Lead List Researcher

Build clean lists of potential customers for small sales teams.

What the work is

Almost every B2B startup needs lists of potential customers — names, company URLs, sometimes verified email addresses — so their sales team has someone to email. As a beginner lead researcher you get a target profile (e.g. 'marketing managers at US dental clinics') and you build a clean spreadsheet of matching people, usually 50–200 rows at a time. The work is mostly browsing LinkedIn and the public web, then cross-checking with a free email-finder. Accuracy matters far more than speed because bad emails damage the client's sender reputation. Once a client trusts your accuracy, lead-research work tends to recur month after month.

Day-to-day responsibilities

• Find people that match the brief, not just any contact.
• Verify company URL, role, and country before adding a row.
• Use an email-finder tool only as a hint — verify before relying on it.
• Deliver in the exact column order the client requested.

Tools you actually need

• LinkedIn
• Google Sheets
• An email-finder tool

How beginners get hired

The most reliable hiring channels for this role today are listed below. Sign up on one or two — not all of them at once — and complete each profile fully before applying. Half-finished profiles convert poorly even when your skills are real.

• Upwork
• PeoplePerHour
• Direct outreach to small B2B startups

Beginner tips that actually work

• Always check the LinkedIn profile says they currently hold the role.
• Aim for 95% deliverable emails — bounces ruin your reputation.
• Keep a personal blacklist of obviously generic addresses.

How and when you get paid

Per-project via PayPal, Wise, or platform escrow. See our guide to remote payment methods for how each option works in your country, and how to avoid the verification delays that catch most beginners off guard.

Country-specific guides

Pay norms, popular hiring platforms, and payment routes vary a lot by country. Pick yours below for the version of this guide tailored to where you live.