Qualify and research prospects
How do I find businesses that actually need a new website?
Check that a business is real, active and able to pay, then write down two or three specific, verifiable website problems before you make any claim.
What you will be able to do
Decide in a few minutes whether a business is worth contacting, then write down two or three specific, verifiable problems with its website. Every claim you later make in an email comes from these notes, not from a guess.
Before you start
- A copy of the prospect qualification worksheet.
- Your own phone, for testing sites the way their customers see them.
Why this matters
The fastest way to lose an owner's trust is to tell them their site is broken when it is not. "Your site does not work on mobile" lands badly when they read it on their phone, on their perfectly fine site. Research lets you write one sentence that is specific and true.
Qualifying also saves you from your own enthusiasm. A redesign idea is worthless if the business closed last year, just paid someone else for a new site, or is a franchise that cannot change its website.
Step by step
Tick each step as you do it. Your ticks are saved in this browser.
Check the business is real and active
Look at the map listing. Recent reviews? Current opening hours? Does the phone number on the site match? If the last review is three years old or the listing says permanently closed, move on.
Check they can decide and pay
A franchise location usually cannot change the brand website. A chain with a marketing department is a different sale. A single location business with the owner named on the About page is ideal. Look for a real address, staff photos and more than a handful of reviews.
Check they have not just rebuilt
Look in the footer for a copyright year or a recent agency credit. If they launched a new site two months ago, note it and skip them for now. No website at all is not a reason to skip; Win businesses that have no website covers those.
Open the site on your phone first
Many local visitors arrive on a phone. Time how long before you can read and tap something. Try to find the phone number, the booking button and the hours. Write down exactly what happened: "Took about 6 seconds before the page was usable on my phone over 4G" or "Phone number is an image, cannot tap to call."
Check the main job of the site
Use the main job sentence from Choose a niche and an offer. For a dental clinic: can a parent find insurance info, read reviews and book? Count the taps. Note anything that blocks the job: a booking form with fourteen fields, insurance info only in a PDF, a contact form that errors.
Run a quick speed and basics check
Use a free page speed tool and save the result with a date. Check the site loads over HTTPS without a warning. Look at the page title in the browser tab: does it say what the business does and where, or just "Home"?
Look at design and trust signals
Is the text readable without zooming? Real photos or only stock images? Do the map reviews appear on the site? Is the copyright year old? Note only what a visitor would notice.
Pick the top two or three problems and score the prospect
On the worksheet, write each problem as a plain fact: what you saw, on which device, on what date. Score the prospect strong fit, maybe or skip. Only strong fits and good maybes go on your outreach list.
For a second opinion on one site, the free Swokei website audit checks design, SEO, speed and mobile for one URL. Confirm what it says with your own eyes before you put it in an email.
Example
Say you are researching Hillside Family Dental, a fictional single location clinic in Austin.
Business: Hillside Family Dental, Austin TX
Active? Yes. Map listing has reviews from last month, hours current
Can decide? Yes. Dr. Patel named as owner on About page, single location
Recent rebuild? No. Footer says (c) 2017, no agency credit
Problems found (checked on my phone and desktop, 14 Oct):
1. On my phone the homepage took about 7 seconds to become usable.
Page speed tool mobile score saved as a screenshot.
2. "Book online" button leads to a contact form with 12 fields and no
option to pick a time. On mobile the submit button sits under a
cookie banner.
3. Insurance info is only in a PDF linked from the footer.
Not problems (do not mention):
* Site is on HTTPS, no warnings.
* Photos are real and recent.
Score: Strong fit
The "not problems" list stops you from making lazy claims later.
Bad research note:
Site looks old. Bad SEO. Slow. Needs redesign.
None of that can go in an email without sounding like a guess, because it is one.
Common mistakes
- Only checking on desktop. Always test on a real phone and say which one you used.
- Calling something broken without evidence. "Slow" means nothing. "About 7 seconds to become usable on my phone" is a fact they can check.
- Mixing taste with problems. Disliking their colors is not a problem that costs bookings. Stick to what blocks the main job.
- Researching for an hour per site. You need two or three solid facts, not a report. Aim for five to ten minutes per prospect once practiced.
Try it yourself
Take five businesses from your shortlist and fill in the prospect qualification worksheet for each: active, can decide, recent rebuild, two or three dated problems with evidence, a "not problems" list and a score.
Time: about 40 minutes.
Deliverable: five completed worksheets and a list of which ones you will contact.
Resources
- Prospect qualification worksheet fill one in per prospect
- Write outreach emails that get replies turn your notes into a message
- Choose a niche and an offer for the main job sentence you test against
Finished this lesson?
Mark it complete to track your progress through the course.
Last reviewed October 18, 2026. Prices, laws and tool terms change, so check current terms before you rely on any figure.