AI lead generation for small business · Inbound + outbound · Built on your stack
AI lead generation, built and operated for your small business
We build the whole lead generation pipeline in your stack. Sourced in Apollo or Clay, sent via Smartlead or Instantly, qualified in your CRM, booked straight into your calendar. Then we run it weekly, so your sender reputation stays clean and your meetings don't dry up in month 2.
Used by SMBs running HubSpot, GoHighLevel, Pipedrive, Apollo, and Cal.com
HubSpot
GoHighLevel
Apollo
Smartlead
Cal.com
Slack
Pipedrive
[X]
SMBs running our lead-gen systems
[Y]
qualified meetings booked per month
[Z]%
average reply rate · industry blended is 3.43%
Numbers refresh as new clients ramp. We never claim what we cannot show on a screen-share.
The 90-day cancellation problem
Why most AI lead generation setups fail in month 2
Three buyer paths dominate the market right now. Buy a single autonomous AI SDR product. Stack five DIY tools and run it yourself. Hire a traditional lead-gen agency on a six-figure annual retainer. Each one breaks for SMBs in a predictable way. Here is what we see, and what we ship instead.
Before, what most SMBs hit
You bought an AI SDR. It got cancelled in 90 days.
Industry research across 2026 studies shows 50 to 70 percent of teams that buy autonomous AI SDR products cancel inside the first 90 days. AI-only emails have an 8 percent spam-flag rate versus 3 percent for human-written ones. Your sender reputation takes the hit, not the vendor's.
You stacked DIY tools. Your domain got banned.
Apollo plus Clay plus Instantly plus Smartlead is four tools with zero strategy. Three months in, your primary corporate domain lands on the Google Postmaster bad list. Your founders' inboxes start landing in spam, including invoices.
You hired a lead-gen agency. They wouldn't tell you a price.
Belkins, Martal, and Cleverly publish ranges from $3,600 to $14,800 per month on three-to-six-month minimums. Real pricing is hidden behind a sales call. Most SMBs sign before they understand the scope.
After, what we build instead
An AI-assisted system, not an unsupervised AI agent.
We use AI where it earns its cost: personalization, classification, and reply drafting. We keep humans on the sensitive parts the first 30 days. The 50-to-70 percent churn rate doesn't apply, because there is no autonomous agent to fire.
A deliverability discipline most teams skip.
Two to four lookalike sending domains, 14-day warm-up per domain, sending caps under 50 per inbox per day, suppression hygiene that propagates instantly. We never send from your primary corporate domain.
Pricing published. No three-month minimum.
Builds from $2,500. Retainers from $500 per month. Final scope set on a 30-minute discovery call, which is free. You walk away with a one-page ICP brief either way.
Two pipelines, one system
How AI lead generation actually works
AI lead generation is a system of sourcing, enrichment, sending, qualifying, and booking, where AI runs only at the parts that earn its cost: finding accounts, drafting first lines, classifying replies. The system has two pipelines. Inbound responds to leads who already found you, outbound reaches the ones who haven't yet. A working AI lead generation setup is one or both, configured for your stack and operated weekly.
Most pages in this category sell you on one half. We build both, because most SMBs need both, and the same plumbing serves them.
Inbound speed-to-lead, form to qualified call in under 5 minutes
MIT and InsideSales research found that responding to a web form inside 5 minutes makes the lead 21 times more likely to qualify. Most SMBs respond in hours.
✓Form, chatbot, or call submission triggers enrichment via Apollo or Clay. Company size, tech stack, last funding round, all on the record.
✓Score against your ICP rules, write to your CRM, post a Slack alert with the lead summary.
✓If hot, fire an SMS reply plus an AI voice agent callback inside 60 seconds (the MIT 21x window).
✓If no answer on the callback, sequence kicks in: voicemail, follow-up SMS, fallback to email.
✓Pairs naturally with our AI chatbots on the inbound surface, so chat hand-offs flow into the same pipeline.
Cold-email reply rates collapsed once mass-AI-personalization hit the market. The fix is tighter ICP, smaller volume, and a human eye on replies the first 30 days.
✓ICP defined in week 1, sourced via Apollo or Clay. Typical TAM lands between 2,000 and 20,000 accounts for a US-focused SMB.
✓Enrichment adds buying triggers: job change in the last 90 days, recent funding, tech-stack signals from BuiltWith or Clay.
✓AI drafts a hyper-specific first line per prospect. We ship templates only as a starting point, not as the send.
✓A 4-step sequence runs through Smartlead, Instantly, or Lemlist, with rotating sending domains and per-inbox caps.
✓Replies classify into interested, objection, OOO, or hard pass. Drafts queue in a Slack channel for human approval the first 30 days.
✓Cal.com handoff books the meeting, reminds the prospect, and writes back to your CRM.
Live in 2 to 3 weeks (the domain warm-up alone is 14 days). Build from $4,500.
The part nobody else publishes
Deliverability is what kills most lead-gen systems. Here's how we keep your domain clean.
A 2026 cold-email study of 100,000 sends found AI-only outbound has an 8 percent spam-flag rate vs 3 percent for human-written outbound. The reply-rate gap between AI and human writing is closing, 4.1 percent vs 5.2 percent, but the deliverability gap is widening.
We learned this one the hard way. Early on, we ran a client's outbound off two domains warmed for 8 days instead of 14, on the assumption that Google's filters had eased up. They hadn't. Reputation tanked at day 11, the second domain followed two days later, and we burned a week buying replacements and starting the warm-up clock over. Now 14 days is non-negotiable, no exceptions, no client requests to "just go faster."
Domain rotation
We never send from your primary corporate domain. We register 2 to 4 lookalike sending domains, run a 14-day warm-up on each, and rotate sends across them. If one takes a reputation hit, the others keep flowing. Your founders' inbox stays clean.
Warm-up protocol
New domains start at 30 to 50 sends per inbox per day and ramp to 100 per day over 30 days. Hard ceiling: 500 per day per sending domain. Plain-text where possible. No template-y subject lines, no link-stuffed signatures, no images on first sends.
Suppression hygiene
Every unsubscribe propagates instantly across all sequences and all sending domains. Quarterly domain-reputation audits via Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS. CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and CCPA rules built into every send template, not bolted on later.
Free, takes 20 minutes, you keep the report whether we work together or not.
Stack-agnostic on purpose
The AI lead generation tools we build on
We're tool-agnostic. We pick the stack based on your CRM, your sending volume, and your budget. Not on a partnership we benefit from, because we don't have any.
Apollo
Data plus light outreach for 1 to 2-seat sales operations on a tight budget.
Clay
Enrichment plus custom signal building for tighter, signal-driven ICPs.
Smartlead
High-volume sending with rotation and warm-up; default for $4,500+ builds.
Instantly
SMB-friendly sender with built-in warm-up; default for sub-2k sends per month.
Lemlist
When LinkedIn plus email plus cold call multichannel actually matters.
HubSpot
The SMB CRM default. HubSpot Free is enough to start.
GoHighLevel
Services-vertical and agency-friendly CRM with native SMS and calling.
Open-source booking, our default. Calendly works too.
n8n
The glue when no native integration exists. Self-hosted if you need EU residency.
4 phases, no surprises
How lead generation automation works in 4 phases
Same engagement shape as the rest of our workflow automation for SMBs work. Discovery sets the ICP, build ships v1, launch tests live, operate runs weekly.
1
Week 1
Discovery + ICP
30-minute discovery call, then a 3 to 5 day paid discovery sprint. We deliver a one-page ICP brief covering firmographics (employee count, revenue band, geography), technographics (CRM, ad stack, current sender), and buying triggers (recent funding, leadership change, tech-stack moves). Plus a lead-system blueprint that maps which pipeline fits, what tools we'll use, and what week 4 looks like. You pull a list of your last 50 closed-won customers. We do the rest.
2
Weeks 2 to 4
Build Sprint
Inbound speed-to-lead pipeline live within 1 to 2 weeks. Form, enrichment, CRM write, Slack alert, SMS plus voice handoff inside 5 minutes. Outbound v1 live within 2 to 3 weeks. The 14-day domain warm-up sets the floor; we run sourcing, enrichment, and copy in parallel during that window. Multi-channel outbound: 4 to 6 weeks total when LinkedIn and voice handoff are added. You get weekly Loom walkthroughs, a runbook in Notion, and Slack access to the build channel.
3
Weeks 4 to 6
Launch + Iterate
Daily watch on domain reputation, open rates, reply rates, bounce rates, and spam-flag rates. Weekly A/B tests on subject lines, first lines, and sender names. Reply triage in your Slack with human approval on every send the first 30 days. We earn full autonomy on classification before we take it.
4
Ongoing
Operate
Weekly metrics review with you and your sales lead. Monthly ICP retest, because what worked in May 2026 won't necessarily work in August. Quarterly system audit covering domain health, list hygiene, and CRM data quality. Same-day fixes when deliverability dips. New sequences and channels added from a backlog as your base outbound stabilizes. Built on the same infrastructure as our other workflow automation services.
Get your ICP brief and lead-system blueprint. The discovery sprint tells you which pipeline fits before you commit to a build.
Plays where you already work
Plays in the stack you already have
We build inside your CRM and wire your sender, calendar, voice handoff, and AI models. If your tool isn't on this list, our custom AI integrations team covers it via n8n or HTTP webhook. Most SMBs run on five or fewer of the tools below.
The system works for any B2B sales motion with a clear ICP and an average deal value above $2,000. Below are the six SMB shapes we ship most often.
B2B SaaS SMBs
ICP-tight outbound to a 2,000 to 20,000-account TAM. Cal.com booking on a 25-minute slot. Pipeline reporting written back to HubSpot or Pipedrive. Native scoring on plan tier, headcount, and tech-stack fit.
Marketing and creative agencies
Outbound to mid-market brands hiring for creative or paid media. LinkedIn plus email multichannel, with reply triage in Slack. Best fit when your average retainer is $5,000 per month or more.
Recruiting and staffing firms
Outbound to hiring managers, the highest-replying segment in our book (typical 4 to 8 percent reply rate). Trigger-based: recent funding, recent layoffs in adjacent companies, posted-job signals.
Consulting and professional services
Partner-style outbound, longer cycles, high-value meetings. We tilt toward fewer sends and tighter personalization, often 200 to 400 prospects per sender per month.
MSPs and IT services
Outbound to SMB IT decision-makers. Multi-channel. Voice handoff via AI voice agents for inbound qualification on demos. Pairs well with co-managed IT pitches.
Contractors and local services
Inbound speed-to-lead is the play here. Web form to SMS reply to AI voice agent callback inside 5 minutes. Recovers missed calls and after-hours leads. Most contractor SMBs see lead-to-booking lift inside the first 30 days.
Real systems, not case-study theater
SMBs we've built lead-gen systems for
We're early-cohort with a working portfolio. Numbers update monthly as new clients ramp. We won't dress these up.
[X]
SMBs running an active Scale me AI lead-gen system
[Y]
meetings booked per month, blended across all clients
[Z]%
average reply rate · industry blended B2B is 3.43%
“[Outcome-specific 1-sentence quote about meetings booked, time saved, or reply rate]”
[Name], [Role] at [Company] · [Headcount band] employees · [Industry]
“[Outcome-specific 1-sentence quote about deliverability, domain health, or replacing a tool stack]”
[Name], [Role] at [Company] · [Headcount band] employees · [Industry]
“[Outcome-specific 1-sentence quote about inbound speed-to-lead recovery]”
[Name], [Role] at [Company] · [Headcount band] employees · [Industry]
30 minutes, free, no slide deck.
Pricing, published, not gated
Pricing, published, not gated
Most lead-gen agencies hide pricing. We don't. The numbers below are the floors. Final scope is set on the discovery call, after we look at your CRM and your current sending setup.
Inbound Speed-to-Lead
from $2,500
from $500/mo retainer · Live in 1 to 2 weeks
✓Form to enrichment to CRM to SMS plus voice handoff in under 5 minutes
✓One CRM, one inbound source (form, chatbot, or call), one voice/SMS handoff
✓Slack alerts on every inbound, with the enriched company summary
✓Weekly metrics digest covering response time, conversion to booked, no-show rate
✓Loom walkthroughs and a Notion runbook at hand-off
Best fit: Contractors, MSPs, dental and legal practices, any SMB whose website already gets inbound and whose problem is response speed.
Outbound System v1
Most picked
from $4,500
from $1,200/mo retainer · Live in 2 to 3 weeks
✓ICP brief plus sourcing on Apollo or Clay
✓1 to 2 sending domains, 14-day warm-up, one 4-step sequence
✓AI personalization on first lines, classification on replies, drafts in Slack for approval
✓Cal.com booking with reminders and CRM write-back
✓Weekly iteration on subject lines, first lines, and sender names
Best fit: B2B SaaS, marketing agencies, recruiting firms, consulting firms, any team that needs outbound to drive 5 to 25 booked meetings per month.
Full Lead-Gen as a Service
from $8,000
from $2,500/mo retainer · Live in 4 to 6 weeks
✓Both pipelines, inbound plus outbound
✓Multi-channel outbound: cold email plus LinkedIn plus voice handoff via AI voice agents
✓Reply triage with same-day human approval the first 30 days
✓Monthly ICP retest, quarterly system audit, weekly metrics review
✓Reporting dashboard wired to your CRM
Best fit: SMBs that want one team owning the whole pipeline so the in-house sales lead can stay on closing.
Final scope after a 30-minute discovery call. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you on the call.
Tooling pass-through (Apollo, Clay, Smartlead, voice provider) typically lands $200 to $800 per month. We disclose those costs upfront and bill them at cost.
12 questions, straight answers
Frequently asked questions
What is AI lead generation?
A system of sourcing, enrichment, sending, qualifying, and booking, where AI runs only at the parts that earn its cost: finding accounts, drafting first lines, classifying replies. It's the whole pipeline, not a single product. Most SMBs need both inbound speed-to-lead and outbound sequences running together.
Can you use AI to generate leads?
Yes, in two ways. Inbound speed-to-lead automations respond to web forms inside 5 minutes via SMS and a voice callback (the MIT 21x window). Outbound runs ICP-tight cold sequences with AI-personalized first lines and human-approved replies. The systems work; the unsupervised AI SDR products mostly don't. We build the systems.
What's the difference between an AI SDR and an AI lead generation system?
An AI SDR is a single autonomous product (11x.ai, Artisan, AiSDR, Reply's Jason). An AI lead generation system is the whole pipeline: sourcing, enrichment, sending, qualifying, and booking. Often built across several tools and operated by a team that watches it. We build the system.
Is an AI SDR right for your business?
Usually not. Industry data across multiple 2026 studies shows 50 to 70 percent of teams that buy AI SDR products cancel inside 90 days. AI-only emails have an 8 percent spam-flag rate versus 3 percent for human-written. We build AI-assisted, not AI-autonomous, and keep a human in the loop the first 30 days. The math holds up better.
Why do AI SDRs get marked as spam?
Because filters detect statistical fingerprints. A 2026 study of 100,000 cold sends found AI-only outbound has an 8 percent spam-flag rate vs 3 percent for human-written. The fix: smaller volume, hyper-specific personalization, multiple warm sending domains, plain-text where possible, and a human reviewing the first 30 days of replies.
How much does AI lead generation cost?
The market falls in three bands. DIY tool stacks land $200 to $500 per month, plus your time. Autonomous AI SDR products run $900 to $5,000 per month. Lead-gen agencies charge $3,600 to $14,800+ per month on retainer. We publish ours: builds from $2,500, retainers from $500 per month. No three-month minimum.
How fast can we launch?
Inbound speed-to-lead: 1 to 2 weeks. Outbound v1: 2 to 3 weeks, because the 14-day domain warm-up sets the floor. Multi-channel (cold email plus LinkedIn plus voice handoff): 4 to 6 weeks. We stage the launches so you see meetings booked before the full system is finished.
Will it integrate with HubSpot, Salesforce, GoHighLevel, or Pipedrive?
All four are first-class. We build inside your existing CRM. If you're on a niche tool like Close, Copper, or a custom Postgres setup, n8n or an HTTP webhook covers it. We don't migrate your CRM; we wire the lead-gen pipeline into the one you already pay for.
Can we own the system if we leave?
Yes. Built in your accounts. All sequences, prompts, target lists, and suppression files exported on exit. No platform lock-in, no proprietary middleware. The Notion runbook, Loom walkthroughs, and prompt library are yours.
Is AI cold outreach legal?
Yes when run with CAN-SPAM-compliant opt-out, suppression discipline, B2B-only data, and (for EU prospects) a GDPR-compliant lawful basis. We build to those rules from day one. SMS sends require TCPA-grade consent in the US, which is why we keep cold to email and use SMS only for inbound replies and your existing CRM contacts.
What if our ICP is unclear?
The discovery week handles that. We deliver a sharpened ICP brief with firmographics, technographics, and buying triggers, not a list of guesses. If your TAM is sub-2,000 accounts and outbound math doesn't work, we'll say so on the call. Better to flag it now than burn a 14-day warm-up on the wrong audience.
How do we measure ROI?
Weekly: meetings booked, meetings held (no-show rate), opportunities created, dollars in pipeline, dollars closed-won. Benchmarked against your current cost per lead (industry blended B2B CPL is around $237). Monthly we retest the ICP, because the signal that worked in May 2026 may not work in August.
Pair this with the rest of your AI stack
Pair lead-gen automation with the rest of your AI stack
Most SMBs run two of these together. Voice plus lead-gen is the most common pair.
Lead-gen + Voice
AI voice agents
Inbound speed-to-lead's voice handoff, in under 60 seconds. Also runs after-hours answering, missed-call recovery, and qualification on demos.
Stop paying for AI SDRs that get cancelled in 90 days.
Book a discovery call. First 30 minutes, free. Walk away with a one-page ICP brief and a lead-system blueprint either way. No three-month minimum, no slide deck, no “call for a quote.”
