UK Lead Generation Podcast

James Dooley:
If you’re a foundation contractor looking for more business, more leads, and more enquiries, this episode is for you. Myself and Casra have worked with loads of foundation contractors throughout the UK, so we know exactly what works when it comes to a marketing strategy — and what you should be avoiding. In this episode, we’re breaking it all down for you.

Step number one to grow is through your Google Business Profile. If you already have one, make sure you're reaching out to all existing clients to get as many five-star reviews as possible. It’s a great way to generate more leads. You should also be getting citations, posting regularly, and uploading photos — that’s the first thing I’d do for more local leads.

Kasra Dash:
Step number two — which reinforces your Google Business Profile — is creating dedicated service pages for each of your services as SEO-optimised pages on your website. That helps you rank your pages and increases the chances of your Google Business Profile showing up for those keywords. This indirectly boosts your phone calls too.

And if you're looking for more local leads, PPC lead generation is an option — pay-per-click within Google or Bing to target bottom-of-funnel keywords. The key is having a good PPC agency, because there’s click fraud and you need a solid negative keyword list. PPC works, but in the wrong hands, you can waste a lot of money.

After that, you’ve got Meta Ads — Facebook and Instagram. There are different setups: lead forms that keep users on the platform (though the quality may vary), or conversion ads that send people to your website to fill in your contact form. Both can work depending on your goals.

James Dooley:
Another way to grow local leads is organic social media. Posting regularly on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Reddit, or Quora. If people have questions and you answer them, you generate leads.

It’s a volume game. You need a consistent upload schedule — maybe five videos a week — especially with YouTube or Twitter algorithms.

What are your thoughts on using AI agents? Maybe teaming up with someone using tools like NATN to automate and schedule posts on social media? AI is all the rage for generating leads. Would you use an AI consultant to set that up?

Kasra Dash:
Yes, you can definitely set up AI agents to crop videos, auto-publish to YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. But I'd also focus on AI search. Some people are moving away from Google and using engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Grok. If your brand isn’t showing up there, you’ll struggle to generate leads. That’s another area companies must focus on.

For local leads, you should also team up with tradespeople websites — Checkatrade, Bark, BuilderBuilder, TrustATrader, Rated People. These platforms can generate solid leads. You must track your KPIs: cost per lead, cost per acquisition, and ROI. These platforms work well, and we compare many of them on FatRank.

James Dooley:
Speaking of that, what are your thoughts on lead generation companies versus tradespeople platforms?

Kasra Dash:
With lead generation companies, do your due diligence. Make sure they’ve generated leads in your niche before. Have a strategy call — discuss your budget and ideal number of leads. Check if the leads are exclusive or shared. Shared leads — like on Checkatrade or Bark — are where many business owners struggle because it becomes a race to the bottom based on who’s cheapest.

James Dooley:
If you're interested in generating more local leads, head over to FatRank.com. We have a commission-based lead generation service — you only pay a finder’s fee on converted jobs. Nothing upfront, nothing per lead — only when you get paid. Check whether you qualify.

What are your thoughts on inbound lead generation versus outbound?

Kasra Dash:
I always prefer inbound. The conversion rate from lead to paying customer is much higher — around 16.1% for inbound versus 1.4% for outbound. It’s 10–12x higher conversion. Outbound requires a lot of volume — cold calling, cold emails, LinkedIn outreach — and often more staff. People think outbound leads are free, but email sending and labour still cost money.