Results Driven Marketing (RD Marketing) has warned that UK B2B companies could be leaving their sales pipelines exposed by depending too heavily on enquiries that come to them, as it publishes a new UK guide to outbound lead generation.
The Newcastle upon Tyne-based data and lead generation company says firms have little control over the number or timing of inbound enquiries, and that changes in online search add to the uncertainty.
It points to Pew Research Center analysis of US users in March 2025. People who saw an AI summary on Google clicked a traditional search result on 8% of visits, compared with 15% for those who did not. RD Marketing stresses that this is US data rather than a UK forecast, but says businesses should take note.
"Inbound leads are great, and nobody should stop chasing them," said Iain Irvin, Director of RD Marketing. "The problem comes when they are your only plan. If the enquiries slow down, you have no way of turning them back on."
The company's new guide, Outbound Lead Generation UK Guide, compares email, telephone, LinkedIn and direct mail for British businesses, setting out the rules, costs and lead times for each.
RD Marketing says UK law is a gap in much of the advice available. The four ranking guides it reviewed in detail did not mention the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, the Telephone Preference Service, the Information Commissioner's Office or the UK GDPR.
The distinction matters because the rules depend on who is being contacted. According to ICO guidance, PECR does not require consent for marketing emails to limited companies, but sole traders and some partnerships generally need to have given consent, or to fall under the soft opt-in. The same applies to direct messages on social media.
The guide also explains when outbound is the wrong choice, including for firms that cannot yet describe their buyer or have nobody available to follow up replies.
"I started out in telesales, so I know that the list is only the beginning," added Irvin. "You need the right people, a real reason for them to reply, and someone ready to pick up the conversation. Start small, learn what works, and then build on it."
Founded in 2018, RD Marketing supplies UK B2B data for email, telephone and direct mail campaigns, and offers managed outreach. Details are available on its managed email campaigns page.
The full guide is available from Results Driven Marketing.
Contact: Results Driven Marketing, Office 118, Cobalt Business Exchange, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE28 9NZ. Telephone: 0191 406 6399. Email: info@rdmarketing.co.uk.