Introduction
In today’s fast-paced business environment, flexibility, efficiency, and control over your technology stack can define competitive advantage. For one leading U.S. homebuilder, an overreliance on a costly third-party lead qualification vendor was creating operational friction, rising expenses, and missed opportunities. By partnering with Ampersand, the company was able to take back control — saving approximately $3 million annually and significantly improving lead quality.
The Challenge: A System That Wasn’t Built for Them
The homebuilder had been depending on Verse.ai, a third-party vendor providing SMS-based lead qualification services. Despite a $3M annual investment, the vendor’s performance lagged behind expectations:
- Lead quality was inconsistent
- Customization was limited, failing to support multilingual needs
- Feedback and updates were slow
- Operational costs continued to climb
Most critically, the system wasn’t truly tailored to the company’s evolving business needs or customer expectations.
The Turning Point: Recognizing the Need for Change
It became clear that continuing with a one-size-fits-all external solution would put long-term profitability, customer satisfaction, and operational agility at risk. We proposed a new, customized approach—one that would integrate seamlessly with the company’s internal Salesforce systems and deliver greater flexibility, ownership, and cost efficiency.
Our Solution: Customizing for Control and Growth
Ampersand designed and implemented a fully customized Salesforce-based lead qualification system, replacing Verse.ai with an internal, scalable solution built using:
- Salesforce Prompt Builder
- Salesforce Einstein Bots
Our unique approach flipped the typical usage of Einstein Bots: instead of simply providing information, they were re-engineered to gather structured customer data and feed it directly into Salesforce fields — without data degradation.
Key features of our solution included:
- Full multilingual support
- Real-time script optimization using NLP and LLM methodologies
- Integration with Salesforce CI/CD workflows
- Agile delivery with rapid pilot-to-rollout scaling
- Extensive employee training and support resources
The Results: Immediate Value and Long-Term Advantage
Following implementation, the company saw measurable and immediate benefits:
- Approximately $3M/year in cost savings
- Significant increase in lead quality and conversion potential
- Higher customer satisfaction and improved internal sales team engagement
- Reduction in lead management errors
- Ownership of a scalable, flexible system for future growth
Why It Matters: Building Systems That Serve You
This project demonstrates a broader truth: businesses thrive when their systems are built around their needs, not forced into external templates. Customization, flexibility, and internal ownership are no longer optional — they are the keys to sustainable success.
At Ampersand, we specialize in helping organizations move beyond rigid vendor solutions. We create customized, scalable technology ecosystems that empower companies to grow, adapt, and lead.
Ready to take control of your tech? Let’s build the future together.
