Episode 431: Never Miss a Lead Again: How AI is Transforming Customer Engagement

David Banko 00:00
Finding connection, building a relationship. When you know it’s a good fit and you can help them, that’s when the sales will come through.

Intro 00:10
Welcome to the Making Sales Social podcast, featuring the top voices in sales, marketing, and business. Join Brynne Tillman and me, Bob Woods, as we bring you the best tips and strategies our guests are teaching their clients so you can leverage them for your own virtual and social selling. Enjoy the show.

Brynne Tillman 00:35
Welcome back to Making Sales Social. I’m Brynne Tillman, and I’m excited to introduce you to our guest today, David Banko.

David is the innovative founder of Calomation. He’s on a mission to revolutionize how B2C, service-based businesses handle customer engagement through AI solutions that ensure they never miss a lead again. Drawing from his experience as a former gym owner, he created the AI Voice Employee — an automated system designed to manage communication seamlessly, allowing business owners to focus on what they do best while transforming missed calls into real revenue opportunities.

Let’s dive into the conversation. David, welcome to the show.

David Banko 01:35
I think, especially today, you have to start with building a relationship — having meaningful conversations with people to understand their needs. Most sales aren’t made on the first or second contact.

It’s about finding a connection and building a relationship. When it’s a good fit and you can help them, that’s when the sales come through.

Brynne Tillman 02:08
I love that. Tell us about the current need in the marketplace that inspired this AI solution for service-based businesses.

David Banko 02:21
Now more than ever, customers expect fast answers, almost immediately if possible. When people reach out about services or try to book an appointment, they already want answers and to move forward.

The challenge is being available 24/7, which is impossible for humans. So, how do we bridge that gap? How do we provide excellent customer service while making sure we capture every opportunity? Because if we don’t answer the phone, they’ll just call the next business on the list.

Brynne Tillman 03:13
That’s true. I do it all the time — I’ll Google three businesses, and if the first one goes to voicemail, I hang up and call the next. So I get it.

What are some common challenges home service business owners encounter beyond missed calls? Is it a lack of employees? What causes so many opportunities to get lost?

David Banko 03:55
It’s a few things. First, having an efficient system in place. Most of us started businesses because we love what we do and want to help people. But when we’re providing service in person, it’s tough to also handle calls, messages, or forms that come in.

You’re stuck deciding: do I give my client undivided attention, or interrupt to answer the phone? Then, even if you take the call, where does that contact go? Do you have a CRM? Is follow-up happening consistently?

Often, follow-up is sporadic — “when I remember” or “if I have time.” So the solution is creating systems where calls and inquiries are captured, responded to, and organized. That way, we know who needs follow-up, when, and what was last discussed.

For small businesses, it’s hard to do it all at once. So the goal is bridging the gap — freeing up time to provide service, while knowing we aren’t missing potential clients.

Brynne Tillman 05:54
What are some pitfalls you’ve seen when people implement automation incorrectly? Maybe chatbots gone wrong or other mistakes you’ve observed?

David Banko 06:17
The biggest mistake is not putting in the time upfront to set it up properly. AI is a tool, and it’s only as good as the effort we put in.

As much as we’d love it to be “set and forget,” you need to monitor conversations at the beginning. Watch how the AI responds — do adjustments need to be made? Did it miss something? Should it take a different action?

AI is constantly learning and adapting. Setting it up correctly requires training and reviewing customer interactions.

Most importantly, AI is not replacing human connection. It’s there to enhance customer service by making sure every initial consultation or communication is handled. The phone calls, texts, or forms are captured. Then, once the lead is qualified and books a consultation, the business owner steps in.

Listen to your customers. Ask them how the experience was. Did it feel personal? Was it helpful? That feedback helps you improve the system.

Brynne Tillman 08:18
That leads into a common fear: losing the personal touch when using AI. Even with tools like ChatGPT for emails, people worry about losing their voice.

What tips do you have for keeping things personal while still leveraging AI?

David Banko 08:51
AI has become very intuitive. You can actually train it on your brand voice.

If you’ve written emails, posts, training materials, or internal documents, you can feed that content in. The AI learns your writing style, your voice, your brand. Then it communicates in your tone.

That way, the initial communication sounds authentic, like it came from you. It handles the first layer — answering questions, booking appointments — but all real conversations are still with you.

So you’re not losing the personal connection. AI just provides immediate, brand-consistent responses, while freeing you to focus on service delivery.

Brynne Tillman 10:29
I love scaling inbound leads with AI. What I don’t love is when AI pretends to be human. I prefer transparency — “I’m here to connect you with a person.”

How do you balance that?

David Banko 11:22
It’s always easier to be upfront. Most people can tell when they’re speaking to AI anyway.

For example, when my Virtual Receptionist answers, she introduces herself as an AI Virtual Receptionist. We make that clear in both calls and chat.

The goal is to qualify the lead, answer basic questions, and then schedule the next step. From there, the client meets the real person. That’s where the genuine human connection happens.

Brynne Tillman 12:29
So does the AI have access to the calendar? Like through Calendly?

David Banko 12:43
Yes, it’s all done through Calomation. The AI syncs with your calendar in real time.

For example, if you set availability for 9–5 but block off 10–11 with a personal event, the AI sees that and avoids double booking. It’s fully integrated, two-way synced.

Brynne Tillman 13:29
That’s great. There are so many AI solutions emerging. In B2C, scaling inbound leads seems like the biggest challenge.

Where are these leads usually coming from? Google? Websites? Ads?

David Banko 14:42
Short answer: anywhere.

Google and SEO are big ones. Someone sees your profile, calls, or visits your site and chats. The AI can handle calls 24/7 or just as a backup. For example, if the phone rings three times with no answer, the AI picks it up.

Brynne Tillman 15:31
I love that. So it’s not necessarily replacing a receptionist — it can enhance an answering service too. That’s powerful.

As we start to wrap up, is there a question I should have asked you about AI that would help our listeners?

David Banko 16:44
One question I hear often is about paid advertising.

Paid ads are a great source of leads, but only if your backend systems are set up. If follow-up isn’t in place, you’ll waste a lot of potential ROI.

Here’s what I’ve learned: about 3–5% of people are ready to buy right away. Around 80–85% aren’t ready yet but will be in the future, and the remaining 10% never will.

If your systems only capture that 3–5%, you’re leaving huge revenue on the table. AI helps by ensuring leads are captured, nurtured, and followed up with consistently — so when that 80–85% is ready, they convert.

Brynne Tillman 18:28
That’s a great point. Many of our listeners are in B2B using LinkedIn ads. I imagine the same logic applies there too.

David Banko 18:50
Exactly. If you’re running lead gen ads on LinkedIn, the forms can flow right into the system. The AI responds instantly, engages the lead, and books the next step.

Meanwhile, you get notified immediately so you can also follow up personally. It automates the process while keeping everything organized in your pipeline.

Brynne Tillman 19:27
That’s valuable. If you’re investing in ads but your conversion rates aren’t where they should be, using AI like this could maximize ROI.

Thank you so much, David. How can folks connect with you?

David Banko 20:07
You can find me on social media at Calomation. My personal pages are under my name, David Banko.

You can also visit my website, calomation.com, where I have a demo available. You can even call the AI to experience how it works.

Brynne Tillman 20:28
That’s great. I encourage listeners to try it out. This is a perfect example of AI enhancing business without pretending to be human.

Thank you, David. I think your work will have a huge impact on conversions.

And to our audience: when you’re out and about, don’t forget to make your sales social.

Outro:

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