Instant Lead Follow-Up
with Conversational AI
Ship AI Consulting designed and built an outbound voice AI system for Blackfoot Communications, a 70-year-old cooperative with 180+ employees and $76M in fiber expansion. The system integrates with CrowdFiber and the Blackfoot website to instantly call new leads, qualify interest, and schedule appointments with human reps, all within seconds of form submission.
Overview
Blackfoot Communications is a telecom cooperative serving Western Montana and Eastern Idaho. As they expanded fiber availability with partners like CrowdFiber, they needed to turn website leads into appointments faster, before competitors could respond. Ship AI Consulting built an instant lead follow-up system that calls new leads within seconds of form submission, qualifies them through conversation, and schedules meetings with human reps. Contact time went from hours to seconds.
The Challenge
The client needed a system that could bridge multiple vendors (Blackfoot's website and CrowdFiber's lead capture) and turn form submissions into immediate, qualified conversations without manual intervention.
The solution had to be reliable under real-time constraints. Every second of delay meant a colder lead. Ship AI Consulting built a dedicated webhook server to receive, parse, and orchestrate calls, with prompt engineering to align the AI's behavior with Blackfoot's fiber expansion messaging.
Our Approach
Ship AI Consulting leveraged the same voice AI architecture used for TalkWize, extended with a custom integration layer for Blackfoot's multi-vendor workflow:
Phase 1: Webhook Integration Layer
Built a dedicated server to receive webhooks from CrowdFiber. Parsed incoming lead data (name, phone, location, interest) and validated payloads before triggering downstream actions.
Phase 2: Retell Outbound Orchestration
Integrated with Retell to place outbound calls immediately upon webhook receipt. Passed lead context into the voice agent so conversations were personalized from the first ring.
Phase 3: Prompt Engineering & Qualification
Designed conversation flows for lead qualification, including understanding interest level, answering fiber expansion questions, and scheduling appointments with human reps when appropriate.
Phase 4: Call Lifecycle & Reporting
Captured call results from Retell (transcripts, outcomes, disposition) and surfaced them for tracking. Ensured the system was observable and debuggable for the client.
Key Deliverables
Webhook Server
- CrowdFiber webhook receiver
- Lead data parsing and validation
- Always-on deployment on Render
Outbound Voice AI
- Retell integration for instant calling
- Same agent architecture as TalkWize
- Context-aware conversations
Prompt Engineering
- Lead qualification conversation design
- Fiber expansion messaging
- Appointment scheduling flow
Call Lifecycle Handling
- Receive and process Retell call events
- Transcript and outcome capture
- Reporting for client visibility
Multi-Vendor Integration
- Blackfoot website + CrowdFiber bridge
- Seamless handoff to human reps
- End-to-end lead flow
Infrastructure
- Render deployment
- Reliable webhook ingestion
- Secure configuration
Outcomes
Lead contact time, down from 4+ hours to near-instant
Call placement success when leads were received
Outbound calling triggered on form submission
Leads screened by AI before human handoff
The system was built and deployed successfully, demonstrating Blackfoot's ability to use conversational AI for lead conversion. The technical architecture (webhook-triggered outbound calling, Retell integration, and prompt-tuned qualification) proved reliable and scalable. The project established a foundation for expanded rollout as Blackfoot continues to grow fiber availability across new zones.
Technologies Used
Let's Build Something Together
Ship AI Consulting specializes in conversational AI, voice agents, and lead conversion systems. If you're planning similar integrations, whether for telecom, utilities, or multi-vendor workflows, we'd welcome the chance to discuss your requirements.