Lead Generation Glossary
Clear, jargon-free definitions of every lead generation term you need to know. Written for UK mortgage brokers, insurance advisers, and financial planners who buy or generate their own leads.
Whether you are new to buying leads or an experienced buyer, understanding the terminology helps you ask the right questions and evaluate providers more effectively. Each entry below includes a clear definition, practical context, and links to related terms and resources.
What Are Aged Leads?
Consumer enquiries generated days or weeks ago, resold at a discount with lower conversion expectations.
Read more →What Is an Aged Lead?
How aged lead data differs from fresh leads and whether older data is worth buying.
Read more →What Is Appointment Setting?
A service where leads are called and qualified on your behalf, with meetings booked directly into your diary.
Read more →Are Bought Leads GDPR Compliant?
How GDPR and UK data protection law apply to purchased lead data and what consent requirements exist.
Read more →What Is a Cold Lead?
A potential customer with no prior engagement. Understand the differences between cold and warm leads.
Read more →What Is Contact Rate?
The percentage of leads you successfully reach by phone. Realistic benchmarks and how to improve your rate.
Read more →What Is Conversion Rate?
The percentage of leads that progress to a desired outcome such as a completed case or placed policy.
Read more →What Is Cost Per Acquisition?
The total cost of acquiring one paying client, calculated across your full lead spend. The metric that matters most.
Read more →What Is Cost Per Lead?
Total spend divided by leads received. CPL benchmarks, what affects pricing, and why CPL alone can be misleading.
Read more →What Are Exclusive Leads?
Leads sold to one buyer only. Why exclusivity matters for contact rates, conversion, and consumer experience.
Read more →Exclusive Leads vs Shared Leads
A side-by-side comparison of exclusive and shared lead models covering contact rates, conversion, and cost.
Read more →How Do Lead Generation Companies Work?
The full process behind how lead gen companies source, verify, and deliver leads to financial services firms.
Read more →What Is a Lead API Integration?
A technical connection that pushes leads directly into your CRM. How API delivery works and when to set it up.
Read more →What Is Lead Generation?
The process of attracting and capturing potential customers who have expressed interest in a product or service.
Read more →What Is Lead Nurturing?
Building relationships with unconverted leads through structured follow-up over time to improve overall ROI.
Read more →What Is a Lead Refund Policy?
Rules defining when a lead provider will refund or replace an invalid lead. What should qualify for a refund.
Read more →What Is a Lead Replacement Policy?
How replacement policies differ from refund policies and what fair replacement terms look like.
Read more →What Is Lead Scoring?
Ranking leads by their likelihood to convert using demographic and behavioural criteria to prioritise follow-up.
Read more →What Is a Lead Source?
The channel or method through which a lead was originally generated, and why tracking sources matters.
Read more →What Is Lead-to-Sale Ratio?
The number of leads required to generate one completed sale. How to calculate it and use it for budgeting.
Read more →What Is Lead Verification?
How SMS and email verification improve lead quality and contact rates for purchased leads.
Read more →Leads vs Referrals
Key differences between purchased leads and referrals including conversion rates, costs, and scalability.
Read more →What Is a Marketing Qualified Lead?
A prospect who has shown enough interest to be worth passing to a sales team. How MQLs differ from SQLs.
Read more →What Is Pay Per Lead?
A pricing model where you pay a fixed amount per lead delivered. How PPL compares to retainers and CPC.
Read more →What Are Real-Time Leads?
Leads delivered within seconds of the consumer submitting their enquiry. Why instant delivery improves conversion.
Read more →What Is Real-Time Lead Delivery?
How instant lead delivery works and why speed matters for contact rates and conversion rates.
Read more →What Is Return on Investment?
How to measure the profitability of your lead generation spend and what healthy ROI looks like.
Read more →What Is a Sales Qualified Lead?
A prospect vetted by a sales conversation and confirmed as a genuine opportunity worth pursuing.
Read more →What Are Shared Leads?
Consumer enquiries sold to multiple buyers simultaneously. How sharing affects conversion and cost per acquisition.
Read more →What Is a Warm Lead?
A prospect who has shown recent interest and is receptive to a conversation about financial services.
Read more →