I lost a $6,745 AI automation deal because of this one simple mistake.
I tried to help everyone. Custom solutions. Custom workflows. Custom timelines. Sounds good in theory. Kills you in reality. Here’s the truth no AI agency wants to admit: You can’t scale “custom everything.” Most AI agencies fail for one reason: They promise to build bespoke automations for every business. What that actually means: - 4–7 days to build ONE automation - Endless revisions - Clients waiting, chasing, hesitating - You drowning in projects And no one wants to wait a week for automation in 2025. So I flipped the model. Instead of custom work, I productized ONE automation. Then I templated it: - Every step - Every integration - Every edge case - Every deployment process The result? Deployment time went from 7 days → under 1 hour. That’s when everything changed. I went from: - Project-to-project chaos - Consistent, predictable, paying clients Saying “no” at the start was hard. But speed compounds. Speed = money. Amazon didn’t win because it had the best products. It won because it removed friction. Imagine if Amazon said: “Fill a 5-page form and wait 10 days to order.” You’d never use it. Instead: 2 clicks. Product at your door. LESS FRICTION = MORE SALES