What is a Lead in Business?

A lead in business is an individual who expresses intent to buy because they voluntarily submit their contact details, allowing a company to treat the enquiry as potential revenue. James Dooley and Kasra Dash explain that leads act as the oxygen of a business because consistent inbound enquiries keep the sales pipeline alive. A realtime lead converts more easily because immediate follow-up prevents prospects switching to competitors. An exclusive lead converts even better because only one business receives it, eliminating competition. They clarify that SEO and PPC leads typically convert at higher rates because users actively search with intent, whereas social media leads convert inconsistently because the intent is weaker. They conclude that businesses grow faster when they prioritise lead quality because strong qualification boosts close rates and improves overall sales efficiency.

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: A lead in business is basically somebody that is interested in your service. A lead can be phone based or it can be a web form. It can be an email inquiry. There are lots of different types of leads but in short if you're a plumber and I have a leak then I need you to come and fix the leak. That is a lead and you might have my information, my email, my telephone number and a brief bio of what the inquiry is.

James Dooley: A lead is also known as an inquiry and it's someone that has shown an interest in a product or service that you offer. It could be a telephone call which is a call lead or it could be an email which is an email lead. Someone shows interest and hopefully you then show your products and services and turn that call or web inquiry into a conversion and into a sale.

Kasra Dash: A lead is basically oxygen for any business. If you don't have enough leads or you're not getting any leads then you don't have a business. The focus should be on maximising the amount of quality leads you can get. There are lots of lead generation companies out there. Some deliver and some send useless leads. The focus as a business owner should be on quality leads that actually want your service.

James Dooley: Now people understand what a lead is. What is a realtime lead in business?

Kasra Dash: A realtime lead is if I get a lead now on my phone and I pick up. It is not a lead that sat there for days before a reply. If someone emails and it goes straight through, that is a realtime lead.

James Dooley: What is an exclusive lead in business?

Kasra Dash: If we are competitors and buying leads from a lead generation agency and I am the only one who gets that lead, that is exclusive. If both of us get it, that is a shared lead.

James Dooley: What is a pay per lead in business?

Kasra Dash: A pay per lead is when I pay a lead generation agency every time I get an inquiry. If I pay you £10 and you send me 10 leads then I pay you £100 that day.

James Dooley: What is an SEO lead in business?
Kasra Dash: An SEO lead is a lead generated from SEO. You should always ask where leads come from. SEO leads normally convert at a much higher rate because they are inbound. Someone searching business insurance is far more likely to convert than someone cold called about business insurance.

James Dooley: What is a PPC lead?

Kasra Dash: SEO and PPC leads are the two high converting lead types. PPC is the sponsored listings at the top of Google or Bing. They often convert well because the search intent is strong.

James Dooley: What is a Facebook ads or social media ads lead?

Kasra Dash: A social media ads lead is when someone sees an ad on Facebook or Instagram and fills in a form there. That form is then sent through to you as the lead.

James Dooley: Hopefully that explains all the different terminology. A lead is the oxygen of a successful business. Every business needs a consistent flow of quality leads every day. If you don't have consistent quality leads you will struggle long term. Too many people rely on word of mouth and hope Barbara down the road refers them someone. Consistency is key. Head over to fatrank.com and go to the contact page. We do pay per lead, PPC leads, SEO leads and commission based lead generation. If you want to know what a lead is in business we have gone through every type. Head over to fatrank.com, fill in the form and see the different types available for your industry.