The Cost of Manual Prospecting
Let's do the math. A typical sales rep spends 2–3 hours building a list of 50 local business leads manually:
- Google searches: 30 min
- Yelp browsing: 30 min
- Copy-pasting into a spreadsheet: 45 min
- Finding contact details: 45 min
The Margo Approach
With Margo, the same 50 leads take under 5 minutes:
- Select business category
- Select location
- Apply filters (review score, website presence)
- Export to CSV
Quality Comparison
| Factor | Manual | Margo |
|---|---|---|
| Time per 50 leads | 2–3 hours | 5 minutes |
| Data completeness | Variable | Consistent |
| Scalability | Low | High |
| Freshness | Depends on search | Regularly updated |
| Export format | Manual CSV | One-click CSV/JSON |
The Real ROI
If a sales rep earns $60k/year, their time costs ~$30/hour. Manual prospecting for 50 leads costs $75 in labour. Margo costs a fraction of that — and frees your rep to spend time selling, not researching.
Conclusion
Manual prospecting had its place when there were no alternatives. Margo removes that constraint. Use the time you save on outreach, follow-up, and closing.