How Expansive tripled conversions from paid leads with AI

How Expansive Achieved a 50% Lead-to-Tour Conversion on Paid Leads

Introduction

Speed and timing can make or break a deal, especially in the coworking world.

“40% of our leads were coming in after 5 p.m. or on weekends,” said Rhonda Gazaway, Chief Revenue Officer at Expansive. “By the time we got to them Monday morning, we had already lost momentum.”

To fix that, Expansive implemented Uniti AI, launching a virtual sales teammate named Emma who now responds to every inbound inquiry, 24/7.

The result? Faster lead engagement, a 50% lead-to-tour conversion rate from paid ads, and a more empowered sales team.

The challenge

Expansive operates 40+ locations in 35 markets across the U.S., with a lean sales team and growing volume of inbound leads.

Despite investing heavily in paid advertising, they found themselves losing opportunities due to slow response times, especially after hours.

“Sometimes a lead would come in on Friday night, and no one would follow up until Monday,” said Rhonda. “That wasn’t acceptable.”

They were converting only 14% of those leads into tours, well below what they knew was possible.

How Uniti AI helped

With Uniti’s help, Expansive created Emma, a fully customized AI sales agent trained to engage, qualify, and convert leads across email, SMS, and (soon) voice.

“Emma became a new employee,” Rhonda explained. “We had to onboard her, train her, and build trust. But now she’s one of us.”

Emma now:

• Responds to every inquiry within minutes, even after hours

• Uses a custom database of Expansive’s inventory and pricing

• Books tours, answers questions, and keeps sales reps informed

• Syncs fully with HubSpot so reps can jump in or take over as needed

Rhonda emphasized that Emma didn’t replace anyone, she augmented their existing team and helped them scale.

“It’s not AI vs. human, it’s a true partnership,” she said. “Emma does the outreach, and our salespeople close the deal.”

Results: 50% conversion rate on paid leads

After onboarding Emma and refining their shared process, Expansive saw results take off:

• Lead-to-tour conversion from paid ads jumped from 14% to 50%

• Sales reps gained back time for outbound efforts

• Marketing ROI improved significantly due to better lead capture

• Expanded engagement channels from email → SMS → voice

“Emma helped us unlock the value of every dollar we spend on ads,” said Rhonda. “She responds when our leads are ready to talk, not when our team happens to be online.”

Onboarding & trust-building

While the results were strong, Rhonda emphasized that success didn’t happen overnight, it required internal alignment and trust.

“There was hesitation at first. Salespeople wondered, ‘Is she taking my leads?’”
“But once they saw it’s a true partnership, the adoption took off.”

Expansive built a detailed knowledge base for Emma, updated it regularly, and collaborated closely with Uniti to fine-tune her responses. They also reviewed her messages inside HubSpot to monitor performance and jump in when needed.

“Emma is only as good as the data you give her,” Rhonda said. “Just like any other teammate.”

Would she recommend Uniti?

“Absolutely. It’s great technology, and it’s productive.”

Rhonda encourages operators to start small, then expand usage over time.

“The minute you launch your Emma, your brain starts spinning with all the other ways AI can help.”

Looking ahead, Expansive plans to use Emma not just for sales, but also to support customer service and operations.

Looking ahead

From late-night lead capture to future AI-enabled customer support, Expansive sees Uniti AI as a long-term partner.

“Emma is a wonderful addition to our sales organization. I honestly can’t imagine operating without her now.”

With SMS already live and voice launching soon, the team is excited to scale Emma even further—and explore new use cases beyond lead response.