Kasra Dash:
So if I am hiring a lead generation agency and I want to vet that agency properly, what questions should I be asking? A lot of companies try to put you on a 12 month contract. I need to know from a business point of view that the investment is actually going to be worthwhile.

James Dooley:
There are a few important questions. The first is the quality of the leads. You need to know how they are generating enquiries. Are they outbound or inbound? Personally I always want inbound leads. Inbound means the customer has gone out of their way to search for the service or product you sell. They are ready. That is very different to cold outreach where someone is emailing or calling them out of nowhere.

Kasra Dash:
So that’s almost like top-of-funnel versus bottom-of-funnel. Outbound sits at the top and inbound is much closer to a conversion.

James Dooley:
Exactly. You can nurture outbound but you need to educate them a lot more. The next question is whether the leads are real time. Am I getting the enquiry the moment the customer submits it? Real time matters because it impacts conversion rate. If you’re a locksmith and someone is locked out, they are not waiting five minutes. If the lead generation company delays the lead by even a minute, you’ve already lost it to the next listing.

Kasra Dash:
So that ties into the exclusive leads question as well. If five people get the same lead at the same time, your chance of converting drops massively.

James Dooley:
Exactly. Some companies even run bidding systems for leads. Highest bidder gets the lead first. Second bidder gets it a few minutes later. If that happens you are already behind. Ideally you want inbound, exclusive, real time leads. Those three things make your conversion rate far higher.

Kasra Dash:
What about case studies? If I’m a lawyer in Manchester and the agency shows me results for lawyers in Edinburgh or London, that gives me confidence.

James Dooley:
Case studies are huge. If they can prove they have scaled a similar business and increased enquiries from two per day to fifteen per day, that is the agency you want. They know the negative keyword lists for PPC. They know the landing pages that convert. They know the SEO structure that works in that niche. Alongside that, testimonials matter too. Real video testimonials are hard to fake.

Kasra Dash:
I think a lot of business owners avoid the same lead generation company because they worry the agency is helping a competitor. But if they’ve done it for seven law firms already, they can definitely do it again.

James Dooley:
Exactly. And you shouldn’t use just one agency anyway. Use two or three, track your KPIs, and see who performs best. Some agencies have long contracts. Some want payment up-front. Some offer trial periods. You need to test.

Kasra Dash:
Speaking of trials, I think businesses should always try to negotiate a trial period rather than jumping straight into a year-long agreement.

James Dooley:
Agreed. And if anyone is looking for a no-risk option, at FatRank we offer a pay-for-performance model. If you get accepted, you pay nothing up-front. We cover the marketing cost. You only pay after you’ve converted the lead, completed the job, and been paid yourself.

Kasra Dash:
And if someone is declined they should ask why. If they’re using a Gmail address instead of a professional domain, the due-diligence team will flag it. Fix the issue and reapply.

James Dooley:
Exactly. The commission-based model is the best if you can get accepted. But like we always say, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Try two or three companies. Compare performance. Choose the one delivering the best ROI.