Turning door enquiries into qualified leads with AI
An AI assistant that answers technical fire-door questions and qualifies commercial enquiries 24/7 — so the team only speaks to ready buyers.
The problem
Technical product questions (fire ratings, sizes, compliance) flooded the inbox and phone, and out-of-hours enquiries were lost. The team spent hours answering the same questions before a lead was even qualified.
Discovery
We mapped the most common buyer questions and the information needed to qualify a commercial enquiry, and reviewed the existing product range and specifications.
Research
We analysed real enquiry patterns to design a conversation that mirrors how the best salesperson qualifies a job — opening size, FD rating, new build vs replacement, timescale.
The solution
A branded AI chatbot trained on the product range and specifications, embedded on the Steel Door platform, capturing and scoring leads automatically and routing them to the team.
Architecture
Next.js front end, Appwrite for storage, multi-model AI routing (Claude/OpenAI) behind a server route with rate limiting and guardrails. Leads flow into an automation pipeline.
Development
Built the conversation design, system prompt and lead-capture flow, with human-escalation and full conversation logging for continuous improvement.
Results
Every enquiry now gets an instant, accurate response — day or night — and the team receives pre-qualified leads instead of raw questions.
Lessons learned
- →Conversation design matters more than the model — qualifying questions drive lead quality.
- →Guardrails and honest 'let me get a human' responses build trust.
Future improvements
- →Add instant indicative pricing for standard sizes.
- →Two-way CRM sync with automated follow-up sequences.
Ready to put AI to work in your business?
Book a free, no-pressure discovery call. We'll find where AI and automation save you time and win you work — then show you exactly what we'd build.
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