Knowledge Base Active LeadGenTool for County-Level Lead Generation
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Official Troubleshooting & Setup Manual

LeadGenTool Support Center

Answers to the most common setup and usage issues — and how to reach us for anything else.

Where to Start: 60-Second Resolution

Most issues with LeadGenTool come down to one of a handful of setup steps — a missing file, an API key that isn't enabled yet, or a search that's simply too narrow for the data that exists. Check the sections below first; most people find their answer in under a minute. If not, our contact info is at the bottom of this page.

Quick Jump: ⚙️ Startup & Licensing 🔑 Search & API Keys 📊 Results & Data 📋 Quick Checklist
Golden Rule of Setup

The 3 Required Files in Your Extracted Folder

For LeadGenTool to launch smoothly, these files must sit in the exact same extracted folder. Do not run directly from inside a compressed .zip.

LeadGenTool_v1.0 (Extracted Folder)
⚡ LeadGenTool.exe
Main Application
🔑 license.lic
Exact filename (no .txt)
⚙️ .env
Contains GOOGLE_API_KEY
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Startup & Licensing Issues

Solutions for license validation, extracted files, and Windows launch warnings.

Licensing Error

“Invalid license” or “License not found” when I open the app

Why this happens: This almost always means license.lic isn't sitting in the same folder as LeadGenTool.exe, or it was renamed incorrectly.
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The Step-by-Step Fix

  • 1 Confirm you fully extracted the downloaded zip — don't run the exe from inside the zip file itself.
  • 2 Check that license.lic is in the exact same folder as LeadGenTool.exe (not in a subfolder).
  • 3 Make sure the file is named exactly license.lic — not license.lic.txt or similar (Windows sometimes hides file extensions automatically).
  • 4 If it's still missing or won't validate, email us and we will re-send your key right away.
Crash on Launch

The program closes immediately after I double-click it

Why this happens: This usually happens when the app is run directly from inside the zip file, or when a required file is missing from the folder.
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The Step-by-Step Fix

  • 1 Right-click the downloaded zip → Extract All — then run the exe from the newly created extracted folder.
  • 2 Confirm both .env and license.lic exist in that same folder.
  • 3 Try running it once more — if it still closes instantly, email us the exact error text (if any appears) or a quick screenshot.
Windows System Prompt

Windows says “Unrecognized publisher” or shows a SmartScreen warning

Why this happens: This is expected — LeadGenTool is independently distributed software and isn't yet digitally code-signed. It's not a sign of malware; Windows shows this warning for any app outside a small list of large signed vendors.
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The Step-by-Step Fix

  • 1 On the SmartScreen popup, click More info, then click Run anyway.
  • 2 If you'd like extra peace of mind first, you're always welcome to scan the exe with your own antivirus or upload it to VirusTotal before running it.
Antivirus Heuristics

My antivirus flagged or quarantined the exe

Why this happens: False positives are common with Python apps packaged into a single exe file — antivirus heuristics sometimes flag the packaging method itself (PyInstaller binary bundling), not actual malicious behavior.
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The Step-by-Step Fix

  • 1 Restore the file from quarantine, or add a one-time folder exclusion for LeadGenTool in your antivirus settings.
  • 2 If you'd like confirmation before doing so, email us — we can walk through file verification with you and provide file checksums.
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Search & API Key Issues

Configuring Google Cloud Places API, billing verification, and county search queries.

API Key Setup

“Missing API key” error, or the search runs but returns nothing at all

Why this happens: LeadGenTool uses your own Google API key to search live business listings — this keeps your searches private and separate from anyone else's usage.
File: .env (in the same folder as exe) UTF-8 Plaintext
# Example .env configuration
GOOGLE_API_KEY=AIzaSyD-YourRealGoogleKeyHere
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The Step-by-Step Fix

  • 1 Open the .env.example file included in your download, and save a copy of it named exactly .env in the same folder as the exe.
  • 2 Inside .env, paste your own Google API key after the GOOGLE_API_KEY= line.
  • 3 In your Google Cloud Console, confirm the Places API (or Places API New) is enabled for your project.
  • 4 Confirm billing is enabled on that Google Cloud project — Google requires an active billing method on file even within their generous monthly free usage tier ($200 monthly free credit).
Search & Geography Optimization

My search returns very few leads, or zero leads, for my county

Why this happens: This is typically a real reflection of the data that exists — not a malfunction.
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The Step-by-Step Fix

  • 1 Double-check county and state spelling matches standard USPS naming (e.g. “Madison County, Ohio”, not “Madison, OH County”).
  • 2 Try a slightly broader keyword — very narrow niche terms (e.g. “commercial architectural metal fabricators”) can under-return in smaller or rural counties compared to broader parent terms (e.g. “metal fabrication” or “welders”).
  • 3 If you're using --strict-county, try running without it first to confirm the wider search returns results, then narrow from there.
  • 4 Rural county reality: Rural counties, by nature, simply have fewer listed businesses in any category — this is a limitation of the underlying data, not the tool.
Google Cloud Console

I'm getting a Google API error about quota or billing

Why this happens: Google's Places API is usage-based and billed directly to your own Google Cloud account, separate from your LeadGenTool purchase.
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The Step-by-Step Fix

  • 1 Log into your Google Cloud Console (console.cloud.google.com) and check the Billing and Quotas sections under your project.
  • 2 If you've exceeded a free-tier limit, Google will prompt you to confirm continued usage — this is between you and Google's billing, not something LeadGenTool controls.
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Results & Data Questions

Email availability, phone outreach, CSV formatting, and real-time accuracy.

Data Structure

Most of my results have a phone number but no email address

Important Note: This is expected behavior, not a bug. LeadGenTool visits each business's live website and pulls whatever contact info is actually published there.

Why this happens

  • • Many small local businesses simply don't publish an email address publicly — only a direct phone number or a contact form.
  • • Some websites use email obfuscation (e.g. Cloudflare's anti-scraping email protection) that intentionally hides the address from automated crawlers.

What to do

Treat phone-only rows as highly valid leads worth calling directly, or check the business's own contact page manually if you specifically require an email address for your campaign.

CSV & Excel Encoding

My CSV file opens with strange characters or misaligned columns in Excel

Why this happens: This is an Excel import setting issue, not a problem with the file itself.
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The Step-by-Step Fix

  • 1 In Excel: go to Data → From Text/CSV and select the file, rather than double-clicking it directly.
  • 2 Set the File Origin / Character Encoding to UTF-8 in the import dialog preview.
  • 3 Alternatively, open the CSV directly in Google Sheets, which handles UTF-8 encoding automatically without manual setup.

A Quick Note on Data Accuracy & Integrity

LeadGenTool reports what it actually finds from live Google listings and business websites at the exact moment you run a search. We don't inflate, fabricate, or “fill in” missing data — so partial results for a given search reflect real-world data availability, not a defect.

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Before You Contact Support — Quick Checklist

Going through these 5 quick verification items resolves over 95% of support requests immediately:

Direct Help Desk

Still stuck? We're happy to help.

Email us with a short description of the issue, any exact error text or a screenshot, and your operating system — we'll get back to you quickly.

Official Support Email
[email protected]
We typically respond within 1–2 business days.
Send Email Now →
💡 Tip for faster resolution: Include your Windows version (Win 10/11), whether you extracted the folder, and a screenshot of your extracted LeadGenTool directory so we can identify any missing files on the first reply.