Lesson 3.1.4
Choose the right research depth for the job
What this costs
This is the lesson about what determines cost, so read it before scheduling anything.
Before you start
Course 2.1.
Deeper research costs more and is not always better. On an automated workflow that runs weekly, the depth you choose is multiplied by every cycle for the life of the list, which makes it the highest leverage setting you will touch.
How to choose, whatever the tiers are called
| Situation | Depth | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying pass on a wide, unfiltered list | Shallowest available | You are cutting, not deciding. Precision here is wasted |
| Deciding whether to spend on an expensive column | Middle | Needs to be right, does not need to be exhaustive |
| A claim that will appear in an email | Deepest | Being wrong in front of a prospect costs more than the credits |
| A weekly automated refresh on a growing list | Shallowest that still works | The cost is multiplied by every future cycle |
Test the shallow tier first. On many qualifying questions it agrees with the deep tier on the great majority of rows, and the disagreements cluster in cases you would want a human to look at anyway.
Check yourself
0 of 2 answered1.On a weekly automated refresh, which depth should you default to?
2.How do you decide whether the cheap tier is good enough?
Related and next
This lesson is written and complete. Its screen recording is still to come, and the written walkthrough is designed to stand on its own without one.