By Jad Salman · · All guides
Ask ten plumbers where their work comes from and most will say the same thing: word of mouth. That's great once you're established. It's less helpful when you've just gone self-employed, moved area, or want to swap low-value call-outs for more bathrooms and boiler swaps.
This guide covers the lead sources that tend to work for UK plumbers, roughly in the order we'd tackle them, plus the bit most people skip: making sure the enquiries you already get actually turn into jobs. If you're still at the very start, our guide on how to set up a plumbing business in the UK covers the groundwork first.
Start With the Leads You're Already Losing
Before spending a penny on marketing, look at what happens to enquiries now. Plenty of plumbers are busy enough that the phone rings while they're under a sink, the caller hits voicemail, and rings the next number on Google instead. Messages on Facebook sit unread for two days. A quote goes out and nobody follows it up.
Fixing that is the cheapest lead generation there is, because those people already wanted you. A few quick checks:
- Missed calls. Scroll back through your call log for a fortnight and count the numbers you never rang back. Our piece on how many calls plumbers miss goes into why this adds up fast.
- Response time. Homeowners with a leak usually book whoever answers first. A reply the same hour beats a better price tomorrow.
- Quote follow-up. A short text two or three days after sending a quote ("Just checking you got this, happy to answer any questions") wins back a surprising number of jobs.
If calls are the weak spot, there are practical fixes in how to stop missing calls when you're on a job, from call forwarding to having someone (or something) answer for you.
Get Your Google Business Profile Right
For most local trades, Google is where new customers find you. When someone searches "plumber near me" or "boiler repair Leeds", the map results at the top come from Google Business Profiles. It's free, and it's usually the single best return on an hour of your time.
Set it up properly:
- Choose the right primary category, such as Plumber, and add secondary ones that match what you actually do, such as heating or bathroom work.
- Set a service area rather than showing your home address. You can hide the address entirely if you work from home.
- Fill in services in plain language: leak repairs, boiler servicing, bathroom fitting, unblocking drains.
- Add real photos. Your van, finished jobs, before-and-after shots. Stock photos do nothing for you.
- Keep your hours honest, and answer the phone number you list there.
- Post now and then. A quick update with a photo of a recent job keeps the profile looking alive.
Reviews matter a lot here. Ask happy customers straight after the job while they're pleased, and send them the direct review link from your profile so it takes them thirty seconds. Don't offer discounts in exchange for reviews and never write your own; Google and the CMA both take a dim view.
Turn Every Job Into the Next One
Word of mouth works best when you give it a nudge rather than leaving it to chance.
- Leave something behind. A card or fridge magnet with your number on it means the next time the toilet runs, they don't have to go searching.
- Ask for referrals directly. "If any of your neighbours need a plumber, I'd be grateful if you passed my number on" is enough. Most people are happy to help someone who did a good job.
- Work the street. If you're replacing a boiler on a road of houses built at the same time, the neighbours' boilers are probably the same age. A polite leaflet through a few doors nearby is fair game.
- Keep a simple customer list. Names, numbers, what you did and when. An annual boiler service reminder text to past customers is easy repeat work and keeps you front of mind.
Trade Platforms: Useful, but Know What You're Paying For
Sites like Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Rated People, TrustATrader and Bark can bring in work, especially when you're new and don't have reviews yet. They work quite differently though. Some charge a membership fee, some charge per lead or per shortlist, and some put you in competition with several other trades for the same job.
Before you sign up for anything, check:
- How you're charged, and whether you pay for leads that never reply
- How many other trades get the same lead
- Contract length and notice period, as some memberships run for a year
- Whether the leads match the work you want, not just whatever's going
Treat them as one channel among several and track what you actually earn from each. If a platform costs you more than the profit from the jobs it brings, drop it.
Build Relationships That Send Repeat Work
Some of the steadiest plumbing work doesn't come from homeowners at all.
- Letting agents and landlords need reliable plumbers for repairs and annual gas safety checks if you're Gas Safe registered. One good agent can keep you busy for weeks.
- Builders, kitchen fitters and bathroom showrooms often need a plumber they can trust and don't have one. Turning up on time and leaving a tidy job is how you get the next one.
- Property managers and housing associations tend to have approved contractor lists. Getting on one takes paperwork, but the work is regular.
- Other trades. Electricians, plasterers and tilers get asked for plumber recommendations all the time. Swap numbers and send work their way too.
This kind of work often pays a bit less per job, but the steady flow smooths out the quiet months.
A Simple Website Still Helps
You don't need anything fancy. A one-page site with what you do, where you cover, a few photos, your Gas Safe number if you have one, and a clear way to get in touch makes you look like a real business. It also gives Google something to link your profile to.
Make sure it works on a phone, because that's where most people will see it, and put your phone number or contact form at the top, not buried at the bottom.
Paid Ads: Worth Testing, Carefully
Google Ads and Facebook ads can work for plumbers, but they're easy to waste money on. If you try them:
- Keep the area tight to where you actually want to drive.
- Target jobs you want, like boiler installs or bathroom fitting, rather than every plumbing search.
- Set a small daily budget and check results weekly.
- Have someone answering. Paying for a click and then sending the caller to voicemail is the worst outcome in marketing.
In some areas Google also offers Local Services Ads with a "Google Screened" badge for certain trades, where you pay per lead rather than per click. It's worth checking if it's available for plumbers where you work.
Track Where Your Work Comes From
The simplest habit that pays off: ask every new customer "How did you hear about us?" and jot it down. After three months you'll know which channels are worth your time and which you can quietly drop. Most plumbers who do this find one or two sources bring in the bulk of their good jobs, and that's where to put more effort.
Making Sure Leads Turn Into Booked Jobs
More leads only help if someone deals with them. When you're on the tools all day, that's the hard bit. You can't answer the phone with your arms inside a cylinder cupboard, and by the time you ring back at six, the customer has often booked someone else.
There are a few ways round it: a family member answering, a human answering service, or an AI receptionist that picks up, finds out what the job is and books it in. That last one is what we built Slotby to do for UK plumbers. Whichever route you pick, the point is the same. Every lead you've worked to get should reach a real answer while the customer still wants the job doing.
---
This is general guidance for UK plumbers and tradespeople. Platform terms change, so check the current details on each provider's own site before signing up.