What I learnt after talking to 25+ automation founders
Most agency owners aren’t stuck because of tech. They’re stuck because they’re automating the wrong thing. A founder reached out in October. “I need a robust SDR system that handles everything — lead gen, personalization, multi-channel outreach, CRM sync, all of it.” Before building, I asked to see what he had. Automation agency. Solid tech skills. Revenue under $5K/month. He’d spent months inside n8n workflows, trying to automate the entire sales process. Result? Zero leads. Zero calls. Zero pipeline. And he wanted to build something even bigger. So I didn’t build what he asked for. I ran an audit instead. His issue wasn’t automation. His issue was misdirection. He had systems… solving the wrong problem. So I stripped it down to something boringly effective: Find leads that match his ICP Pull what they’re actually posting about Send cold emails that talk to their problems, not his features Let it run That’s it. How I pitched it: Not “This integrates with X and automates Y.” But “Here’s how this puts $20K in your pipeline in 90 days.” ROI first. Tech second. He paused. “…Wait. That’s it?” Yeah. That’s it. Sales cycle took time — because he kept asking, “Shouldn’t we add…?” I kept saying no. We built the simple version. Launched it. Three weeks later, he messaged me asking to extend the partnership. Now he’s closing deals instead of building Frankenstein automations in n8n. His message yesterday: “Perfect bro, that’s exactly the kind of hands-off, results-driven approach I want.” We’ve since moved to code for more control (still debugging a few things)… But the foundation hasn’t changed: One system. One metric. Pipeline. Vendors impress you with tech. Partners help you make money. Most founders get sold complexity. What they actually need is clarity. You don’t need a system that does everything. You need a system that fixes the one thing blocking revenue. And for 90% of agencies? That thing is outbound. If you’re spending months building automations and your calendar is still empty…