Build a 20-lead prospect list.

Lead research is simple, a bit boring, and always in demand. Find 20 good-fit businesses, check every detail, and hand over a list a sales team can use today.

Tools needed
Google Sheets, Google Maps, LinkedIn (free account)
Time commitment
3 to 4 hours
Difficulty
Beginner-friendly
01

The client brief

Pixel Harbor is a two-person web design studio. They build websites for independent dental clinics in Texas. They want 20 clinics that look like they need a new website, with the right person to contact at each one. Made-up client, fake data.

Lead list template in a spreadsheet with a note describing the ideal client
What the client sent you. Tap to open full size.

Download the lead template (.csv)

02

Your deliverables

03

Do the task

1

Write the must-haves

Put them at the top of your sheet: independent (not a chain), in Texas, website looks old or broken on a phone.

2

Find the businesses

Search Google Maps for dentists in three or four Texas cities. Open each website on your phone. Slow, ugly or hard to use is a good fit.

3

Find the right person

Check the About or Team page first, then LinkedIn. You want the owner or the office manager.

4

Say why they fit

One specific line per row, like "No online booking, menu broken on mobile". This is what makes your list worth paying for.

5

Check everything

Click every link. Remove chains and duplicates. Only add emails the business lists publicly on its own site.

6

Hand it over

Sort best fit first and put your three-line summary at the top.

Screenshots to capture for your portfolio

  • The full list (blur real names and emails before you post it)
  • A close-up of your "why they fit" column
  • Your summary notes
More tips
  • Twenty good leads beat two hundred bad ones. Clients can tell.
  • Track how long it takes you. Clients will ask how many leads you can do per hour.
  • Never buy or scrape lists, and never add personal phone numbers.
  • Want a second sample? Pick a new niche, like gyms or accountants, and do 20 more.
Turn this into a portfolio piece
Add it to your work samples: the problem, what you did, the result, one screenshot. Or try another mock task
Build your portfolio →