I’m not an automation guru doing $100K months. Just a guy who learned the hard way that 80% of my first automations sat unused while clients went back to doing things manually. What actually matters when selling AI to businesses? It’s not about building the most innovative solution, but about integrating with their existing workflow.
I built an amazing AI system for a restaurant client, technically flawless, but they used it for exactly 3 days. Why? Because it required them to check another dashboard, learn new software, and change 15 years of habits. I learned that I need to map their actual workflow first, not what they say they do. I spend 2-3 days watching how they actually work, tracking what devices they use, how they communicate internally, and what systems they check daily.
The perfect example is Calendly. It makes total sense on paper, but for old-school SMB owners who handle everything through texts and calls, it creates more friction. I learned that I need to build around their existing habits, not against them. Now I only build automations that plug into their current flow. If they live in text messages, the automation sends updates via text. If they check one dashboard daily, everything routes there.
I did a friction audit that saves deals by asking every client if this automation requires them to check one additional place every day, will they actually do it? 90% say no immediately. That’s when I know I need to rethink the approach. The winners integrate seamlessly, respond in whatever app they’re already using, and work with their existing tools.
My best-performing client automation is embarrassingly simple. It takes their daily phone orders and formats them into the same text layout they were already using for their crew. Saves them 45 minutes daily and made them $12K in avoided scheduling mistakes last month. They didn’t have to change a single habit.
I took away that a simple automation they use every day beats a complex one they never touch. Most businesses don’t want an AI revolution. They want their current process to work better without having to learn anything new. Stop building what impresses other developers. Build what fits into a 50-year-old business owner’s existing routine.