How to Use LeadThur to Find Verified Business Contacts: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Every sales team knows the feeling. You buy a list of 5,000 "qualified" leads. You spend three days crafting the perfect email sequence. You hit send. And then the bounce reports roll in. Thirty percent of your emails fail to deliver. The phone numbers you were given belong to a fax machine in a closed-down bakery. The "decision-maker" you reached is actually a receptionist who has worked there for two weeks.

That is the real cost of bad contact data. It is not just the price of the list. It is the wasted hours, the damaged sender reputation, and the pipeline that looks full but is actually empty.

This tutorial walks through a faster, cleaner process. You will learn how to use LeadThur to generate a verified prospect list in under 60 seconds. No spreadsheets purchased from sketchy vendors. No manual scraping. Just a repeatable workflow you can run before your coffee gets cold.

The Cost of Bad Contact Data

Let's put some numbers around the problem. Industry studies consistently show that B2B contact data decays at a rate of roughly 2-3% per month. That means a list you bought six months ago is already missing or wrong on over 15% of its records. For a list of 1,000 contacts, that is 150 dead ends.

But the decay is only half the story. The other half is accuracy at the source. Many traditional directories scrape data once and never update it. They aggregate business listings from sources that were outdated before they were even compiled. When you buy from these vendors, you are paying for the illusion of data, not the data itself.

LeadThur takes a different approach. Instead of selling you a static database, it pulls fresh information from the web at the moment you search. This means the contacts you export are current as of your search time, not as of some unknown date when a crawler last visited a directory.

What LeadThur Does (and What It Doesn't)

Before diving into the steps, it is worth being clear about the tool's scope. LeadThur is a business search platform. You type in a query and a location. It returns a list of matching businesses. Each record includes direct phone numbers, verified emails, physical addresses, websites, and Google ratings.

According to the company's own documentation, a single search returns over 1,000 contacts in about 60 seconds. The platform is rated "Excellent" with a 4.4/5 score on Trustpilot, based on user reviews.

What LeadThur is not is a CRM. It does not manage your pipeline, track email opens, or automate follow-up sequences. It is a sourcing tool. Its job is to hand you a clean, verified list that you can then push into whatever outreach system you already use.

The platform does include an email sender and an AI outreach writer built into the dashboard. That is a nice convenience for solo operators who want to move from search to send without switching tabs. But for larger teams, the export function is likely the more important feature.

Step 1: Define Your Niche and Location

The quality of your output depends entirely on the quality of your input. If you search for "restaurants in Lagos," you will get a broad, unfiltered list. If you search for "vegan-friendly restaurants in Lekki Phase 1 with outdoor seating," you will get a smaller but far more relevant list.

Before you open LeadThur, spend five minutes writing down your ideal customer profile. Answer these questions:

• What industry or niche are they in? (e.g., logistics, dental clinics, SaaS startups)
• What geographic area do they operate in? (e.g., Nairobi, Texas, all of Germany)
• What size are they? (e.g., solo founders, 10-50 employees, enterprise)
• What problem do they have that your product solves?

For example, if you sell accounting software to small retail shops, your search query might be "boutique clothing stores" or "independent bookshops." If you sell fleet management solutions, your query might be "delivery services" or "logistics companies."

LeadThur is designed for freelancers, agencies, and digital marketers targeting any city worldwide. There is no restriction to a specific country or region. That said, the more specific your query, the better your results. A search for "IT services in Berlin" will return a different—and more useful—set of contacts than a search for "businesses in Germany."

If you need help structuring your query, LeadThur's blog has a guide on building lead lists for SMEs that walks through the thought process in more detail.

Step 2: Run Your First Search

Once you have your query and location defined, running the search is straightforward. New users can try two free searches before purchasing, so you can test the platform without committing to a subscription.

Here is the workflow:

1. Log in to your LeadThur dashboard.
2. Enter your business query in the search bar. Use natural language. "Plumbers in Austin" works just as well as "plumbing contractors Austin TX."
3. Enter your target location. This can be a city, a state, or even a specific district within a major metro area.
4. Hit search.

Within about 60 seconds, LeadThur returns a list of matching businesses. The platform claims over 1,000 contacts per search, though the exact number will depend on the density of your niche and location. A search for "coffee shops in Manhattan" will return more results than "yacht brokers in Luxembourg."

Each record in the results includes the business name, phone number, email address, physical address, website URL, and Google rating. This is the core data package. You do not need to click through to a separate page to see the contact details—they are all displayed in the results view.

One thing to note: the data is pulled fresh from the web, not from a pre-existing database. This is an important distinction. It means that when you search, LeadThur is actively looking for current information about each business. This is why the verification rate is higher than what you would get from a static directory.

Step 3: Filter and Prioritize Results

A raw list of 1,000 contacts is a starting point, not a finished product. The next step is to filter that list down to the prospects most likely to convert.

LeadThur's search filters allow you to narrow results based on specific criteria. While the exact filter options can vary depending on the data available for your search, the general principle is to work from broad to narrow.

Here is a practical filtering sequence:

1. Start with location. If your initial search covered a wide area, narrow it to the specific neighborhoods or districts where your best customers are located.
2. Filter by Google rating. A business with a 4.5-star rating is likely well-established and has a reputation to protect. A business with 2 stars might be struggling—which could be an opportunity or a red flag, depending on what you sell.
3. Check for a website. If a business has no website, they are probably not investing in their online presence. That might make them a poor fit for a web design service, but a great fit for a payment processing solution.
4. Look at the phone number and email fields. If these are populated, the business is contactable. If they are missing, you will need to decide whether to skip them or try to find the information elsewhere.

The goal is not to get the list as small as possible. The goal is to remove the records that are clearly irrelevant so you can focus your outreach energy on the prospects who actually fit your buyer profile.

For a deeper dive into filter strategies, LeadThur's guide on targeting high-value clients in Lagos and Abuja offers techniques that apply to any major city.

Step 4: Verify and Enrich Contacts (If Needed)

LeadThur verifies the contacts it returns, but "verified" means the email address is formatted correctly and the domain is active. It does not guarantee that the specific person you want to reach is the right contact.

For most use cases, the verification level is sufficient. If you are sending a general pitch to a business, the main email address or the phone number on file is exactly what you need.

However, if you are doing account-based selling and need to reach a specific decision-maker—say, the Head of Marketing or the Procurement Manager—you may need to enrich the LeadThur data with additional research.

Here is a quick enrichment workflow:

1. Export your LeadThur list to a spreadsheet.
2. Identify the businesses you want to target at a deeper level.
3. Visit their website and look for the team or about page.
4. Use LinkedIn to find the specific person in the role you want to reach.
5. Cross-reference their email format (e.g., firstname@company.com) with the domain you already have from LeadThur.

This step is optional. For many businesses—especially local service providers and small retailers—the general contact information is perfectly adequate. You can pitch the business owner directly using the phone number or the main email address.

Step 5: Export and Start Outreach

Once you have your filtered list, the next step is to get it out of LeadThur and into your outreach workflow.

LeadThur allows you to export your contacts as a CSV file. This file will contain all the fields you saw in the results view: business name, phone, email, address, website, and rating.

From there, you have several options:

• Import into your CRM. If you use HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, or a similar tool, you can map the CSV columns to your contact fields and import directly.
• Use LeadThur's built-in email sender. The platform includes an email sender and an AI outreach writer. You can compose your pitch and send it without leaving the dashboard.
• Start a manual outreach sequence. If you are doing a small, high-touch campaign, you might prefer to send personalized emails one at a time.

If you are new to cold outreach, it is worth spending time on your messaging before you send anything. A list of 1,000 verified contacts is worthless if your email gets deleted in two seconds. LeadThur's blog has a collection of cold email templates for African sales teams that provide a solid starting point for crafting your pitch.

The key is to move quickly. A verified list decays over time, just like any other data. The businesses you found today might close next month, or change their email address, or get acquired. The longer you wait to reach out, the more of your list becomes stale.

Pro Tips for Getting the Most Out of LeadThur

After running dozens of searches, you start to notice patterns. Here are the tips that make the biggest difference in output quality:

Use multiple search variations. If your niche can be described in several ways, run several searches. "Dental clinics," "dentists," and "dental practices" will return overlapping but not identical results. Merge the lists and remove duplicates to maximize your coverage.

Segment by rating. A business with a 4.8-star rating and 200 reviews is a different prospect than one with a 3.5-star rating and 12 reviews. The former is likely busy and established. The latter might be struggling and more open to new solutions. Segment your list by rating and tailor your pitch accordingly.

Check for the website field. If a business has no website listed, it is either very small or very traditional. This can be a signal. If you sell digital marketing services, these are your prime targets. If you sell enterprise software, skip them.

Combine with other data sources. LeadThur gives you the foundation. You can enrich it with LinkedIn data, industry news, or social media insights to build a more complete picture of each prospect.

Use your free searches wisely. New users get two free searches. Do not waste them on vague queries. Use your first search to test the platform with a highly specific query. Use your second search to compare results across two different niches or locations.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even with a good tool, there are ways to sabotage your own prospecting. Here are the mistakes we see most often:

Searching too broadly. "Businesses in London" is not a search query. It is a data dump. You will get thousands of results, most of which are irrelevant to what you sell. Always narrow your query to a specific niche.

Ignoring the location field. If you sell locally, you need local contacts. A business that is headquartered in your city but serves customers nationwide might not be the right fit if you are looking for face-to-face meetings.

Not filtering before exporting. Exporting a raw list of 1,000 contacts and then trying to clean it up in Excel is a waste of time. Use the filters in LeadThur to narrow your list before you export.

Waiting too long to reach out. As mentioned earlier, contact data decays. If you build a list today and do not send your first email until next month, you have already lost a percentage of your leads.

Sending the same email to everyone. A list of verified contacts is not a license to spam. Personalize your outreach based on the business type, size, and location. Even a small touch—like mentioning their Google rating or a recent review—can dramatically improve your response rate.

Relying on LeadThur for everything. LeadThur is a sourcing tool. It is not a replacement for a good CRM, a well-crafted pitch, or a follow-up strategy. Use it for what it does well—finding verified contacts quickly—and build the rest of your sales process around it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I structure my search query to get the most relevant results?

Use specific, industry-standard terms rather than generic descriptions. Instead of "places that sell food," search for "Italian restaurants" or "bakery cafes." Add a location to narrow the geographic scope. The more precise your query, the more relevant your results.

What filters can I apply to narrow down the list?

LeadThur allows you to filter by location, Google rating, and presence of contact information like phone numbers and websites. You can also sort results to prioritize businesses with the most complete profiles.

How do I know the contacts are verified?

LeadThur pulls data fresh from the web at the time of your search, rather than relying on a static database. This means the email addresses and phone numbers are checked against current online sources. The platform's Trustpilot rating of 4.4/5 reflects user satisfaction with data quality.

Can I use LeadThur for any city or niche?

Yes. The platform is designed for users targeting any city worldwide. The depth of results will depend on how well-represented your niche is online in that specific location. A major metro area will naturally return more results than a small rural town.

What should I do after I have the list?

Export the list as a CSV and import it into your CRM or email outreach tool. Alternatively, use LeadThur's built-in email sender and AI outreach writer to compose and send your first message directly from the dashboard.

How does LeadThur compare to free directories?

Free directories like Yelp or Google Maps can give you business names and addresses, but they rarely provide direct email addresses or verified phone numbers. LeadThur aggregates this information into a single exportable list, saving you hours of manual copying and pasting. For a more detailed comparison, see this analysis of LeadThur versus traditional directories.

Are there any limitations on the number of searches?

New users can run two free searches before purchasing a subscription. Paid plans allow for more searches, but the exact limits depend on your chosen tier. Check the pricing page on the LeadThur website for current details.

How do I integrate LeadThur with my outreach tools?

LeadThur exports standard CSV files that can be imported into virtually any CRM or email marketing platform. Map the columns (name, email, phone, etc.) to your contact fields during the import process, and you are ready to go.

Conclusion and Next Steps

Finding verified business contacts does not have to be a slow, manual grind. With the right search setup, you can go from a blank screen to a list of 1,000+ qualified prospects in about a minute.

The workflow is simple:

1. Define your niche and location clearly.
2. Run your search in LeadThur.
3. Filter by rating, location, and contact completeness.
4. Export your list.
5. Start outreach immediately.

The last step is the one most people skip. They build the list, pat themselves on the back, and then let it sit in a spreadsheet for two weeks while they "perfect" their email template. Do not do that. The data is fresh now. Use it now.

If you have not tried LeadThur yet, remember that new users get two free searches. Use them to test the platform with your specific niche and location. See for yourself whether the contacts come back verified and relevant.

And if you are looking for more guidance on the broader process of lead generation, LeadThur's blog has practical resources on building lead lists, using search filters effectively, and crafting cold emails that actually get responses. The tool is only half the battle. The other half is knowing how to use it well.

Start a search and see what a verified list looks like.

Sources

• LeadThur Reviews on Trustpilot
• How to Find Verified Business Contacts in Nigeria Without Buying Low-Quality Lists
• LeadThur — Find 1,000+ Business Contacts in Any City in 60 Seconds
• LeadThur — Find Business Contacts In Seconds
• The Ultimate Guide to Finding and Verifying B2B Leads in Nigeria 2026
• How to Find Verified Business Emails in 2025