I analyzed 47 paid automation projects. Here's what clients ACTUALLY pay for.

Ahmad Shayan

12h • General Discussion 💬

Spent the last 3 weeks digging through:

47 completed client projects (from this community + other groups)
Invoice amounts ranging from $500 to $8,500
Direct conversations with 12 automation builders who closed deals

Expected to find: "Complex workflows = higher pay"

What I actually found: Clients don't pay for complexity. They pay for speed to relief.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧

HIGH-PAYING projects ($2,000+):

89% solved a pain the client felt daily
Average implementation time: 3-7 days
Most common phrase in the pitch: "You'll never have to *painful task* again"

LOW-PAYING projects ($300-800):

76% were "nice to have" features
Average implementation time: 2-4 weeks
Most common phrase: "This will make things more efficient"

The Pattern Nobody Talks About:

The $6,200 invoice? -> Automated appointment reminders for a medical clinic losing $4K/month in no-shows -> 4-day turnaround -> Client felt relief on day 5

The $8,500 invoice? -> Lead response automation for a solar company missing 40% of inbound leads -> 6-day implementation -> Client closed 2 deals in the first week that paid for the entire project

The $400 invoice? -> Beautiful 18-node workflow that generated weekly analytics reports -> 3-week build time -> Client looked at it twice in a month

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬

Stop asking: "How complex can I make this?"

Start asking: "How fast can I eliminate their daily pain?"

The builders making $5K-$15K/month aren't building the most impressive workflows.

They're finding people who are: