In this episode of Marketing Without Rules, Lewis Vandervalk sits down with John Cody, founder of Trailblaze AI and Social Spike, who has helped clients add over $20 million in new revenue by solving the critical problem of missed calls and slow response times.
John shares his entrepreneurial journey from creating nutrition apps in 2012 to launching his agency just weeks before COVID, and how he discovered that even successful marketing campaigns were leaving six figures on the table when businesses couldn't handle the influx of leads. He reveals how Trailblaze AI was born from this pain point, creating voice and text AI assistants that answer calls 24/7, qualify prospects, and book appointments directly into calendars.
During a live demonstration, John's AI assistant "Michelle" calls Lewis in real-time, showcasing how the system scrapes website information to provide personalized responses and guide prospects through the sales process. John explains that 60% of conversions happen after hours when traditional businesses are closed, and shares case studies showing 25-30% increases in booked appointments.
The conversation covers advanced SEO strategies using AI for competitor research, Reddit scraping for user-generated content insights, and how AI can research competitors' reviews to identify pain points. John emphasizes the transparency of telling callers they're speaking with an AI assistant, noting that customers are simply grateful someone picked up the phone after calling multiple competitors.
He discusses the future of AI-to-AI communication, where Google's AI will book appointments with business AI assistants, and how being available 24/7 can improve Google My Business rankings and local SEO performance.
Try Trailblazeai.ca live - https://chat.trailblazeai.ca/
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Marketing Without Rules
02:40 John's entrepreneurial journey: From nutrition apps to AI solutions
04:40 The problem: Successful marketing campaigns leaving money on the table
06:13 What Trailblaze AI does: Voice and text AI assistants for businesses
11:20 Live demo setup: Testing the AI assistant in real-time
18:28 AI for SEO: Using artificial intelligence for competitor research
22:52 Reddit scraping: Mining user questions for content strategy
25:23 Live AI demonstration: Michelle calls Lewis on air
27:15 Transparency in AI: Why telling customers it's AI works better
31:21 After-hours advantage: 60% of conversions happen outside business hours
34:45 Case studies: 25-30% increases in booked appointments
38:42 SEO benefits: 24/7 availability improving Google My Business rankings
40:15 The future: AI-to-AI communication and Google booking integration
42:42 Pricing and getting started with Trailblaze AI
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