2h • Wins 🌟
Found a client paying $12k/month to an agency for "ongoing maintenance". The workflow hadn't been touched in 11 months. Took over for $600/month.
Found a client paying $12k/month to an agency for "ongoing maintenance". The workflow hadn't been touched in 11 months. Took over for $600/month.
The agency is furious.
THE DISCOVERY
Networking event last month.
Guy mentions he's spending $12k monthly on automation.
Me: "What kind of automations?"
Him: "Lead generation workflow"
Me: "Must be complex for $12k/month"
Him: "Agency says it needs constant optimization"
Red flag detected.
THE INVESTIGATION
Him: "Want to take a look?"
Me: "Sure"
He gave me read-only access.
What I found:
Single n8n workflow:
- LinkedIn scraper
- Email finder
- CRM push
- Email sequence trigger
Total nodes: 8
Complexity: Beginner level
Last modified: 11 months ago
No changes. No updates. Nothing.
THE AGENCY'S "MAINTENANCE"
Monthly reports they sent:
- "System monitoring: 10 hours"
- "Performance optimization: 8 hours"
- "Security updates: 6 hours"
- "Strategic consulting: 4 hours"
Total: 28 hours monthly
Rate: $428/hour
What they actually did:
Absolutely nothing.
I checked the logs.
Workflow ran perfectly.
Zero errors.
Zero interventions.
Zero updates.
THE CONFRONTATION
Him: "So what do you think?"
Me: "You're being robbed"
Him: "What?"
Me: "This hasn't been touched in 11 months"
Him: "But the monthly reports..."
Me: "Fiction"
Showed him the modification logs.
His face went white.
Him: "I've paid $132k this year for... nothing?"
Me: "Correct"
THE BREAKDOWN
Agency's monthly "work":
- Monitoring = checking if it's running (2 min)
- Optimization = nothing
- Security = nothing
- Consulting = 15-min monthly call
Actual monthly effort: 20 minutes tops
Monthly charge: $12,000
Effective rate: $36,000/hour
They were printing money.
THE TAKEOVER
Him: "Can you take this over?"
Me: "Yes"
Him: "What do you charge?"
Me: "$600/month"
Him: "That's it?"
Me: "For actual monitoring and maintenance, yes"
Him: "What about optimization?"
Me: "I'll rebuild it faster in Skada, throw in custom improvements, and that's included"
THE 9-MINUTE REBUILD
Before he switched, I offered:
"Let me rebuild this in my tool. Better performance. More features. Takes 10 minutes."
Opened Skada.ai
Typed:
"LinkedIn lead scraper with email discovery, CRM integration, automated email sequences, duplicate detection, engagement tracking"
Skada built:
- Everything the agency had
- Plus duplicate prevention (they didn't have)
- Plus engagement tracking (they didn't have)
- Plus automatic list segmentation (they didn't have)
- Better error handling
- Cleaner data structure
Build time: 9 minutes
His old workflow: 8 nodes, basic
My new workflow: Enhanced, faster, smarter
Same day deployment.
THE AGENCY'S REACTION
He called them:
"I'm canceling the $12k/month contract"
Agency: "We need 30 days notice"
Him: "Check the contract. It's month-to-month"
Agency: "You'll regret this. That system is complex"
Him: "It hasn't been touched in 11 months"
Silence.
Agency: "We can lower our price"
Him: "To what?"
Agency: "$8k/month"
Him: "I'm paying $600 now for better service"
They threatened legal action.
Nothing in writing supported them.
They gave up.
THE RESULTS (60 DAYS IN)
Old agency workflow:
- Performance: Decent
- Updates: 0
- Cost: $12,000/month
- Support response: 24-48 hours
My Skada workflow:
- Performance: 40% faster processing
- Updates: 3 improvements added
- Cost: $600/month
- Support response: Same day
Client satisfaction: Couldn't be higher
THE PATTERN I KEEP SEEING
"Maintenance contracts" are the scam.
How it works:
1. Agency builds basic workflow
2. Charges huge monthly "maintenance"
3. Does absolutely nothing
4. Sends fake reports
5. Prays client never looks under the hood
I've found 6 clients in this exact situation.
Total monthly they were paying: $47k
Total monthly they pay me now: $3,400
Total savings: $43,600/month
Agencies don't want clients to know:
Most workflows run perfectly without touching them.
THE REAL NUMBERS
Agency model:
- Build once: $15k-30k
- Maintenance forever: $5k-15k/month
- Actual work: ~30 min/month
- Profit margin: Insane
My model:
- Build with Skada: 10 minutes
- Charge setup: $2k-4k
- Maintenance: $500-800/month
- Actual work: ~1 hour/month
- Profit margin: Still great, but fair
THE OPPORTUNITY
There are thousands of businesses:
- Paying monthly "maintenance"
- Getting zero actual maintenance
- Afraid to switch
- Don't know better
Easy to find:
"How much are you paying for automation maintenance?"
Over $5k/month = investigate
THE APPROACH
1. Ask for read-only access
2. Check modification logs
3. Show them the truth
4. Rebuild in minutes with Skada
5. Charge 90% less
6. Deliver 10x more value
Client keeps $10k+ monthly.
I make $600 monthly per client.
Everyone wins (except the agency).
CURRENT MAINTENANCE CLIENTS
14 clients on monthly maintenance.
Total monthly: $8,200
Total monthly hours: ~6 hours
Effective rate: $1,366/hour
All switched from agencies charging $5k-15k/month.
All getting better service.
All saving massive money.
THE LESSON
"Maintenance" shouldn't cost more than the build.
If it does, someone's getting scammed.
With tools like Skada, builds take minutes.
Maintenance is automated.
Real work is minimal.
Fair price reflects fair work.
Anyone else finding clients trapped in "maintenance" contracts?
2
2 comments
Found a client paying $12k/month to an agency for "ongoing maintenance". The workflow hadn't been touched in 11 months. Took over for $600/month.
skool.com/ai-automation-society
A community for mastering AI-driven automation and AI agents. Learn, collaborate, and optimize your workflows!
Leaderboard (30-day)
1
🔥
+3327
2
+1821
3
+1480
4
+1118
5
🔥
+534
Powered by