Real-Time Leads Explained

On this episode of the James Dooley Podcast, James Dooley speaks with Kasra Dash about real-time lead generation and why speed, exclusivity, and conversion systems determine whether marketing spend produces profit. Kasra Dash introduces the concept of real-time leads by explaining how delayed or recycled enquiries damage conversion rates, while James Dooley defines real-time exclusive leads as enquiries delivered instantly to a single business the moment a form is completed. James Dooley explains that many lead generation companies sell shared or delayed leads, which lowers conversion potential because response time directly affects buyer intent. James Dooley states that contacting leads within three minutes preserves up to double the conversion rate, while older leads rapidly lose value as prospects commit elsewhere. James Dooley outlines how businesses should audit lead providers, SEO agencies, and PPC platforms using measurable KPIs such as response time, cost per acquisition, and revenue per lead. Kasra Dash highlights that many business owners fail to read terms or test lead delivery, which leads to misunderstanding what they are actually buying.

Creators and Guests

Host

James Dooley

James Dooley is a UK entrepreneur.

What is James Dooley Podcast?

James Dooley is a Manchester-based entrepreneur, investor, and SEO strategist. James Dooley founded FatRank and PromoSEO, two UK performance marketing agencies that deliver no-win-no-fee lead generation and digital growth systems for ambitious businesses. James Dooley positions himself as an Investorpreneur who invests in UK companies with high growth potential because he believes lead generation is the root of all business success.

The James Dooley Podcast explores the mindset, methods, and mechanics of modern entrepreneurship. James Dooley interviews leading marketers, founders, and innovators to reveal the strategies driving online dominance and business scalability. Each episode unpacks the reality of building a business without mentorship, showing how systems, data, and lead flow replace luck and guesswork.

James Dooley shares hard-earned lessons from scaling digital assets and managing SEO teams across more than 650 industries. James Dooley teaches how to convert leads into long-term revenue through brand positioning, technical SEO, and automation. James Dooley built his career on rank and rent, digital real estate, and performance-based marketing because these models align incentive with outcome.

After turning down dozens of podcast invitations, James Dooley now embraces the platform to share his insights on investorpreneurship, lead generation, AI-driven marketing, and reputation management. James Dooley frequently collaborates with elite entrepreneurs to discuss frameworks for scaling businesses, building authority, and mastering search.

James Dooley is also an expert in online reputation management (ORM), having built and rehabilitated corporate brands across the UK. His approach combines SEO precision, brand engineering, and social proof loops to influence both Google’s Knowledge Graph and public perception.

To feature James Dooley on your podcast or event, connect via social media. James Dooley regularly joins business panels and networking sessions to discuss entrepreneurship, brand growth, and the evolving future of SEO.

Kasra Dash

I’m joined today by James Dooley, and we’re talking about real-time leads. To start with, James, what exactly are real-time leads?

James Dooley

Real-time leads are enquiries where someone fills in a form and that lead is sent instantly to the client. Believe it or not, a lot of lead generation companies don’t actually provide real-time leads.

Some are using quizzes or data collection tools where they think a lead might be relevant, then send it the next day. Others restrict delivery to business hours, so if someone fills in a form at 7pm, it doesn’t reach the client until 9am the next morning. That lead is already hours old.

Kasra Dash

So even though it looks like a lead, it’s not truly real time?

James Dooley

Exactly. A good lead generation company should be sending real-time, exclusive leads, but many don’t. Another big issue is non-exclusive leads.

Some companies run bidding systems. The highest bidder gets the lead instantly. The second bidder gets it five minutes later, the third ten minutes later, and so on. By the time the fifth company gets that enquiry, an hour has passed—and the job is usually gone.

Kasra Dash

Which massively affects conversion.

James Dooley

Hugely. The data shows that if you don’t contact a lead within three minutes, your conversion rate drops by about 50%.

So if you normally convert at 10%, you’re suddenly at 5%. That’s why we insist on real-time delivery and why KPIs around response time matter so much.

Kasra Dash

If someone is already buying leads, how can they check whether those leads are actually real time?

James Dooley

The easiest way is to run a mystery test.

Fill in the lead form yourself with a fake name and phone number. Time it. Does it reach your inbox or CRM in seconds—or minutes or hours later? If it’s delayed, you’ve found the problem.

Kasra Dash

That delay could be killing conversions without them realising.

James Dooley

Exactly. Business owners often blame their sales teams, but even the best closer in the world can’t close a cold lead that’s a day old—especially in urgency-driven niches like locksmiths or emergency services.

And most businesses don’t read the terms and conditions. They assume that because they’re paying £30 or £50 per lead, it must be real time and exclusive. That’s not always true.

Kasra Dash

So accountability is key.

James Dooley

Yes. You should be holding every marketing supplier accountable—lead gen companies, SEO agencies, PPC providers.

If you spend £10,000 on leads and only generate £2,000 in revenue, that model is broken. With SEO, at least you can audit the work—links built, content published, citations created. With PPC, you can analyse cost per click, conversion rate, and cost per acquisition.

These are the numbers investors care about. If you walked into Dragon’s Den without knowing them, you’d be torn apart.

Kasra Dash

How does your model work differently?

James Dooley

We operate a rank-and-rent model with real-time, exclusive leads. Leads go straight into the client’s inbox. If none of the leads convert, they don’t pay.

That means the risk is on us. But if leads aren’t converting, we look closely at why. If the leads are poor quality, we own that. If the business can’t convert because of pricing, presentation, or reputation, then we won’t continue working together.

Kasra Dash

What do you look for before accepting a client?

James Dooley

We check the basics first:

A professional website

A proper branded email address, not Gmail

Reviews and reputation

Quote templates

Presentation matters. People choose businesses the same way they choose restaurants. A clean menu or sign creates trust before the product is even experienced.

A simple improvement—like a professionally designed PDF quote—can be the difference between winning or losing a job.

Kasra Dash

That’s such a small detail with big impact.

James Dooley

Exactly. I always tell business owners to request quotes from five competitors. Compare them without prices first. Which one feels like best value? Then add price back in.

Often the winner isn’t the cheapest—it’s the best presented. If your competitor uses better language, stronger guarantees, and clearer positioning, copy what works.

Kasra Dash

So conversion isn’t just sales—it’s branding.

James Dooley

100%. And online reputation matters just as much. Google your own business name and ignore what your website says. Look at what everyone else says about you.

If there’s weak coverage or bad press, fix it with digital PR, backlinks, reviews, testimonials. Too many businesses are excellent offline but look terrible online.

Kasra Dash

Final thoughts for businesses looking for real-time leads?

James Dooley

If you want a consistent flow of real-time, exclusive enquiries, fill in the form at FatRank.com. Tell us your niche, location, and current website.

If we can help, we’ll tell you. If we can’t, we’ll be honest—and give you steps to improve so you can potentially reapply later. The model is zero risk and performance-based, but only works when both sides are set up properly.

That’s how real-time leads actually work.