How to Get More Leads for Your Business
Every business needs a steady flow of new leads to survive and grow. Whether you are a small SME looking to build your pipeline or an established company trying to scale, the question is always the same: how do you get more leads — consistently, cost-effectively, and without burning out your team?
This guide covers the most effective lead generation strategies available to UK businesses right now, from outbound calling to digital marketing, and explains how to combine them for the best results.
What Is Lead Generation and Why Does It Matter?
Lead generation is the process of identifying and attracting potential customers who have a genuine interest in what your business offers. A lead is not just any contact — it is someone who fits your ideal customer profile and has shown some level of interest or intent.
Without a consistent flow of new leads, your sales team runs dry. You become reliant on word of mouth, referrals, or existing clients — which might sustain you for a while, but will not drive the kind of predictable growth most businesses need. The businesses that grow fastest are the ones that invest in structured, proactive lead generation rather than waiting for opportunities to come to them.
The Most Effective Ways to Get More Leads
1. Outbound Telemarketing
Outbound telemarketing remains one of the highest-converting lead generation methods available, particularly in the B2B space. When done properly — with experienced, professional callers, quality data, and a clear brief — a well-run telemarketing campaign can deliver a consistent flow of qualified leads and booked appointments directly to your sales team.
The key is quality over quantity. Good telemarketing is not about cold-calling thousands of numbers and hoping for the best. It is about reaching the right decision makers, delivering a compelling message, and qualifying genuine interest before passing anything over. Our telemarketing services are built around exactly this approach — UK-based callers who represent your brand with professionalism and care.
2. Appointment Setting
If your sales process requires a conversation — a meeting, a demo, or a consultation — then appointment setting is one of the most direct routes to new business. Rather than asking your own team to spend time on cold outreach, a specialist appointment setting service does the prospecting and qualifying for you, and delivers confirmed meetings with interested decision makers directly into your calendar.
This is especially effective for businesses selling higher-value products or services where a face-to-face or virtual meeting is a natural next step. Our appointment setting services handle both B2B and automotive sectors, and can be tailored to the specific types of meetings your sales team needs.
3. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
SEO is the process of ensuring your website appears prominently in Google search results when your target customers are actively searching for what you offer. Unlike paid advertising, SEO builds long-term organic visibility — meaning once your pages rank, they continue to generate leads without ongoing spend.
For B2B businesses, ranking for specific service terms and local searches can be particularly valuable. A business searching "lead generation company Lancashire" or "appointment setting services UK" is actively looking for a solution, which means the intent to buy is already there. Our SEO services are designed to build this kind of targeted, long-term visibility for businesses across the UK.
4. Email Marketing and Broadcasting
Email remains one of the most cost-effective lead generation channels available. Targeted email campaigns allow you to reach a large number of prospects quickly, introduce your services, and drive traffic to your website or landing pages. When combined with quality B2B data and a compelling message, email broadcasting can generate a significant volume of inbound interest.
The important thing is to use clean, verified, GDPR-compliant data and to send messages that are relevant and valuable to the recipient. Spray-and-pray email blasts produce poor results. Targeted, well-crafted campaigns produce real leads. Our email broadcasting services take care of the whole process, from data to delivery.
5. LinkedIn and Social Media
LinkedIn is the most powerful social platform for B2B lead generation. With over 30 million UK users — many of them business decision makers — it offers direct access to the people you want to reach. Consistent activity on LinkedIn, combined with a clear value proposition and targeted outreach, can generate a meaningful number of leads over time.
Social media more broadly also plays a role in building brand awareness and trust. The more visible and credible your business looks online, the more likely prospects are to respond positively when you reach out through other channels. Our social media marketing services help businesses build a compelling presence that supports their wider lead generation efforts.
6. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising
PPC advertising — particularly through Google Ads — allows you to appear at the top of search results for specific keywords immediately, rather than waiting months for SEO to take effect. For businesses that need leads quickly or want to test a new market, PPC can be an effective short-term strategy.
The downside is cost — poorly managed PPC campaigns can burn through budget without producing meaningful results. The key is precise targeting, compelling ad copy, and landing pages that convert visitors into enquiries. When managed properly, PPC can deliver a strong return on investment and complement your longer-term organic strategy.
7. B2B Data and Direct Mail
Quality business data is the foundation of almost every lead generation campaign. Whether you are running a telemarketing campaign, sending emails, or targeting postal direct mail, the accuracy and relevance of your contact data determines how effective your campaign will be. Clean, verified, GDPR-compliant B2B data ensures your messages reach the right people — minimising wasted spend and maximising response rates.
Our UK business data services supply targeted, verified contact records by industry, company size, geography, and job title — giving your campaigns the best possible starting point.
Should You Use One Channel or Multiple?
The businesses that generate the most leads consistently are those that use multiple channels together, rather than relying on a single approach. Telemarketing and email work better together than either does alone. SEO and PPC complement each other. Social media reinforces all of it by building brand familiarity.
The right combination depends on your business, your target market, and your budget. A business selling into the automotive sector has different needs to a professional services firm targeting SMEs in the North West. That is why every campaign should start with a clear understanding of your ideal customer and work backwards from there.
How to Choose the Right Lead Generation Partner
If you are considering outsourcing your lead generation — whether that is telemarketing, appointment setting, digital marketing, or a combination — there are a few things to look for in a provider:
UK-based team: For outbound calling in particular, a UK-based team makes a significant difference to call quality and conversion rates.
Transparency: A good agency will be upfront about what results you can expect and will report clearly on campaign performance.
Experience in your sector: Not all lead generation is the same. Look for a provider with relevant industry experience.
GDPR compliance: Especially important for data-driven campaigns. Make sure your provider operates within the law.
Flexibility: Avoid agencies that lock you into long, inflexible contracts before they have proven their value.
Getting Started With Lead Generation
The most important step is simply to start. Many businesses put off investing in lead generation because they are waiting for the perfect moment or the perfect strategy — but the reality is that a good campaign launched today will outperform a perfect campaign that never gets off the ground.
At XL Marketing, we work with B2B businesses of all sizes across the UK to build lead generation campaigns that deliver measurable results. Whether you need telemarketing, appointment setting, digital marketing, quality data, or a combination of all of them, our team can build a strategy around your specific objectives and budget.
If you are ready to get more leads for your business, get in touch with our team today for a free, no-obligation consultation. We will listen to your goals, understand your market, and recommend the approach most likely to work for you.