#263 · the dumbest automation still makes the most money

youtube ↗Agency Operations

Okay, Gucci Lochi. Hey, Nick. This is Z. I want to schedule a demo for the power dialer, but please fix this issue, the show blank page on the scheduling portion. Thanks. Uh, what are we seeing here? Are we showing a blank page?

Let’s see—I’m not sure if the blank page is on my end, but it looks fine; this is how you book a meeting. Unfortunately we’re getting a lot of spam because people are doing this all day, so I’ll probably have to add a capture plus another mechanism. If you’re not making at least $100‑$200 a day, I probably wouldn’t recommend signing up for Clarvo; it’s more of an enterprise‑level offering, though if you run a thousand calls a day across your organization it can majorly benefit you, while lower volume probably isn’t the right fit. I could build a SaaS in cold email, but I chose cold calling because I prefer work that will stay valuable for a while. Cold calling is far less efficient than cold emailing and has more room to improve; it’s also one step down from text, which is easily automatable. I foresee totally automated cold‑email systems within the next 12 months, so I’d rather do something where my work still has value.

power dialerschedulingblank pagespam capture

Related answers

youtube ↗Cold Email

For a low‑ticket SaaS that offers a free site generator with a $10 /mo or $49 /yr plan, should I focus on cold outreach or continue with paid ads, and what strategy would you recommend?

You’re running a low‑ticket, low‑touch SaaS that’s mostly automated, so you need a lot of volume to make it worthwhile. Cold outreach—especially cold email—usually isn’t profitable for low‑ticket products because the average revenue per user is too low to justify the sales effort required for each lead. A half‑hour sales call for a $49 annual plan simply doesn’t break even. You have a few options: target enterprise customers with larger seat counts, or focus on paid acquisition like PPC. If CPA is high, either lower it with better marketing tactics or raise your price point. Remember, the goal isn’t necessarily a low CPA; it’s to be profitable after a few months. You’ll likely lose money for the first 3‑4 months of a user’s lifecycle, so you need churn under about 20 % monthly to break even. Once churn extends to 6‑12 months, the model becomes sustainable. In short, for a low‑ticket SaaS, prioritize paid ads and consider raising prices or moving upmarket rather than relying on cold outreach. The only real value of a tool today is its distribution channel, so focus on getting it in front of as many eyes as possible.

cold outreachlow-ticket saaspricingpaid ads
youtube ↗Lead Generation

Do you have any Google Console settings to avoid Google Docs rate limits when running on autopilot? Also, what are your thoughts on asset-based outreach versus a straight book-a-call CTA?

Asset-based outreach requires more time and energy upfront; it yields higher conversion but costs more money and results in fewer leads per day due to bottlenecks. In contrast, a book-a-call CTA converts lower but costs less money because you don’t need to generate assets, and the main bottleneck is scraping Apollo, which costs about 75 cents per 1,000 leads. You can get an Appify subscription and pay per use of your $26 credit (or less with my Nick 30 code). I'm 66 years old, learning this every day, and I'm enthusiastic about it. Regarding guarantees, I offer a Vappy bot that handles calls and orders via a POS system; I guarantee it will save you X, Y, or Z in dollars or hours, or you don't pay. On Maker School: it's purpose-built for people with zero sales experience, those at the start line of their business lacking daily accountability, sales systems, or pitch experience. If you have zero sales experience, this is the system for you. The main expenses are cold email and the Upwork community (the third lead-gen approach I discuss, which is free but time-intensive). Upwork averages $2-$2.50 per application; I recommend sending 10 applications per day ($25/day) for 30 days. In practice most people send only three to five per day, which still yields ROI because you spend the money gradually and can recoup it when a client pays a few hundred dollars. Instantly costs between $40 and $100 depending on the plan. Lead costs are about 75 cents per 1,000 leads, and with my Apify coupon they're even less; you may have some upfront fees, budgeting a few hundred dollars if you're going to be consistent, otherwise it could be around $100. As for Russell's question about free value offers in cold emails: the best offer is to promise to make or save the prospect a specific amount of money, and if you don't deliver, they pay nothing; you'll keep working until you achieve at least the minimum result, then pitch them something else, and even if they don't fall in love with you, you won't charge them. This kind of offer might have a 30-50% refund rate, but it generates strong front-end interest, especially for beginners who gain conversations and skill rapidly. Finally, offering to implement a simple workflow for free can be effective as long as the workflow is personalized and directly tied to a measurable return on investment, balancing risk mitigation with the guarantee.

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youtube ↗Lead Generation

How many cold calls per day is a good number to get good at cold calling?

It really depends, but I just make as many calls as possible. A single agent with a decent dialer can handle roughly 300‑800 calls a day, and with a good setup you could even exceed 1,000. Most of the time, outbound cold‑calling is wasted because you spend minutes dialing, waiting for connections, leaving voicemails, and dealing with gatekeepers. With a power dialer you can call multiple prospects simultaneously and use algorithmic patterns to predict the best times to call, essentially eliminating dial‑time delays. You jump straight into the next call the moment you hang up, staying in a flow state and improving both volume and quality. If you’re willing to invest in a subscription, tools like Clearbit can provide higher‑quality leads and better deliverability, though they’re currently limited to single‑seat plans.

cold callsdialerlead generationclearbit
youtube ↗Cold Email

I want to start a cold‑email outreach but only have manual tools—what should I do?

I’ve been in the same spot. I started by rotating a handful of Gmail accounts—sometimes five—sending about ten cold emails a day from each. It’s not ideal, but it works to get started as long as your emails are well‑researched and the approach is solid. Gmail accounts have lower deliverability, especially new ones, so they need to warm up. You can also buy cheap inboxes (e.g., three Instantly airmail inboxes for around $4 each per month plus a domain) which gives you roughly 90 emails a day. Build a quick lead list, template your messages, and spend the first hour‑and‑a‑half each day sending them. You can also DM prospects. The key is to keep sending, refine your copy, and don’t worry too much about the tools at the start.

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