Competition for private construction work in DFW is tightening, particularly as timelines compress and more firms chase the same retail and light commercial projects. General contractors and design-build teams feel it first. Bid lists get crowded fast. Owners make quiet decisions early. By the time a project is widely visible, a preferred builder is often already in the mix.

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That pressure is driving adoption of AI platforms like Mercator.ai, which is built to surface early-stage private projects so contractors can engage owners sooner and run a repeatable follow-up process instead of relying on late-stage bid boards.

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AI Adoption Accelerates Across Construction

Construction teams are being asked to cover more ground with fewer resources. At the same time, the signals that matter for private work are scattered across permits, land activity, early site movement, and other fragmented sources. Many leads look promising at first, then collapse on inspection: wrong fit, wrong timing, or already awarded.

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The advantage goes to teams that can consistently identify the few leads worth pursuing and then do the work to convert early contact into a live deal.

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Closing the Visibility Gap

For Tinu Thomas and the team at CMT Group / CMT Industries, Mercator.ai became a practical way to find real commercial construction projects earlier and remove noise. The goal was not “one lucky lead.” The goal was to build a consistent system that produces qualified opportunities and enables disciplined follow-up.

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“We recently landed a project from Mercator.ai leads. I personally called the client, and within about two weeks we were already moving toward signing a retail contract. That’s a real result,” Thomas said.

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 “But I want more than one win. These deals move because I keep calling and pushing it forward. If your team can help us build a system that supports the same kind of follow-up at scale, it changes everything. We are ready for that.”

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From Leads to a Real Deal

The breakthrough was a retail project in Garland, Texas: a roughly 13,000 square foot building with an estimated value around $3.2 million, plus or minus depending on final scope items like retaining walls.

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Tinu used Mercator.ai the way high-performing operators do: he starred the projects he wanted to pursue, ran rigorous follow-up, and pushed through the dead noise that stops most outreach.

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He initially handed leads to three sales reps. The feedback was predictable: no answers, no traction, negative responses. He kept calling anyway. The persistence mattered, but so did the quality of the lead: the contact was connected to a prior CMT project, which created immediate familiarity and trust.

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That combination—early lead plus credible context—turned cold outreach into a real relationship.

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A Short Cycle From First Contact to Active Pricing

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Once contact was established, the deal moved through a straightforward relationship sequence:

• Initial outreach and reconnect
• Lunch meeting
• Dinner meeting
• Office visit
• Design and construction teams working closely with the client’s team
• Pricing and scope finalization in progress

From first contact to a live process with pricing underway, the timeline was roughly six weeks.

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“It’s not that long. It’s about a month and a half,” Thomas said. “Before Christmas… December 10th… right after the call I asked him for lunch, then dinner, then we brought them into our office. Now we are finalizing pricing and the next steps.”

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CMT expects to close the contract within roughly a month, subject to final scope alignment.

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Stronger Execution, Not Just More Leads

This is the point Thomas emphasized: the platform created access, but execution created the outcome.

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Mercator.ai helped surface the opportunity early enough to matter. Thomas then ran the follow-up process personally—consistent calls, relationship building, and fast momentum—to convert it into a deal that is now close to signing.

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That is exactly what high-performing contractors are trying to operationalize: a pipeline engine that creates enough quality opportunities to justify the reps, and a process that replicates what the founder or principal does naturally, without requiring them to personally push every deal forward.

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Why Timing Matters

A $3.2M retail contract is not won at the moment of bid. It is won earlier, when the owner is still forming preferences and deciding who they trust to deliver.

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For CMT Group / CMT Industries, Mercator.ai helped create that early window. It turned a lead into a real conversation fast, and helped CMT move from outreach to pricing in roughly six weeks.

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To learn more or request a demo, visit Mercator.ai.

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