Artificial intelligence has reached the lower-middle-market, as seen in the case study of Haley, an AI agent deployed by Entrepreneur-Through-Acquisition (ETA) Tyrel Sulzer to win customers for his commercial driving school, TransTech.
In a fascinating conversation with Search Party, TransTech co-CEO Sulzer and his investment partner, Dustin Sellers, Managing Partner of ETA private equity firm Next Coast Legacy, share details of Haley's rapid implementation, and how the AI agent has transformed the sales function of North Carolina-based TransTech.
In a recent week, Haley, programmed with a slight southern drawl and "aw shucks" charm, exchanged 16,000 text messages with potential customers, as well as 300 voice calls. Over that time, Haley's lead outreach enjoyed a staggering 66% response rate.
Most real people to have interacted with Haley, including Sellers, couldn't tell she was an AI agent. "It's working. . . it's not clunky," says Sellers.
Among the episode highlights:
Having developed a reputation as a technology laggard, the lower-middle-market is now rapidly adopting AI-powered tools to transform business functions, including sales-qualification outreach. " If you're not using technology in the lower middle market, um, you're likely gonna get left behind," says Sellers, who estimates that platforms like Haley may add 100 to 200 basis points to a company's bottom line.
Sulzer set up Haley in a single afternoon after learning from a friend that the same technology had outperformed a human sales team.
As TransTech grows and scales, Haley is facilitating greater revenue-per-internal employee, and important metric of success.
Haley has exhibited great ingenuity in responding to customer requests, but at one point had to be programmed to not surreptitiously change identities as a sales tactic.
Follow the Search Party video-podcast on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/search-party-channel
Search Party Lead Sponsor: Next Coast Legacy https://lnkd.in/eSAuRW5p
Search Party Sponsors: Avidbank https://www.avidbank.com/ Boulay – Contact Boulay's Search Fund Team: https://lnkd.in/eFF88SVf Mayer Brown https://lnkd.in/gU7sPPSg Oberle Risk Strategies https://oberle-risk.com/
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.