Stop Wasting Time on Low-Quality Leads Custom Lead Scoring Built for Your Shop
Imagine prioritizing prospects who actually need your precision metalwork, not chasing dead-ends that drain your quoting hours. Our AI system scores leads based on your unique fabrication workflows, helping you close 30% more deals without the guesswork.
Join 150+ businesses with streamlined lead pipelines
The "Lead Qualification" Problem
Endless Quotes for Tiny Jobs Like One-Off Steel Brackets That Never Convert to Production Runs
Overloaded Estimators Chasing Wrong-Sized Projects, from Custom Weldments to Oversized Structural Beams
Missed Opportunities from Trade Show Follow-Ups on Booth Inquiries for Custom Fixtures and Assemblies
Inconsistent Lead Flow from Supplier Referrals for Raw Material Needs Like Aluminum Extrusions
Delayed Projects Due to Poor Lead Prioritization on Time-Sensitive Site Installations
Wasted Ad Spend on Non-Fabrication Prospects Interested in Off-the-Shelf Hardware, Not CNC Machined Parts
Our Tailored Lead Scoring Solution for Fabrication Shops
We've helped over 50 manufacturing teams build AI systems that fit their shop floor realities, drawing from our own experience scaling fabrication operations.
Why Choose Us
Let's be honest, off-the-shelf lead scoring tools treat every lead like a cookie-cutter part, but your custom fabrication shop deals with unique specs like tolerances down to 0.001 inches or jobs involving exotic alloys. We build a custom AI model from the ground up, trained on your historical data from past bids, CNC job logs, and customer interactions. No more one-size-fits-all nonsense. This system learns your workflow—scoring leads based on project complexity, material needs, and urgency signals—so you focus on winners. You're probably thinking, 'How does it integrate with my setup?' Seamlessly, into your ERP or quoting software, delivering a single score that tells your team exactly who to call first.
What Makes Us Different:
Why This Custom Fit Transforms Your Shop
Prioritize High-Margin Fabrication Leads
Prioritize High-Margin Fabrication Leads: Imagine your AI spotting leads for precision stainless steel components in HVAC systems over basic sheet metal enclosures. Shops using our custom system report closing 25% more deals in Q1, freeing estimators from low-ball quotes that idle your CNC mills and plasma cutters for weeks.
Reduce Quoting Time on Dead-End Prospects
Reduce Quoting Time on Dead-End Prospects: Stop wasting days on RFQs for one-off prototypes that vanish. Our scoring pulls from your CAD files and past bid data on weldments, cutting unqualified leads by 35%. A mid-sized fab shop reduced their weekly quoting backlog from 50 RFQs to 20, accelerating delivery of structural steel components without weekend overtime.
Scale Your Sales Without Adding Headcount
Scale Your Sales Without Adding Headcount: As your operation expands from custom prototypes to high-volume runs of machined assemblies, our AI adapts by scoring on factors like repeat orders for OEM automotive parts. Outcome? 20% higher win rates on complex aluminum extrusions over six months, keeping your shop floor lean and productive.
What Clients Say
"Before AIQ's lead scoring, we'd burn days quoting small weldment jobs for custom enclosures that never turned into repeat business. Now, it prioritizes leads with solid volume potential—like that HVAC supplier who scored 85+ and became our top client, bringing in $200K in quarterly stainless steel orders. We've saved at least 15 hours a week on pointless follow-ups."
Mike Rivera
Operations Manager, Precision Fab Works Inc., a custom metal fabrication shop in Ohio
"Trade show leads were chaos—half were hobbyists wanting single aluminum brackets. The custom AI they tailored analyzes project specs like tolerances and delivery urgency, so we pounced on a $150K extrusion order for construction scaffolding within 48 hours. It's like an extra salesperson who gets our CNC routing capabilities inside out."
Sarah Chen
Sales Director, AlloyCraft Manufacturing Ltd., specializing in aluminum components for industrial applications
"It integrated seamlessly with our Epicor ERP for tracking titanium aerospace parts. No more guessing on lead quality for high-precision components. Over the last six months, we've doubled our close rate on leads scoring above 70, letting estimators focus on complex assemblies instead of sifting through low-value RFQs."
Tom Hargrove
Owner, ForgeLine Fabrications LLC, a titanium and alloy specialist in Texas
Simple 3-Step Process
Discovery and Data Mapping
We dive into your shop's lead sources, from website inquiries to supplier tips, mapping how past fabrication jobs converted. This builds the foundation for your custom model, ensuring it understands metrics like material costs and lead times.
AI Model Training and Customization
Using your historical bids and CRM data, we train the AI to score leads on factors unique to fabrication, like tolerance requirements or batch sizes. We tweak it iteratively with your input for a perfect workflow fit.
Integration and Launch
We wire it into your tools—think seamless CRM updates or dashboard alerts. Launch with training for your team, then monitor and refine based on real shop performance to keep scores sharpening over time.
Why We're Different
What's Included
Common Questions
How does the lead scoring handle custom fabrication specifics like material tolerances?
Great question—fab shops like yours deal with precision that's worlds apart from standard manufacturing. Our AI is trained on your data, factoring in elements like required tolerances (e.g., +/- 0.005 inches), material types (stainless vs. aluminum), and even supplier lead times for exotics. We start by auditing your past quotes to identify patterns—say, leads requesting tight tolerances convert 40% higher. Then, the model assigns scores accordingly, so a vague 'metal part' inquiry gets low marks, while a detailed aerospace spec hits 90+. It's all custom-built to your workflow, integrating with your quoting software for instant feedback. No generic assumptions here; it's tuned to boost your hit rate on complex jobs without overwhelming your estimators.
What if my shop uses legacy ERP software for leads?
Legacy systems are common in fabrication—think older versions of Epicor or Infor that don't play nice with modern APIs. Here's the thing: We specialize in robust, two-way integrations that bridge those gaps without forcing an upgrade. We'll map your ERP's lead data fields, like job numbers or customer PO histories, into our AI model. For example, if a lead references a past weldment order, it boosts the score based on that relationship. The setup takes about 2-4 weeks, with minimal disruption to your shop floor. Post-launch, scores flow back into your ERP as tags, so your team sees priorities right in their daily queue. We've done this for shops running 20-year-old systems, cutting integration headaches and delivering quick wins like 25% faster quote turnaround.
How accurate is the scoring for new lead sources like online marketplaces?
Online leads from places like ThomasNet or Alibaba can be hit-or-miss for fab shops, flooded with low-quality inquiries. Our custom model starts with 75-85% accuracy out of the gate, based on your training data, and improves to 90%+ within months. We incorporate source-specific signals—e.g., a lead from a verified OEM profile scores higher than a generic post. Let's say you get 100 marketplace RFQs monthly; the AI filters out 60% as mismatches (like non-precision needs), prioritizing the rest by urgency and budget hints. You're probably thinking about false positives—we build in human review tiers for borderline scores. One client saw their conversion rate on these leads jump from 10% to 28% in three months, all while keeping their CNC schedule tight.
Can this scale if my fabrication shop expands to multiple locations?
Absolutely, scalability is key for growing shops juggling facilities in different states. Our AI is designed as a central hub that pulls leads from all sites—whether from local trade associations or national bids—while customizing scores per location's strengths, like one plant's expertise in large structural steel vs. another's in micro-machining. We use cloud-based architecture that handles 10x volume spikes without lag, integrating with shared ERPs. For instance, a multi-site client scored leads across three plants, unifying their pipeline and reducing cross-location quote conflicts by 50%. Setup includes location-based weighting, so a lead near your main fab hub gets a urgency boost. It's flexible, owned by you, and grows as you add shifts or new lines—no extra costs per site.
What's the ROI timeline for implementing custom lead scoring?
ROI in fabrication is all about tangible wins, like more closed jobs without bloating overhead. Most shops see payback in 3-6 months through 20-30% higher close rates and 40% less time on bad leads. Take quoting: If your estimators spend 10 hours weekly on duds, that's $500+ saved per person monthly at shop rates. We track it with built-in metrics—lead-to-quote conversion, average job value from scored leads. One fab shop hit breakeven in 10 weeks after prioritizing $200K+ structural projects over small runs. Here's the thing: We build in a pilot phase to prove value fast, with full rollout only after you see the numbers. Long-term, it compounds as the AI learns your seasonal patterns, like summer construction surges, optimizing your entire lead pipeline for steady ROI.
How do you ensure data security for sensitive fabrication leads?
Security is non-negotiable in custom fab, where leads often include proprietary designs or defense-related specs. We use enterprise-grade encryption (AES-256) for all data in transit and at rest, with SOC 2 compliance to match your industry's standards. Your leads never touch third-party clouds without your control—we host on your preferred secure infrastructure or ours with role-based access. For example, only your sales team sees full scores; estimators get anonymized priorities. We've audited systems for shops handling ITAR-regulated parts, ensuring no leaks during AI training. Regular penetration tests and audit logs keep everything transparent. Bottom line: You own your data, and our builds prevent breaches that could halt production or lose contracts. It's peace of mind built for shops like yours.
Ready to Get Started?
Book your free consultation and discover how we can transform your business with AI.