How to find new clients for a marketing agency that serves local businesses
To find new clients for a marketing agency, choose one niche of local businesses, list the ones with a visible marketing gap such as few reviews, no website or a low rating, and contact the owner with one specific observation about their business. As of 12 Nov 2026, the 67Leads warehouse holds 150,200 sellable US local businesses, of which 39,032 have 9 reviews or fewer, 27,378 list no website and 692 are rated under 4 stars on 50 or more reviews.
Key numbers
- 150,200Sellable businesses with a phone
- 27,378No website on the listing
- 39,0329 reviews or fewer
- 692Under 4 stars with 50+ reviews
Live from the 67Leads warehouse, computed (US Central) when this page was served. Sellable means graded as the trade, with a phone, opted-out businesses removed. Methodology.
Shortcut: the marketing agencies page lists the filters agencies use, the niche opportunity finder ranks trades in a city by gaps, and the lead list cost calculator shows what a list costs.
Step 1: Choose a niche before a channel
Agencies that serve everyone compete on price. Agencies that serve one trade compete on knowledge. Pick one trade with a clear way to measure success, such as phone calls, and where a booking is worth enough to pay for marketing: roofing, plumbing, HVAC, landscaping, tree work, dentistry, law. Look at the lead list for each trade and our guides to selling to roofing companies and selling to HVAC companies for the buyer's view.
Step 2: Find the gap with data
Do not guess which businesses need marketing. The gaps are visible in public listings:
| Gap | What it means | Businesses today |
|---|---|---|
| Few reviews | 9 reviews or fewer | 39,032 |
| No website | Listing names no site | 27,378 |
| Site down | Listed site did not load | 7,827 |
| Low rating | Under 4 stars, 50+ reviews | 692 |
The pages for each are few reviews, no website, dead websites and low rated. The niche opportunity finder ranks trades in a city or state by the same four gaps, so you can see where your service has the most to fix.
Step 3: Match the gap to your service
- Few reviews goes to a reputation or local SEO offer.
- No website or a dead website goes to a web design offer.
- A low rating goes to a reputation offer, with an operations conversation attached.
- A site that works but is old goes to a redesign or conversion offer; test with the website audit report.
One offer per list. A message that says "we do SEO, web, ads, social and email" is a message that says nothing.
Step 4: Build the list and check it
Pull one trade in one metro: name, phone, rating, reviews, website, owner where known. Spend two minutes on each of the top 40: open the listing, confirm it is open, and write the observation you will say. The GBP audit scores a listing against local competitors in a minute.
Step 5: Contact the owner
Phone first for local trades, email second. The email should be short and specific: their name for the business, one observation, one question. Always include your postal address and a working opt-out (the FTC's CAN-SPAM guide has the rules). For wording see cold email to local businesses: templates, and for volume see how many inboxes and domains for cold email.
A four-week plan
- Week 1. Choose the niche and the gap. Build 60 businesses. Write the one-sentence offer.
- Week 2. Call the first 30 and email the ones with a verified address. Log every outcome.
- Week 3. Follow up with everyone who asked for something. Call the next 30.
- Week 4. Review: how many reached, how many asked for a proposal, how many bought. Change one variable, such as the trade or the opener.
Prove it with one small win
The easiest first sale is a fixed, small piece of work with an obvious before and after, for example a review routine for one month. Ask for a short written note when it works, and use it with the next ten businesses. Do not invent testimonials or quote results you cannot show.
Keep a record of what you learn
Every call teaches you something about the trade: what owners already pay for, what they distrust, what they asked you. Write it down in one line per call. After a few weeks those lines become your sales page, your objections list and your next offer, and they come from real conversations rather than a guess about what a roofer or a plumber wants.
How 67Leads fits
67Leads is a search over public business listings and company websites. Search is free with contacts masked, your first 67 leads export free, and after that credits start at $6.70 per 1,000. Of the 150,200 businesses, 7,056 have an email the mail server confirmed. Start at the marketing agencies page and the niche opportunity finder.
Questions
Where do marketing agencies find local clients?
Mostly from referrals, content and direct outreach. Direct outreach is the one you can start today: list local businesses with a visible gap and contact the owners.
How many local businesses could an agency pitch?
As of 12 Nov 2026, the 67Leads warehouse holds 150,200 sellable US local businesses with a phone. Of those, 39,032 have few reviews and 27,378 have no website.
Should a marketing agency pick a niche?
Yes. A niche lets you reuse the research, the script and the case, and lets the owner see you understand the trade.
How many outreach messages does it take to land a client?
It depends on your offer and market, and nobody can give you a fair average. Track calls made, owners reached, proposals sent and clients won over your first 50 contacts.
Get 67 leads freeNo card. Search is free with contacts masked.