One way to use Local Lead Finder. Local Lead Finder is a $10 Google Sheets template I built that turns any Google Maps search into a lead list: every business, with phone, website, rating and reviews. This post is 18 ways to turn that list into money, each one run for real with the template. For the same ideas grouped by who they’re for, see all 18 lead generation ideas.
You want to make money with Google Maps. Search for it and page 1 is about how Google makes money from Maps, Local Guides points (which are points, not cash), and videos of people scraping Maps with AI and promising a number per day. Nobody shows you the list, and nobody tells you what to sell or who’s going to pay.
Here’s how I think about it. Google Maps doesn’t pay you. The businesses on it do, when you sell them something they need. So for each of these 18 ways I picked what you’d sell and who pays for it, pulled the real list with Local Lead Finder, a $10 Google Sheet I built that puts every business from a Google Maps search into rows, and wrote the first message I’d send. Every count below came from a formula on a real run.
TL;DR
- Google Maps doesn’t pay you; the businesses on it do. Each of these 18 ways is one thing to sell and one list of who buys it.
- The lists are real: 131 Chattanooga salons with no website, 255 Minneapolis property managers, 83 independent Boise cafes, 25 small Boise plumbers.
- The list doesn’t make money by itself. Pick one way, send one short message, and mark who you’ve contacted.
Who this is for
- Side hustler: you want a business that sells to other businesses, and you want to see the customer list before you start.
- Freelance web designer or marketer: five of these ways are services you can sell from your laptop.
- Contractor with a truck: four of them are recurring contracts from the people who manage dozens of properties.
- Maker or small food business: four of them are about getting your product onto someone else’s shelf or counter.
- Bookkeeper or virtual assistant: the smallest businesses on the list are the ones doing everything themselves.
Before you start
- A Google Places API (New) key
- Local Lead Finder set up in your Google Drive
- Local Lead Finder itself
- Something to sell, and a city to sell it in
Don’t have a Places API key yet? How to get one free. Haven’t set up the sheet? Setup takes 5 minutes.
Sell a service from your laptop
1. Build websites for businesses that don’t have one
Who pays: local businesses with no website listed on Google. In Chattanooga, 131 of 325 hair salons list no website. In East Ridge it’s 11 of 13.
First move: sort by the empty Website column and start with the busiest ones. The full list and how I found it.
2. Build one-page sites for salons stuck on a booking page
Who pays: salons whose “website” is a GlossGenius, Vagaro or Booksy page. 38 of the 325 Chattanooga salons.
First message: “Hi! I saw your Google listing goes straight to your GlossGenius page… I build simple one-page websites for salons, with your photos, your prices and a Book button that goes to the booking page you already use.” How to Sell Websites To Salons.
3. Sell websites to great businesses nobody can find
Who pays: businesses with great ratings and few reviews. 31 Spokane dentists are rated 4.8 or higher with fewer than 50 reviews, while the typical Spokane dentist has 209.
First move: sort by rating, then by fewest reviews. Local Lead Generation for Web Designers.
4. Manage social media for businesses that already post
Who pays: businesses that list Facebook, Instagram or Linktree as their website. 25 Chattanooga salons.
First message: “Hi! I’m a social media manager in Chattanooga. I noticed your Google listing links to your Facebook page. I can turn that into a simple one-page website and keep your posts going every week.” How to Find Social Media Management Clients.
5. Help businesses get more Google reviews
Who pays: businesses that are great but have few reviews. 38 Spokane dentists are rated 4.5 or higher with fewer than 52 reviews, when the median has 209.
First message: “Hi! I help dental offices in Spokane get more Google reviews. Your office is rated 5 stars but has [X] reviews; the typical practice nearby has about 200.” How to Get More Google Reviews for Local Businesses.
6. Do the books for small trades businesses
Who pays: small plumbers, electricians and roofers doing their own books. 25 Boise plumbers have under 20 Google reviews, and 14 of those are rated 5.0.
First message: “Hi! Small trades businesses lose evenings to invoices and receipts. I do the books for plumbers around Boise for a flat monthly fee. Who does your books right now?” How to Get Bookkeeping Clients.
7. Run ads or local marketing for the businesses Maps hides
Who pays: small and new businesses that don’t show up in the first 20 results. Google Maps showed me 20 plumbers in Boise. The sheet found 98, including 25 with under 20 reviews.
First move: pitch the ones Maps didn’t show you; they’re the ones who need help getting seen. Where to Get Local Leads.
Win contracts from property managers
8. Snow removal contracts
Who pays: property managers and shopping centers. One search across 87 Minneapolis areas found 255 property management companies and 153 real plazas.
First message: “Hi! I plow and salt commercial lots around Minneapolis. Do you have snow removal lined up for this winter? Happy to quote your lot this week.” How to Get Snow Removal Contracts.
9. Landscaping and lawn care contracts
Who pays: the same 255 property managers. Start with the 8 HOA and condo managers, then the 106 in the suburbs, where the lawns are.
First message: “Hi! I run a lawn care and landscaping crew around [suburb]. Do your properties have mowing and spring cleanup lined up for next season?” How to Get Landscaping Contracts.
10. Commercial cleaning contracts
Who pays: property managers and plazas. 63 of the 153 Minneapolis plazas have no phone number on Google, so their property manager is who you message.
First message: “Hi! I run a commercial cleaning company in the Twin Cities. Who handles cleaning for your common areas and unit turnovers right now?” How to Get Commercial Cleaning Contracts.
11. Junk removal and move-out cleanouts
Who pays: rental and apartment managers with tenants moving out every month. 35 of the 255 Minneapolis property managers are rental or apartment focused by name.
First message: “Hi! When a tenant leaves stuff behind, who hauls it? I can do same-week cleanouts at a flat rate per unit.” How to Get Junk Removal Jobs.
12. Become a vendor to every property manager in town
Who pays: property managers who hire painters, pest control, locksmiths and handymen over and over. All 255 in Minneapolis, ranked by Google reviews, with 106 outside Minneapolis and St Paul.
First move: start in one suburb, where a manager might only have a few vendors. Property Management Companies in Minneapolis.
Get a product onto someone else’s shelf
13. Wholesale a product to salons
Who pays: independent salons that sell retail at the front desk. 284 of the 325 Chattanooga results, after taking out chains and barbershops.
First message: “Hi! I make [shampoo name]… I’d love to send you a free case to use on your guests. If they like it, I’ll set you up with bottles to sell at the front desk.” How to Get Your Product Into Salons.
14. Sell on consignment to salons and spas
Who pays: nobody, until it sells. 55 spa, nail, wax, brow, lash and beauty shops in Chattanooga.
First message: “Hi! I make [brand], a razor pack designed for shaving underarms. I’d like to leave 12 packs on your counter on consignment: you only pay for what sells, and I’ll restock.” Selling on Consignment to Salons and Spas.
15. Sell pastries or coffee wholesale to cafes
Who pays: independent coffee shops. One search found 142 in the Boise area; 83 are independents.
First message: “Hi! I bake [pastries] in a commercial kitchen here in Boise. Could I drop off a free sample box for you and your staff this week?” How to Sell to Coffee Shops.
16. Supply every shop of one kind in your delivery area
Who pays: every coffee shop (or bakery, or gym) you can reach with a van: cups, syrups, oat milk, cleaning supplies. 142 Boise coffee shops: Boise 88, Meridian 19, Eagle 15, Garden City 13, Kuna 6.
First move: split the list by town and do one town a day. How to Build a Local Business List in Google Sheets.
Put businesses together
17. Sell group deals as a wedding planner
Who pays: couples, for a group hair day at one salon on a slow weekday. The list is the 284 independent Chattanooga salons, starting with the busiest.
First message: “Hi! I’m a wedding planner in Chattanooga. I’d like to offer my couples a group hair day: 8 to 12 guests at one salon, booked together. Do you have a weekday that’s usually slower?” Wedding Hair Group Deals.
18. Pick the industry with the most gaps, then sell into it
Who pays: whichever industry needs you most. No website listed on Google: 40% of Chattanooga hair salons, 17% of Minneapolis property managers, 16% of Boise plumbers, 11% of Boise coffee shops, 7% of Spokane dentists.
First move: run the count for two or three industries in your city before you pick one. How Many Small Businesses Don’t Have a Website?.
How to pick one
- Sell what you can already do. The list is the easy part. The service or product is yours.
- One list, several ways. The 255 Minneapolis property managers feed six of these. The 325 Chattanooga salons feed seven.
- Start with the smallest group worth calling. 8 HOA managers, 25 small plumbers, 38 booking-page salons. A short list gets called; a list of 300 sits in a tab.
Common pitfalls
- Expecting the list to make money by itself: it’s a list of people to contact. You still have to send the message.
- Messaging everyone the same thing: take out what doesn’t fit first. 16 of the 325 salon results were chains and 16 were barbershops.
- Trusting names: Honey Bunny was near the top of the busiest salons, and it’s a wax studio.
- Reading no website as no business: “no website listed on Google” doesn’t mean no website anywhere. Check before you pitch one.
- Searching before Find Areas finishes: Minneapolis started at 87 areas and grew to 150.
- Messaging the same business twice: mark each row Outreached and it stays green in every future search.
Learn the Google Sheets formulas in this post
- 3 Ways to Count in Google Sheets: every count in this post, like 131 of 325 with no website, came from a counting formula.
- How To Sort A Filter: sorting a filtered list, like the best-rated businesses with the fewest reviews.
- 200 REGEXMATCH Examples in Google Sheets: the pattern matching behind finding booking pages, Facebook pages and chains.
- Make a Quick Pipeline for Sales and More: a next step for tracking who said yes.
Better Sheets has hundreds more tutorials like these. If you want to get better at Google Sheets, join Better Sheets.
Other ways to use Local Lead Finder
- Lead Generation Ideas: 18 Local Businesses to Sell To: the same 18 lists, grouped by who they’re for.
- Where to Get Local Leads: Google Maps showed 20 plumbers, the sheet found 98: for anyone choosing where their leads come from.
- How to Get Snow Removal Contracts in Minneapolis: for snow plow and salting contractors going after commercial lots.
FAQ
Can you really make money with Google Maps?
Not from Google. Local Guides earn points, not cash. The money comes from selling something to the businesses you find on Maps: a website, a contract, a product.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. Local Lead Finder is a Google Sheet. You type a city and a keyword, and it fills a tab with businesses.
Is this a Google Maps scraper?
No. It doesn’t scrape Google Maps. It uses Google’s official Places API with your own key.
How much does it cost to start?
The sheet is $10, and free for Better Sheets lifetime members. Searches run on your own Google Places API (New) key, and Google gives up to 1,000 searches a month free. Each area is one request per results page.
Which way makes the most money?
I don’t know, and I won’t guess. It depends on what you already do well and how many people you message. The contract ways (snow, landscaping, cleaning) are recurring, which is why I’d look at them first if I had a truck.
Do these only work in these cities?
No. The city is just where I ran each one. Type your own city into Find Areas and your own keyword into the search.
Get the sheet
Local Lead Finder is $10, and free for Better Sheets lifetime members.
