Online lead generation is valuable for financial advisers and prospective clients, but it's far from a flawless market. This week, Ian joins forces with colleague and reporter Laura Purkess, to chat with Contact State founder Alain Desmier.

Laura has valuable experience here, having delivered scoops for New Model Adviser on murky practices in lead gen. Alain, meanwhile, devotes his career to helping companies and individuals use lead generation sites with confidence. Here, we separate the good from the bad, and try to make sense of the sites that connect people with professionals.