UK Lead Generation Podcast

James Dooley:
If you're looking for more boiler replacement leads, this video is for you. Today we’re talking about the marketing strategies that actually work—and the ones you should avoid—if you want to grow and generate high-quality leads for your business. Kasra, take us into the first strategy.

Kasra Dash:
Step one is building and optimising your Google Business Profile. If you already have one, reach out to your existing clients and get as many five-star reviews as you can. It's one of the best ways to generate local leads. You should also work on citations, post on your profile regularly, and upload photos. That’s the first thing I'd do to generate more leads locally.

Kasra Dash:
Step two, which strengthens your Google Business Profile, is to create dedicated, SEO-optimised service pages for every service you offer. This helps those pages rank higher and increases the chance of your Google Business Profile showing up for those same keywords, which means more calls.

James Dooley:
If you want more local leads, another option is PPC lead generation—pay-per-click ads on Google or Bing. You target bottom-funnel keywords to generate enquiries. The challenge is you need a strong PPC agency because of click fraud and the need for a negative keyword list, so you don’t waste money. PPC works, but in the wrong hands it can waste a lot of budget.

Kasra Dash:
Then you’ve got Meta ads: Facebook and Instagram. People scrolling may see your ad. You can use lead forms, which keep users on Facebook and usually generate cheaper leads, but the quality can sometimes be lower. Or you can run conversion ads that send people to your website to fill out a contact form. You have options to test depending on the quality you want.

James Dooley:
Another way to grow local leads is organic social media. Post regularly on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Reddit, or Quora. Answering people’s questions works extremely well for generating enquiries.

Kasra Dash:
Organic social media is a volume game. You need to upload consistently—daily or weekly. For example, commit to five videos a week and stick to it. Platforms like YouTube and Twitter reward that kind of consistency.

James Dooley:
What are your thoughts on using AI agents—like automation tools that crop videos, schedule posts, and publish across multiple social platforms? Should companies work with AI consultants to set them up?

Kasra Dash:
You can absolutely automate posting using AI agents. But I’d also focus on AI search. People are shifting from Google to tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Grok. If your brand isn’t showing up in AI search, you’ll struggle to generate leads from those platforms. AI search visibility is becoming important.

James Dooley:
If you're looking for more local business leads, consider tradespeople websites like Checkatrade, Bark, Builder Builder, TrustATrader, or Rated People. They can generate leads, but you must track KPIs: cost per lead, cost per acquisition, and return on investment. We’ve created comparison videos for these platforms—check the links in the description.
Since I’ve mentioned FatRank a few times, Kasra, what’s your view 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 the volume of leads you want, and check your KPIs align. Also ask whether the leads are exclusive or shared. A lot of platforms provide shared leads, and business owners often complain that shared leads become a race to the bottom on pricing. Those are important things to clarify before choosing a provider.

James Dooley:
If anyone wants more local leads, visit FatRank.com. We offer commission-based lead generation, meaning you only pay a finder’s fee on converted jobs. No fee per lead. No upfront cost. Only when you complete and get paid for a job do you pay FatRank. Go to FatRank.com to see if you qualify.
Kasra, what’s your take on inbound versus outbound lead generation?

Kasra Dash:
I always prefer inbound. The conversion rate is much higher. The last figure I saw was around 16.1% conversion into paying customers for inbound leads compared to around 1.4% for outbound leads.

James Dooley:
That’s a huge difference—about ten to twelve times higher. Outbound strategies like cold calling, cold email, and LinkedIn outreach require high volume and often more staff. People think outbound leads are free, but sending emails costs money and having a sales team costs even more. Inbound is far more effective.

A question we get often: how important are real-time leads? Some people want leads delivered instantly.

Kasra Dash:
Real-time leads are extremely important. The last internal statistic we saw was that real-time leads convert around 63% higher. Responding in under a minute produces the best results. We used to think five minutes was enough, but under one minute is significantly better—calling or emailing straight away.
Not every business needs a one-minute response time, but many fall short. Some owners go on holiday for five days and have no one answering leads. These small details matter. They’re things we look at when choosing companies to partner with.

James Dooley:
The best recommendation I have for any business looking to scale and increase inbound enquiries is to make sure the fundamentals are in place. Have a follow-up system. Have someone available to answer calls or respond quickly. Track every KPI so you know what’s working. Understand your numbers before scaling, or you can end up scaling losses instead of profit.

Kasra Dash:
Exactly. Once those basics are handled, everything becomes easier. Your ads convert better. Your SEO performs better. Your partnerships become more profitable. Most companies don’t need more complicated marketing—they just need to tighten the systems that handle the leads they already receive.

James Dooley:
Yes. And that’s why we emphasise building strong follow-up systems before pouring more money into marketing. There’s nothing worse than paying for high-quality traffic and losing money simply because no one followed up in time. So for anyone watching, optimise your inbound process, check your response times, and make sure you have the capacity to handle more volume before scaling.

Kasra Dash:
Once that’s done, that’s when real growth happens. Every additional lead source—SEO, PPC, Facebook ads, AI search, trades platforms—starts compounding. That’s when businesses see growth they didn’t think was possible.

James Dooley:
Absolutely. And if you want more help, check the links in the description. We’ve covered everything from Google Business Profile optimisation to AI search to comparing trades platforms. There’s plenty there to help you scale your local lead generation.