If you are building a contact list for sales outreach, phone numbers are essential details to include alongside email addresses. But how can you find someone’s phone number? In B2B, relying solely on email often isn’t enough. You should reach out to prospects personally by phone to gauge their interest in your product or service.
Phone numbers are not publicly available, as people tend to keep them more confidential compared to email addresses. Most people prefer not to be contacted directly for services. However, if your services are legitimate and targeted to the right audience, it becomes easier to receive a response from prospects.
Today, we will learn a free method to find someone’s phone number. These methods can be a bit tricky and time-consuming. Some of the best channels for finding phone numbers include:
- Search engine
- Online directories
- Social media
- Company websites
- Local records
- Lookup tools
You should follow these methods step-by-step to find phone numbers. You will also need potential prospects’ details such as their name, company, job title, country, and more. However, if you’re using LinkedIn, obtaining phone numbers and other contact information becomes much easier with the SaleQL lead generation tool. Try it’s free.
1. Search Engines
Finding information on search engines is very easy if you know the right queries for locating prospects’ phone numbers. However, obtaining a company’s phone number is much easier than finding a personal one. You will only find personal phone numbers if they are publicly available.
Now, let’s look at the queries you can use to find phone numbers on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and more. It’s important to know the company name, prospect’s name, and country before searching. Here are the search queries:
- [Company name] phone number
- USA Phone number [Company name]
- Procurement Department [Company name] phone number
- [Company name] phone number [job title]
- [Prospect Name] + [company name] phone number
These queries will help you find phone numbers listed on search engines. With this free method, you can find both company and personal phone numbers.
2. Online directories
You can use online directories like Whitepages, AnyWho, Truecaller, Yellowpages, and Zabasearch to find phone numbers of individuals and companies. Most companies are listed on Whitepages and AnyWho, making it easy to locate phone numbers through these directories.
Simply enter the names of prospects along with their location, and you’ll be able to retrieve their contact numbers.
- Whitepages
It has the huge contact database of U.S. residents. It’s a comprehensive phonebook directory where you can find accurate phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses.
- AnyWho
It is a free online directory that offers access to phone numbers, addresses, and email details. You can search for a contact number by entering the prospect’s name and location.
Likewise, there are other directories that operate in a similar manner. Each has certain limitations for free users, but with a paid subscription, you can search for an unlimited number of phone numbers.
3. Social Media Platforms
Searching for phone numbers on social media networks is another free and effective way to find contact information. Many social media users list their phone numbers on their profiles. You can search on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Visit your prospect’s profile on social media and copy the listed contact information. If the phone number and email address are not available, you can use tools like SalesQL to extract contact details from LinkedIn. SalesQL is compatible with LinkedIn’s free version, Sales Navigator, and Recruiter, enabling users to extract an unlimited number of contacts from LinkedIn. Learn step-by-step process of finding emails and phone numbers using SalesQL.
If you want to scrape prospect profiles from Facebook, Instagram, or other platforms, you can use PhantomBuster to simplify this task.
4. Company Websites
Company websites are another free source for finding phone numbers. Typically, you will find the company’s main phone number rather than the direct numbers of individual employees. However, on some websites, you may be lucky enough to find direct phone numbers of prospects.
If not, you can call the company’s main number and ask to be connected to the specific department or individual you’re trying to reach. In many cases, your call will be forwarded. This way, you can obtain the contact information of prospects for free.
5. Local Records
Another approach to finding phone numbers is through government records. However, this information is not easily available online, and it’s unlikely anyone would visit a government office to request prospect information, as it’s not practical for B2B marketing. Still, if you are determined to find someone’s phone number, you can try checking local records.
6. Lookup Tools
The best and easiest way to find phone numbers is by using lookup tools. There are many phone numbers and email-finding tools available on the market. We recommend using tools like
- SalesQL – LinkedIn email finder and lead generation platform
- PhantomBuster – Automates lead generation and enhances data enrichment.
- Wiza – Provides access to an accurate and reliable contact database.
- Waalaxy – An ideal tool for generating leads on LinkedIn.
- UpLead – A B2B database and provider of business contact information.
While this isn’t a free method, it saves you a lot of time and effort.
With these tools, you can effortlessly obtain prospects’ phone numbers. The pricing is also reasonable and won’t break your budget. In addition to phone numbers, you can extract email addresses and other relevant contact information to personalize your outreach campaigns.
Conclusion
These are the best methods for finding anyone’s phone number for free. By using these strategies, you can build an effective sales outreach list that yields great results and boosts sales. However, as you know, phone numbers are not easily available online. With free methods, you will find a limited number of phone numbers, and the process can be time-consuming due to manual effort.
On the other hand, using paid lead generation tools can provide up to 70% of prospects’ phone numbers, including mobile numbers. These tools instantly provide contact details, saving you hours of work and allowing you to connect with more people and close more deals for your business.
