What type of lead magnets have been working best for you, and do they attract agency owners or genuine business owners?
I have two main audiences. First, I sell done‑for‑you AI automations to business owners who lack automation experience; they hire me for a DFY service. I don’t use YouTube to attract them—I rely on cold email and instant outreach. Second, I create YouTube content for automation agencies and specialists, teaching them how to build systems and how to monetize those systems by selling them to clients. That’s my agency revenue, which was about $25k last month. My third audience is freelancers and newcomers who want to start an automation business; that’s my coaching revenue, which was $144k last month. Combined, that’s about $139k, up $11k from the previous month, putting me close to my $150k goal.
What a great question. This is more a consulting and strategy perspective than a building one. Naturally, if you're trying to make more money and thinking, 'Ooh, what's a way to make more money? I know AI is all the rage—maybe we'll add an AI chatbot to our website,' but if the chatbot doesn't talk to anybody, it won't make you more money. You've stumbled on a universal problem for many service businesses: they just don't have any leads. The real point of value, the bottleneck you could fix, is usually lead generation. I don't know how many people visit their site daily, monthly, or yearly, so it's hard to suggest exactly what to do next, but you're on the right track. The usual thinking is: get leads first, then worry about optimizing how you deal with them, nurture them, and improve conversion rates later. In your opinion, what's the best automation to sell? Could you make a video on it? The best automation to sell is something that increases or encourages lead generation, which we discussed. One of the main systems I sell is a cold outreach system where I build distribution for someone from scratch for about $200–$300 a month ongoing. They start with zero leads in their pipeline—usually an agency—and after the system is set up, they get roughly 30 leads per month that want to book calls. This is a game-changer and easy to justify as an investment for companies whose bottleneck is lead generation, like most businesses under $50k–$100k per month in revenue. Think of it this way: I'm solving their most dire problem—no leads entering the business. I charge them $3,000–$4,000 a month, which is fine because without me they wouldn't even have a business making more than $3k–$4k a month. In my experience, the best automations to sell for small to mid-sized businesses are those that help the top of the funnel. If they already have an outbound system but aren't getting many leads, I'd recommend a speed-to-lead system. Anything close to the top of the funnel—whether outbound or inbound—helps a lot, and that's what I'd recommend.
All agencies share the same fundamental shape: lead generation at the top (via ads, cold emails, cold calls, etc.), which funnels into a sales event (typically a discovery or closing call). From there you onboard the client, fulfill the promised service, and manage the client—checking in on progress—before delivering the project, possibly with a revision cycle that leads to another transformation event where you resell them. I’ve documented this shape in the three automation agency sales flows and a roadmap to $25k/month automation that you can download for free. The real key to success isn’t becoming a top AI or automation specialist; it’s becoming a good business person who understands the container (the agency model) and what you put inside it. This mindset can be learned in a couple of weeks, and you don’t need to be expert at the specific service you’re offering.
You’ve already built a DM qualification skill that let you charge 40% more on a client deal, plus LinkedIn content automation that generates one to two inbound leads per day. That gives you solid social proof, but you need to frame it in concrete, dollar‑sign metrics. Instead of talking about the system itself, talk about the results it can deliver – for example, 20 to 40 meetings per month and an estimated pipeline value of $25,000. Position yourself as helping small‑to‑medium business owners who aren’t massive enterprise CEOs – think a 30‑something running a three‑person agency who wants to relax a bit. Provide clear value to that audience. As for offers, you can sell virtually anything: the DM qualification skill, LinkedIn and content automation systems, management services, social‑media brand growth, niche video editing, AI‑enabled video editing, or even content edited with tools like Hyperframes or Remotion. Lead sources are typically scraped from LinkedIn Sales Navigator where prospects voluntarily share a lot of information.
Not for beginners — if you already have a big brand, YouTube channel, and a working Instagram funnel, you could sell an AIOS, but as a total newbie, don't. Instead, pick a specific lane, ideally something tied to reach/acquisition: creative-generation systems (ad creative testing across Google, Facebook, TikTok, etc.), automated prospect research for cold email/LinkedIn icebreakers, and speed-to-lead systems (immediately following up with anyone who opts in from an ad, maximizing show/booking rate — even something as simple as calling a lead twice instead of once, or texting back a missed call automatically, can double conversion). Also strong: automated follow-up across SMS/email/DM for anyone who's expressed interest, and inbound lead-magnet systems (e.g. ManyChat-based funnels tied to a creator's content). The common thread: focus on a narrow, specific lane that produces a clearly measurable revenue outcome — that lets you proportionally scale a client's revenue in a way that's easy to prove and sell.
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