Installer guide · 13 min read
By Roman Steer-Love, co-founder of TNW Marketing · published 3 November 2026 · every supplier price checked on its own website on 3 Nov 2026
Short answer: pay per lead (PPL) means you pay a lead generation company a fixed price for each lead it delivers, instead of paying for ads or agency time. The company runs and pays for the campaigns; you pay when a lead that meets the agreed definition reaches you. In the UK, published prices run from about £15 a lead in consumer sectors to £150 or more for commercial leads. The catch is the word "lead": it can mean a raw enquiry or a checked, qualified contact, and your team still has to turn it into a meeting. If you would rather pay for the meeting itself, pay per attended appointment moves that work, and the no-show risk, to the supplier.
You agree four things with the supplier before anything goes live: what counts as a lead, the price per lead, how many leads you want (often a weekly or monthly volume, or a prepaid block) and what you can send back. The supplier then runs its own adverts, websites, comparison pages or calling, captures each enquiry and sends it to you, ideally the moment it comes in. You pay per lead delivered and accepted, not for the ads behind it.
Four terms decide most of the value: exclusivity (one business, or shared with a set number), speed (real time or a next-day batch), returns (what you can reject and for how long) and commitment (pay as you go, prepaid blocks or minimum volumes). Exclusivity in particular changes what a lead is worth; our guide to exclusive vs shared leads goes through it.
"Pay per lead" covers very different products. The further down this table a supplier bills, the more work it has done for you and the less risk you carry.
| You pay for | What has happened | Work and risk left with you |
|---|---|---|
| Raw enquiry | Someone filled in a form or called a number | You: call it, qualify it, book it, chase the no-shows |
| Accepted lead | An enquiry that passes checks you agreed (right area, real number, right type of customer) | You still call, qualify and book; bad details are the supplier's problem if the contract says so |
| Qualified lead | The supplier has spoken to the person and checked set criteria | You book the meeting and carry the no-show risk |
| Hot key or live transfer | The supplier puts the person through to you on the phone | You qualify on the call and book |
| Booked appointment | A meeting is in your diary | You pay even if the person does not turn up, unless the contract says otherwise |
| Attended appointment | The meeting actually took place | The supplier carries the no-show risk |
Prices that UK suppliers publish on their own websites, read on 3 Nov 2026. Most suppliers price on request, so a published "from" price is a starting point, not a quote. A cheap lead and a dear one are rarely the same product: compare what counts as a lead before you compare the price.
| Supplier | What you buy | Published price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead Pronto | Pay per lead across 40+ UK sectors (consumer and business) | From £15 a lead in most consumer sectors (driveways, windows, heat pumps); roofing from £20; insulation, boilers and mortgages from £22; solar from £18; legal claims from £60; commercial solar from £150 | Source |
| Sales Fuel | Exclusive home improvement leads (solar, insulation, windows and doors, heat pumps, boilers) | Its FAQ says leads typically cost around £25+VAT each at base; quotes depend on product, volume, area and budget | Source |
| PoweredLeads | Exclusive homeowner solar leads by postcode | From £45 per accepted lead; it says the starting price does not apply to a first order | Source |
| TNW Marketing (not pay per lead) | Commercial solar site appointments for installers, exclusive to one installer | £250 to £1,000+VAT per attended appointment | Source |
Lead Pronto's own range is "from £15 to £150 a lead, depending on the sector", with high-value sectors costing more because each case is worth more to the buyer. For solar specifically, every price UK suppliers publish is in how much solar leads cost, and the suppliers themselves are compared in our solar lead provider comparison.
| Pay per lead | Pay per click (your own ads) | Pay per appointment | Retainer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Each lead delivered, as the contract defines it | Each click on an ad, whether or not anyone enquires | Each appointment booked, or (stricter) each one attended | Agency time, whatever comes out of it |
| Who carries the cost of the advertising | The supplier | You | The supplier | You (fee plus ad spend) |
| Who calls, qualifies and books | You | You | The supplier | Depends on the scope |
| Who carries a no-show | You | You | You on a booked model; the supplier on an attended model | You |
| Typical commitment | Often none, or prepaid blocks and weekly minimums | None beyond your budget | Varies by supplier | Usually a minimum term or notice period |
The retainer side of this, including when a retainer still makes sense, is in pay per lead vs retainer vs pay per appointment. Paying for the meeting rather than the lead is covered in pay per appointment.
Price per lead tells you little on its own. What matters is the cost of each job you sign. With illustrative figures only: buy 40 leads at £30 (£1,200). If your team reaches and books 10 of them into meetings, and signs 2, each signed job cost £600 in leads, before the hours your team spent calling. A supplier charging three times as much per lead can be cheaper per signed job if far more of its leads turn into meetings.
Run your own numbers in our cost per lead calculator, which gives the cost per signed job, the break-even price per lead and a side-by-side of two suppliers. If your team is the bottleneck, the true cost of calling leads in-house is set out in in-house vs outsourced lead generation.
Start with a small order, track every lead to an outcome, and only scale once the cost per signed job holds up.
A lead is personal data, and the rules on calling and emailing differ for businesses and for people. Live marketing calls to a business are generally allowed without consent, as long as the number is not registered with the TPS or the Corporate TPS and the business has not objected. Marketing emails to sole traders and some partnerships need consent, as they do for individuals. Ask any supplier how the person came to share their details and what they agreed to. The rules, with the legislation linked, are in our guide to B2B cold calling rules in the UK (a summary, not legal advice).
TNW Marketing is not a pay per lead company. We book pre-qualified commercial solar site appointments for UK installers, each exclusive to one installer. Pricing: £250 to £1,000+VAT per attended appointment, set by system size and qualification. No retainer, no monthly fee. You only pay for appointments that are actually attended, and any that aren't viable we replace. If you want consumer leads, or raw leads for a large calling team, a pay per lead supplier will suit you better.
See available projectsPay per lead (PPL) is a way of buying new business where you pay a lead generation company a fixed price for each lead it delivers, instead of paying for advertising or agency time. The company runs and pays for the campaigns; you pay when a lead that meets the agreed definition reaches your sales team.
It depends on the sector and what counts as a lead. On suppliers' own websites (read 3 Nov 2026): Lead Pronto lists most consumer sectors from £15 a lead, solar from £18, insulation and boilers from £22, legal claims from £60 and commercial solar from £150; Sales Fuel's FAQ says around £25+VAT a lead at base; PoweredLeads sells homeowner solar leads from £45 per accepted lead. Business leads and high-value sectors cost more per lead than consumer ones.
It can be, if your team calls fast, your sales cycle is short and the contract defines a lead tightly with a fair returns policy. Judge it on cost per signed job, not price per lead: divide what you spend by the jobs it actually signs, and add the time your team spends calling.
With pay per lead you buy contact details and your team turns them into meetings. With pay per appointment the supplier does that work and you pay for the meeting. Check whether a supplier bills per booked appointment or per attended appointment: only the second moves the no-show risk off you.
Pay per click charges for each click on an ad, whether or not the person enquires, and you pay the ad platform yourself. Pay per lead charges only for enquiries that reach you, and the supplier pays for the ads.
Some are and some are not. Suppliers sell exclusive leads (one business only), shared leads (a set number of businesses) or both at different prices. Ask how many businesses receive each lead and get it in writing.
Usually, within limits. Sales Fuel replaces dead numbers, hoaxes and duplicates reported within 30 days; PoweredLeads replaces a lead with a wrong number, wrong area or that is not the homeowner (both from their own websites, read 3 Nov 2026). Read each supplier's returns terms before you buy.
No. TNW Marketing books commercial solar site appointments for UK installers and charges £250 to £1,000+VAT per attended appointment, set by system size and qualification, with no retainer. You only pay for appointments that are actually attended, and any that aren't viable we replace.
How paying per attended site appointment works, how it compares with pay per lead and retainers, and what counts as an attended meeting.
Solar installer leads for sale in the UK: 15 providers compared on lead type, price, contract and no-show terms, and pay per appointment from £250.
What Lead Pronto offers, from its own website, and ten alternative UK solar lead suppliers compared on lead type, exclusivity, price, contract and no-shows.
What each costs and why, who carries the no-show risk, how to check a supplier's exclusivity claim, and when shared leads can make sense.
What an in-house appointment setter really costs, line by line, against buying booked appointments, with a cost-per-meeting calculator.
Telemarketing, outbound, digital and pay per lead companies compared by what they do and how they charge, with the questions to ask first.
Cost, risk, contract terms and lead quality side by side, and when a retainer can still make sense.
Full-service agencies, lead suppliers and pay per attended appointment lead generation compared, the channels that win commercial work, and what to ask before you sign.
Renewable energy marketing services compared, inbound vs outbound, retainer vs pay per attended appointment, and why commercial solar is the one thing TNW does.
What appointment setting is, how agencies charge, in-house vs outsourced setters, UK rules on B2B calls and email, and what to ask before you sign.
Where UK solar PV tenders are published, which public sector frameworks have solar lots, what buyers ask for and how bids are scored.
How a rooftop or private wire PPA works, the parties and contract terms, which customers qualify, what funders ask for, and the alternatives.
What has closed (PSDS) and what is open now: Great British Energy solar for schools and the NHS, Salix loans in Scotland and Wales, and how installers win the work.
Hire purchase, leasing and PPAs compared, and when the FCA rules on credit broking apply: individuals, the £25,000 business exemption and introducer ARs.
Why businesses and SPVs can't use it, how mixed-use farms, holiday lets and landlords can, and what a business customer can use instead.
Engineering, procurement and construction vs design and build, the FIDIC, NEC and JCT contract forms, typical EPC terms and subcontracting to an EPC.
The VAT rate on commercial jobs, when the construction reverse charge applies, invoice wording, and CIS registration, deductions and returns, from HMRC.
For roofers and solar installers: overclad or re-roof first, asbestos and structural checks, RC62 fire classification, the Part L upgrade, sequencing and tax.
Official UK solar statistics: capacity and installations by size band and region, growth trends, 2030 targets and business energy prices, all with sources.
Year-by-year DESNZ tables since 2010: capacity and installations by size band, the commercial bands month by month, generation and share of electricity, with a CSV.
Win commercial solar site surveys from LinkedIn: who to target, Sales Navigator vs free, example messages, LinkedIn's limits and the UK data rules.
Cold email for commercial solar: who to email, UK rules (PECR, UK GDPR), deliverability set-up, example emails and follow-ups, and what it really takes.
Book commercial solar site surveys by phone: call lists, TPS/CTPS screening, switchboard, opening, qualifying and objection scripts, and the UK rules.
What an outsourced solar calling campaign does, how telemarketing agencies charge, who is liable under PECR, the brief to write and the questions to ask.
PECR, TPS and CTPS screening, the 28-day rule, bought-in data, named contacts and UK GDPR, agencies and ICO fines, with a compliance checklist.
Build a target list before you call: Companies House SIC codes, the EPC and DEC registers, Land Registry ownership data and SECR energy reports.
Video interviews with installers using TNW: site meetings booked, system sizes, deals closed and what changed for their business.
Work out how many site surveys and leads you need to hit your monthly installation target, from your own booking and close rates.
What each signed job really costs you, profit after lead spend, and the most you can pay per lead or booked appointment, with a side-by-side comparison.
The channels UK commercial installers use to book site surveys, what "qualified" really means and the numbers to track.
How solar leads are priced: per lead, per booked or attended appointment, retainer or revenue share, and shared vs exclusive.
Cost per lead vs cost per booked meeting, what drives the price, and how to work out what you can afford to pay.
Call new leads within minutes, a first-week follow-up plan, confirming the survey twice and the five reasons booked surveys don't happen.
A five-point checklist and the first-call questions that stop surveyors driving to sites that will never sign.