The SphereScout dashboard gives you real-time access to millions of business contacts. As soon as you adjust a filter, the result count updates instantly so you can gauge list size before you commit to an export. This guide walks you through every filter available and how to combine them effectively.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.spherescout.io/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Open the dashboard
Navigate to spherescout.io and sign in. You land directly on the search dashboard — the main interface for building your contact list.Run a search
Select a business category
Click the Business Categories field and type to search, or browse the list. The category filter is multi-select, so you can combine related industries in a single search.Example: Select “Restaurant” and “Café” together to find all food and beverage operators in your target area.
Choose a country
Open the Country selector and pick your target market. You can select a single country or multiple countries if your campaign spans borders.Example: Select “United States” for a US-only campaign, or select “United States” and “Canada” for a North American list.
Narrow by region or city (optional)
Once you select a country, the State/Region and City fields become available. Use these to focus on a specific geographic area.
- State/Region — Filter to one or more states, counties, or departments depending on the country.
- City — Focus on contacts within a specific city.
More specific locations take priority. If you select a city, results are scoped to that city even if you also have a region selected.
Apply presence filters
Under Contact Details, toggle the filters for the contact information you need. Each filter limits results to businesses that have that specific data point in the database.
| Filter | What it does |
|---|---|
| Has Email | Only contacts with an email address |
| Has Phone | Only contacts with a phone number |
| Has Website | Only contacts with a website |
| Has Facebook | Only contacts with a Facebook page |
| Has Twitter/X | Only contacts with a Twitter/X profile |
| Has LinkedIn | Only contacts with a LinkedIn page |
| Has Instagram | Only contacts with an Instagram profile |
Toggle 'Primary activity only' (optional)
Enable Primary activity only to exclude secondary or satellite business locations. When this is on, results include only businesses where your selected category is their main line of work — not businesses that also happen to operate in that category.This is useful when you need tightly focused lists. Keep it off when you want maximum coverage.
Review the result count
The total number of matching contacts appears at the top of the results area as you apply filters. A preview table shows the first few records — business name, email, phone, city, and country — so you can verify data quality before downloading.When you are satisfied with the count and the sample data, you are ready to export.
Tips for better searches
Start broad, then narrow
Begin with only a category and country. Check the total count, then add region or city filters to bring it to the size you need. This avoids accidentally over-filtering and missing contacts.
Use presence filters for reachability
Always enable at least “Has Email” or “Has Phone” before exporting. Exporting contacts without the data point you plan to use wastes credits on unreachable records.
Combine categories
Use multi-select categories to build lists that span related industries — for example, combining “Plumber”, “Electrician”, and “HVAC Contractor” for a home services campaign.
Use 'Primary activity only' for precision
When targeting specialists — like dedicated law firms rather than businesses that occasionally offer legal services — enable “Primary activity only” to keep your list focused.