{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Software & SaaS Review","title":"How to Find Potential Customers for Your Business: 5 Free Methods (2026)","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":457,"description":"How to Find Potential Customers for Your Business: 5 Free Methods (2026)\nEvery agency owner, freelancer, and B2B service business hits the same wall: how do you find potential customers without paying for ads or buying an expensive contact database? This episode walks through five real methods that work in 2026. One of them is a hands-on technical approach that Mike Lovatt, founder of Pipefire, published in detail on the r/B2BSales subreddit in October 2026. We cover all five, including the exact tools and steps Lovatt laid out, and finish with a faster shortcut for anyone who wants results without the setup work.\nThe five methods are: searching Google Maps by hand, going back through your own network and past clients, browsing trade association member directories, running a DIY data pull using Claude and DataForSEO, and using Pipefire's free lead tool. The DIY method is the most technical. It connects Claude to DataForSEO through DataForSEO's official MCP server, then asks Claude to pull business names, websites, phone numbers, ratings, and review counts from Google Maps for a specific niche and city. The websites then run through Hunter for email discovery and verification. Lovatt's own worked example involved artificial turf installers in San Jose: searching \"landscapers\" returned 50 results, 19 of which were tree services and only 11 of which mentioned turf anywhere on their site. Widening the search to the Bay Area and tightening the trade term to \"artificial turf installation\" produced 36 real turf companies, zero tree services, and a list worth actually contacting. The total cost was about one dollar. That is a useful test before spending money on a contact database. Cold email to businesses must follow the rules where you send, including an easy opt-out, a real sender address, and no misleading subject lines. See pipefire.ai/cold-email/is-cold-email-legal for a plain-language overview.\nPipefire serves agency owners and B2B service businesses that want a...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/M57-zlUGHXBPDZrDLbepWRrOt_I4AFRWCzyAR4AHOW8/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9lMmQ5/MDBjZmRkMTBlZDY1/ZWU4NzE5YTNkMTFk/NGY3My5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}