How to Get More Concrete Contractor Leads in 2025

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What Does “How to Get More Concrete Contractor Leads in 2025” Talk About?

This episode of the James Dooley Podcast features James Dooley and Kasra Dash walking concrete contractors through a comprehensive lead generation roadmap tailored to the UK market. They cover eight distinct strategies in detail, starting with Google Business Profile optimisation, including gathering five star reviews, posting updates, and building citations. From there they move into creating SEO optimised service pages, running PPC campaigns on Google and Bing, and using Meta ads through either lead forms or conversion-focused campaigns that drive traffic to a contractor's own website.

The conversation then shifts to organic social media, covering platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, and Quora, with Kasra emphasising the importance of committing to a consistent posting schedule to work with platform algorithms. James raises the topic of using AI agents to automate content scheduling, and Kasra expands on the growing importance of AI search visibility across tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Grok. The episode also covers trades platforms such as CheckATrade, Bark, Rated People, Trust a Trader, and Builder Builder, and explains the difference between shared leads and exclusive leads when evaluating lead generation companies.

James and Kasra close with a focused discussion on why inbound leads dramatically outperform outbound efforts, citing a conversion rate of roughly 16.1 percent for inbound versus 1.4 percent for outbound. They also highlight the impact of real time lead response, noting that responding in under a minute can increase conversion rates by around 63 percent. The episode wraps with an overview of FatRank's commission based lead generation model, where contractors only pay a finder's fee after a job is completed and paid.

“The conversion rate of not just getting the lead, but the lead actually converting into a paying customer into money coming into your business bank account is a lot higher. The last stat that I saw for that was something like 16.1 percent end up converting into a paying customer as opposed to 1.4 percent when it's an outbound lead.”

— Kasra Dash

Who Are the Guests on “How to Get More Concrete Contractor Leads in 2025”?

James Dooley is a UK-based digital marketing expert and the founder of FatRank, a performance-based lead generation company that works with tradespeople and contractors across various industries. He has deep expertise in local SEO, pay per click advertising, and building scalable inbound lead systems, and is known for his practical, data-driven approach to helping businesses grow through predictable inquiry pipelines.

Kasra Dash is a digital marketing specialist and frequent collaborator with James Dooley who brings hands-on experience in SEO, paid social advertising, and AI-driven content strategies. He contributes sharp insight into lead quality metrics, conversion optimisation, and the evolving landscape of AI search engines, making him a strong voice on both the technical and strategic sides of modern lead generation.

What Are the Key Takeaways From “How to Get More Concrete Contractor Leads in 2025”?

Here are the key points discussed in this episode:

  • Google Business Profile optimisation, including collecting five star reviews, uploading photos, and building citations, should be the first step for any concrete contractor looking to generate more local leads.
  • Creating dedicated SEO optimised service pages for each individual service not only helps those pages rank in search results but also indirectly improves the visibility of a contractor's Google Business Profile.
  • When using PPC advertising, partnering with a reputable agency is essential because click fraud and poorly managed negative keyword lists can cause significant budget waste without producing quality leads.
  • Inbound leads convert into paying customers at a rate of approximately 16.1 percent compared to just 1.4 percent for outbound leads, making inbound strategies far more efficient for concrete contractors.
  • Responding to a new lead in under a minute can increase conversion rates by around 63 percent, making real time lead delivery and rapid follow-up one of the most impactful factors in turning inquiries into booked jobs.

“If you are able to get a real time lead it converts 60 percent higher. I think 63 percent higher and when we came and got the KPIs down it was like trying to respond with in under a minute and it was like what we used to think five minutes was good and then when people respond in under a minute so inquiry comes in, can you either ring them or email them back saying thanks a lot for the inquiry and then getting more information.”

— Kasra Dash

Is “How to Get More Concrete Contractor Leads in 2025” Worth Listening To?

This episode is worth listening to because it does not waste time on theory. James and Kasra move through eight actionable lead generation strategies with clear explanations of how each works, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to measure success through cost per lead and cost per acquisition. The breakdown of shared versus exclusive leads is particularly valuable for any contractor who has felt burned by platforms like Bark or CheckATrade without understanding why their results were inconsistent.

What makes this episode especially practical is the emphasis on data. The statistics on inbound versus outbound conversion rates and the impact of real time response times give contractors concrete benchmarks to aim for rather than vague advice. The discussion of AI search visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude is also a forward-looking addition that most trade-focused marketing content overlooks entirely, making this a genuinely useful listen for contractors who want to stay ahead of where lead generation is heading.

Who Should Listen to “How to Get More Concrete Contractor Leads in 2025”?

This episode is ideal for:

  • Concrete contractors in the UK who want to build a consistent and scalable flow of inbound leads
  • Tradespeople and small construction business owners evaluating whether to invest in SEO, PPC, or paid social advertising
  • Marketing managers or agency professionals working with local trade businesses who want a structured channel comparison
  • Business owners currently using platforms like CheckATrade or Bark who want to understand why their results may be underperforming

Where Can You Listen to James Dooley Podcast?

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You can also subscribe using the RSS feed: https://feeds.transistor.fm/james-dooley-podcast

What Are Listeners Saying About This Episode?

★★★★★

“Really clear breakdown of every lead gen channel I had questions about. The part about shared leads on platforms like Bark finally explained why I was always racing to the bottom on price. Switched my thinking completely after this one.”

— Marcus T.

★★★★★

“The stat about inbound leads converting at over 16 percent versus outbound at 1.4 percent was genuinely eye-opening. James and Kasra explain it in a way that actually makes you rethink where you spend your time and budget.”

— Sophie R.

★★★★★

“I appreciated that they covered AI search visibility as well as the usual SEO and PPC stuff. Most content aimed at tradespeople ignores ChatGPT and Gemini entirely, so it was good to hear someone actually flag that as something concrete businesses need to think about now.”

— Daniel P.

James Dooley and Kasra Dash break down the most effective lead generation strategies for concrete contractors across the UK. They explain how to grow using Google Business Profile optimisation, SEO service pages, PPC campaigns, Meta ads, organic social media, AI search visibility, trades platforms and commission based lead generation. They also highlight why inbound leads convert far better than outbound and why real time lead delivery significantly increases conversion rates. Their guidance gives concrete contractors a clear roadmap to build a predictable flow of high quality inquiries.

**Kasra Dash:** If you are a concrete contractor looking for more leads and how to generate more business for your company, then this video is for you. Myself and James, we have dealt with a lot of different concrete contractors up and down the UK. And in this video, we are going to be breaking down exactly what works from a marketing strategy and also exactly what doesn't work and what you should be avoiding as well. So, James, take it away. **James Dooley:** So step number one, what I'd be looking to do to grow is a Google business profile. If you already have one, I'd be making certain that I would be reaching out to all my existing clients to try to get me as many five star reviews as possible. It's a great way of Google business profile to generate more leads. Um, there's obviously getting citations and doing Google business profile posts and uploading photos on there. So that's definitely step one that I would be doing to try to generate more local leads. **Kasra Dash:** So step number two, this is kind of to bolster onto your actual Google business profile is I would be creating dedicated service pages for each of your individual services as SEO optimised pages on your website. Now, the good thing is is when you start doing that, it's also going to help first of all rank your actual SEO optimised page, but there's also more likeliness chance of your Google business profile ranking and showing up for those keywords as well. So, you're indirectly going to get more phone calls as well. **James Dooley:** Yeah, for sure. And if you are looking for more local leads, another option that you could be doing is PPC lead generation. That's pay per click within Google or within Bing where you're trying to target the bottom of the funnel keywords that can try to generate you some more inquiries. The difficult part to this is you need to make certain you do team up with a good pay per click agency because there is click fraud and there's also needing to be build up like a negative keyword list so it's not people applying for jobs like a careers kind of job. So you PBC can work well but it can in the wrong hands you can waste a lot of money but it's another way of generating local leads. **Kasra Dash:** Yeah. And then after that you've also got like meta ads as well. So like Facebook Instagram where the next time when somebody goes on to Facebook they might be scrolling they might see your ad. Now there's a few different ways that you can set up Facebook ads. You've obviously got option A which is like lead forms which is like really easy to do. They don't even leave the Facebook platform. Like they never click onto your actual website. Now, the issue with lead forms is that the quality might not be great, but you can obviously add more questions in to try and up that quality of the actual lead. Then you've also got conversion ads as well where that actually gets sent through to your website and then they fill out the contact form for form to you or on your website as well. So, you've got a couple different options there that you can do. **James Dooley:** Yeah, for sure. And then another way to grow more local leads could be organic social media. So posting regularly on Facebook, on Twitter, on YouTube, on Pinterest, on Instagram. There's lots of different platforms out there that you can be trying to get there. Reddit's quite big nowadays. In Quora, it's quite big. If people have got questions and you can answer it. So organic social media is another great way to be generating more local leads for your business. **Kasra Dash:** With organic social media, I would say that it's more of like a volumes game. So you want to try and make certain that you're constantly uploading whether it's for for example a daily schedule or a weekly schedule. You might say, "Okay, I want to try and upload five videos a week." And you should just try and stick to that, especially when it comes to like algorithms like YouTube and Twitter and stuff. **James Dooley:** Yeah, for sure. I mean, what's your thoughts on using any sort of AI agents if they can try to team up with someone to get use like NATN to kind of automate and schedule posts on social media? Like what's your thoughts on that of using trying trying to leverage artificial intelligence? It's all the rage nowadays for trying to generate more leads. Um, would you try to team up with like an AI consultant to set that up? **Kasra Dash:** Yeah. So, I mean, you can definitely go down that route where you're setting up AI agents to potentially crop up some videos and autopublish to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and stuff. But another thing that I would also be focusing on is AI search. So, a lot of people have started to kind of move away from Google. Not everyone because there's billions of people still using it every single day. But there are slowly people starting to search in engines such as like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok and if your brand isn't actually showing up in any of those you will have a little bit of an issue showing up and generating leads on those search engines as well. So that's another thing that I would be focusing on as a company. **James Dooley:** Yeah. And also if you're looking for more business leads in the local area, something else that I would definitely be looking to do is team up with some of the trades people websites. So you've got certain ones like Check a Trade, you've got Bark, you've got Builder Builder, you've got Trust a Trader, you've got Rated People. All these different platforms can generate you more local leads. What I would say is making certain you're tracking your KPIs to see what return on investment that you're getting. You should be tracking not only the cost per lead but the cost per acquisition and how much is that getting you on a return on investment. But trades people websites like those platforms can work very well. I would say make certain you check out the links in the description because we do quite a lot of different videos in comparing Check a Trade with Fat Rank or Bark with Fat Rank Rated People with Fat Rank Builder Builder with Fat Rank. So now obviously I've mentioned Fat Rank a few times Kasra like what's your thoughts on lead generation companies as opposed to trades people companies. **Kasra Dash:** Yeah. So with lead generation companies I would almost say that every single lead generation company you want to try and do your due diligence. So make certain that if you are in a specific niche that lead generation company has actually generated leads in that industry before. I would also maybe even have like a strategy call with them and say like okay this is my budget this is how many leads I ideally want etc to make certain that if your actual KPIs do align with that lead generation company you also want to make certain that what type of leads are there. Are they exclusive leads? Are the leads only going through to yourself? Or are they for example shared leads which that's what a lot of other lead generation tools and lead generation companies do like for example Bark and Check a Trade and stuff. Whenever we, myself and James, have spoke to company owners that have used those services, that's one of their biggest pain points where they say, "Yeah, it's a shared lead and it's kind of a rat race down to the bottom of who's the cheapest basically." So that's a couple things I would be asking lead generation companies before partnering up with them. **James Dooley:** Yeah, for sure. I mean, if anyone is interested in generating more local leads, I strongly recommend heading over to FatRank.com where we have a commission based lead generation service. That means you only pay a finders fee on converted jobs. You've nothing to pay on the pay per lead. You have nothing to pay until you get paid until you convert that job on a pay per sale basis and you've got done completed the job and been paid. That's when you only have to pay FatRank.com. So head on over to FatRank.com to see whether you qualify. But I want to kind of expand a little bit further. Right. So what is your thoughts on inbound lead generation versus outbound lead generation? **Kasra Dash:** So, I always prefer inbound. The conversion rate of not just getting the lead, but the lead actually converting into a paying customer into money coming into your business bank account is a lot higher. The last stat that I saw for that was something like 16.1 percent end up converting into a paying customer as opposed to 1.4 percent when it's an outbound lead. **James Dooley:** Yeah, that's pretty crazy. That's like a 12. Well, yeah. It's 10, 12 times more conversion. Like it's crazy how much more conversion that is. You need to do a lot of volume for kind of outbound whether it's cold calling or cold email or like LinkedIn sales navigator and stuff like that. And sometimes you just need a lot more staff to do it as well. And people sometimes don't they're looking at the cost going I want to generate free leads and they're like generate they think they're generating free leads but there's still cost of like the email sending still cost of then the sales team trying to convert them and stuff like that. So yeah, I completely agree with you that inbound leads is so much better than outbound leads. But what's your thoughts then on some people ask the question that come through that want local leads and then they talk about are these real time leads like is real time leads very important to get so soon as they inquire it comes through to you straight away. **Kasra Dash:** Yeah, it's very important. And I think the last stat that obviously we this was internally that we saw was if you are able to get a real time lead it converts 60 percent higher. I think 63 percent higher and when we came and got the KPIs down it was like trying to respond with in under a minute and it was like what we used to think five minutes was good and then when people respond in under a minute so inquiry comes in, can you either ring them or email them back saying thanks a lot for the inquiry and then getting more information. Yeah, it was. **James Dooley:** I mean I'm not saying that every company needs to respond in under a minute. There are certain things that we obviously look at at Fat Rank when we're looking to partner up with businesses. That's one of the things that a lot of businesses they they kind of fall short on where they might be away for 5 days on holiday and they don't have somebody to pick up the leads and we're still providing the leads. So there's all these little different nuances that we look at when we are partnering up with companies. But the best thing that I would recommend to anyone that's looking to scale their business, that's looking to get a consistent flow of high quality leads is just fill out the form at Fat Rank. The team will tell you if you're the right fit or if you're not, and we'll also tell you and give you feedback why you're not the right fit and what you should do as your next steps. So, hope you like the different lead generation strategies for concreting lead generation. So if you are a concrete business and you are looking for more leads, make certain you head on over to FatRank.com and we will be able to generate you more concreting leads.

Creators & Guests

James Dooley Host
James Dooley

James Dooley is a UK entrepreneur.

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