The short answer: before you buy exclusive solar leads in the UK, ask the seller two things in writing: how many installers get the same homeowner, and for how long. "Exclusive" has no fixed meaning. It can mean one installer forever, one installer per region, or one installer until the seller decides otherwise.
Ofgem says it will confirm the January price cap by 25 November, and a lot of installers will be buying leads for the winter push. This post is about getting what you pay for. Disclosure: I'm Callum Jones and I run Solar Mailshot, which sends personalised letters to graded homes. That is a different way of finding customers, so read my view with that in mind.
What does "exclusive" mean when a lead seller says it?
It means whatever the seller's terms say it means. One UK lead seller, PoweredLeads, defines it carefully: "An exclusive solar lead is distributed to one installer under the supplier's agreement." The important words are the last four. The promise is only as good as the agreement behind it.
Phantom Digital, a UK marketing agency, puts the risk plainly: "Some lead providers claim exclusivity but sell the same lead to multiple 'exclusive' buyers in different regions." Their advice is to check with the seller's existing customers before you commit.
There is also a limit no seller can fix. A lead can be exclusive from that seller and the homeowner can still have filled in two other comparison forms the same evening. Exclusive describes how the seller distributes the enquiry, not how many quotes the homeowner is collecting.
Shared, semi-exclusive and exclusive: what's the difference?
| Type | How many installers get the homeowner | Typical UK price per lead | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared lead | "One of three, four, or even five companies" (Phantom Digital) | £20 to £50 (Phantom Digital) | The first caller usually sets the tone |
| Marketplace request (Bark) | Quotes from up to 5 professionals (Bark help centre) | Credits, priced by service, job value and local demand (Bark pricing page) | You pay to respond, whether or not you win |
| Capped marketplace (Rated People) | Up to 3 tradespeople per job (Trade2Base, June 2026) | Varies by job | Three is still a race |
| Exclusive lead | One installer "under the supplier's agreement" (PoweredLeads) | £50 to £150 residential (Phantom Digital); one seller quotes from £45 per accepted lead (PoweredLeads) | Regional resale, time limits, recycled leads |
Bark is open about its model. Its pricing page says professionals buy a credit pack and "use the credits to contact the customers you're interested in", with prices depending on "the service, the value of the job, and the supply and demand in the area". Credits last 3 months. That is a fair deal on its own terms, but it is not exclusive and doesn't claim to be.
Prices and conversion rates above are ranges from the sources, not quotes. Phantom Digital puts shared lead conversion at 5% to 10% and well qualified exclusive leads at 15% to 25%. Your own numbers matter more. Our breakdown of what a solar lead really costs shows how to turn cost per lead into cost per installed job.
What five questions should you ask any lead seller?
Get the answers by email, not on a sales call.
- How many installers receive this homeowner's details? You want a number. "Exclusive" on its own is not an answer.
- Is it exclusive by installer, by area or by time? If it's "exclusive in your postcode", ask whether the same person is sold to a firm in the next postcode. If it's time limited, ask when the clock starts and ends.
- Where did the lead come from? A form on the seller's own site, a comparison site, a social ad or a bought list all produce very different homeowners. Ask how old the enquiry is when it reaches you.
- What counts as a bad lead, and what do you refund? Wrong number, no roof, tenant, already has panels. Get the replacement or credit rules in writing before the first invoice.
- Can I speak to two installers who buy from you now? This is Phantom Digital's advice, and it's the quickest way to find out whether "exclusive" holds up.
If a seller won't answer the first two in writing, treat the leads as shared and price them that way.
Why does the first call still matter when a lead isn't shared?
Because the homeowner may be talking to other firms anyway. Even a genuinely exclusive lead is a person who went looking for solar, and people who go looking tend to look in more than one place.
That means speed and follow-up still decide most of these jobs. Call quickly, follow up on a plan, and don't let a warm enquiry go quiet after one missed call. Our 7 day follow-up sequence for solar leads sets out what to send on each day.
The other way round is to reach homeowners before they start shopping, so there is no race to win in the first place. That is where letters come in.
How Solar Mailshot handles this
We don't sell leads, and we don't call any home "exclusive". Here is what we do instead, problem by problem:
| Problem | The usual way | With Solar Mailshot |
|---|---|---|
| "Exclusive" with no definition | A word in the sales pitch | A written rule: each home you pay for through Targeted Mailshot is reserved for you for 6 months and taken out of other installers' searches |
| Not knowing who else has the homeowner | Up to 3 or 5 firms on a marketplace, or an unknown number elsewhere | Before payment, anyone can see a home. Once you pay, it drops out of other installers' Targeted Mailshot searches for 6 months |
| Homeowners already collecting quotes | You're one of several calls | Your letter arrives before they start shopping, with your name on it |
| Leads that were never going to buy | Tenants, flats, roofs that face the wrong way | Roofs graded A+ to C from LiDAR roof data; flats, known council property and listed buildings removed before you pay |
| Homes that already have panels | Found out on the first call | After payment every home gets a second, visual check. If panels are spotted, the home is removed and the credit comes back |
| A generic pitch | "Get a free solar quote" | A personalised letter showing the home's own roof, panel count and estimated generation, and we print and post it |
The trade-off is honest: a letter is not an enquiry. You are paying to reach a chosen home, not for someone who has already asked for a quote, so it suits installers who want to build a pipeline in their own patch rather than buy hand-raisers. We don't promise a response rate.
To scale across your area, Targeted Mailshot lets you choose graded homes and reserve them. Tell the Neighbours is the best first campaign: the best 30 roofs on your install's road for £75 (30 letters at the £2.50 standard rate, provisional pricing). Credits cost £1.30 to £2.50 each, one credit is one printed and posted letter, with no subscription and no contract.
What should you do before your next lead order?
- Send the five questions to every seller you use. Keep the replies.
- Price unclear "exclusive" leads as shared. If the terms don't say one installer, assume they don't mean it.
- Track cost per installed job, by source. Not cost per lead.
- Keep your follow-up tight. Exclusive or not, the homeowner may be talking to someone else.
- Add a channel where you choose the homes. Letters to graded roofs, with each home you pay for reserved for you for 6 months.
Solar Mailshot is opening soon. Join the waitlist for early access and choose the homes you want to reach yourself. More on the Solar Mailshot homepage.
Sources
- Phantom Digital: How much do solar leads cost? Shared, exclusive, organic (updated 7 October 2026; shared leads £20 to £50 and "one of three, four, or even five companies", exclusive £50 to £150, conversion ranges, warning on "exclusive" leads resold by region)
- PoweredLeads: Exclusive vs shared solar leads, what UK installers should compare (reviewed 5 September 2026; definition of exclusive "under the supplier's agreement", from £45 per accepted lead)
- Bark help centre: how Bark works (customers receive quotes from up to 5 professionals)
- Bark: Pricing for professionals (credit packs, dynamic pricing, credits valid 3 months)
- Trade2Base: Rated People vs MyBuilder vs Checkatrade (8 June 2026; up to 3 tradespeople per Rated People job)
- Uswitch: Energy price cap January 2027, latest predictions (Ofgem to announce the January 2027 cap by 25 November 2026)