
   

3. If still incomplete → send to third vendor.
   
   

4. Store and validate data using rules that do not overwrite accurate fields.
   
   

5. Continuously refresh and monitor changes.
   
   

This creates complete, validated, continuously updated contact + account profiles.

The Waterfall Enrichment Layer Stack

1. Primary Vendor (High Accuracy, High Cost)

Used for initial enrichment & identity resolution.

• ZoomInfo
  
  

• Cognism
  
  

• Clearbit
  
  

2. Secondary Vendor (Broad Coverage, Cost Efficient)

Fills missing roles or contact channels.

• Apollo.io
  
  

• SalesIntel
  
  

• LeadIQ
  
  

3. Verification Layer (Email/Phone Validation)

Ensures deliverability and reduces bounce risk.

• ZeroBounce
  
  

• NeverBounce
  
  

• Kickbox
  
  

4. Behavioral & Intent Layer

Links contacts to what they are researching.

• G2 Buyer Intent

• Bombora Company Surge

• 6sense / BuiltWith
  
  

How to Design a Waterfall Enrichment Workflow

Step 1 — Define Required Data Fields

Account-level:

• Industry
  
  

• Revenue range
  
  

• Employee size
  
  

• Tech stack
  
  

• Headquarters region
  
  

• Intent scoring
  
  

Contact-level:

• Name

• Role + seniority

• Business email

• Direct dial / mobile

• LinkedIn URL
  
  

Step 2 — Set Vendor Priority Rules (Example)

If ZoomInfo returns valid email → store as primary

Else if Cognism returns email → store as secondary

Else if Apollo returns email → store as fallback

Phone validation rule example:

If phone confidence score < 55 → replace with next vendor source

Step 3 — Automate the Workflow

Tools:

• HubSpot Workflows

• Salesforce Flows

• Zapier / Workato / Tray.io

• Hightouch (Reverse ETL)
  
  

Triggers:

• New lead enters CRM

• Missing required data fields

• Monthly or quarterly refresh cycles

Step 4 — Refresh Continuously

Top-performing teams refresh every 60–90 days, especially for ABM target accounts.

Coverage vs Accuracy

Golden Rule: Coverage first, precision later.

How Waterfall Enrichment Supercharges GTM

• Better ABM targeting
  
  

• Higher outbound conversion

• Improved lead scoring & routing

• Lower bounce rates + stronger email domain reputation

• Faster deal cycles via multi-stakeholder alignment
  
  

Mini Success Example

Industry: Cloud Security SaaS
Problem: SDRs were calling invalid numbers & only engaging one stakeholder.
Implementation:

• ZoomInfo (primary)

• Apollo (secondary contacts)

• ZeroBounce (validation)

• G2 Intent + 6sense sync
  
  

Results after 8 weeks:

• +48% increase in buying committee contact coverage

• Bounce rate dropped from 14% → 2%

• Sales meetings per SDR increased 3.7X

• Outbound pipeline doubled in a quarter
  
  

Common Mistakes to Avoid

90-Day Implementation Plan

Final Summary

Waterfall enrichment is not just data hygiene; it is:

• A revenue multiplier

• A conversion-rate accelerator

• A time-saver for sales, marketing, and RevOps

If ABM, outbound, and intent-driven motion are the muscles of your GTM engine—
Waterfall Enrichment is the skeleton that holds everything together.