My Journey in Automation: Lessons from Automating 739+ Businesses
My Journey in Automation: Lessons from Automating 739+ Businesses Facebook Linkedin Twitter HAVE ANY PROJECT IN MIND? Get Your Business Automated My Journey in Automation: Lessons from Automating 739+ Businesses A few years ago, I found myself buried in repetitive tasks. Copying and pasting data, updating spreadsheets, manually sending emails—I was stuck in an endless cycle of busywork. I knew there had to be a better way. That’s when I discovered automation. What started as a curiosity soon became an obsession, and eventually, a career. Today, I’m a Premier Certified Zapier Expert & Pipedrive Partner, and I’ve had the privilege of automating 739+ businesses. Along the way, I’ve seen businesses flourish with automation, but I’ve also witnessed common pitfalls that cost companies time, money, and missed opportunities. That’s why I’m sharing these lessons—so you can avoid the mistakes and implement what truly works. Whether you’re just starting with automation or looking to optimize existing systems, these insights will save you from wasted effort and help you build automations that truly make a difference. Lesson 1: Simplicity Always Wins I once worked with a fast-growing marketing agency that wanted to automate their lead management. They had an ambitious plan: integrate multiple CRMs, auto-assign leads based on advanced conditions, and trigger a series of email follow-ups based on user behavior. It sounded great in theory. But in reality? It was a disaster. Their automation was so complex that even small changes broke the entire system. The team spent more time fixing automations than closing deals. I helped them simplify. We started with one simple automation—capturing new leads and sending them directly to the CRM with a clean tagging system. No fancy conditions. No over-engineered logic. With this basic setup, they instantly saw results:✅ Faster response times✅ No lost leads✅ Clearer data for sales follow-ups Only after they mastered this simple automation did we layer in more advanced workflows. The takeaway? Start small. Get one thing working perfectly before adding complexity. Lesson 2: Automation Should Complement Humans, Not Replace Them One of the biggest fears I hear from business owners is:“If we automate too much, won’t we make our team useless?” Let me tell you about a high-end e-commerce business I worked with. Their sales team was manually following up with every lead, crafting personalized emails, and responding to common questions. But the process was slow. They lost leads simply because they couldn’t follow up fast enough. We automated their lead nurturing emails, but we didn’t replace their team. Instead, we gave sales reps a real-time dashboard that flagged high-intent leads—the ones engaging the most with emails and browsing high-value products. Now, instead of wasting time on cold leads, their team focused on hot prospects, sending personalized messages at the right moment. The result? More sales, happier customers, and a team that felt empowered—not replaced. Automation should handle the repetitive, mind-numbing tasks so humans can focus on what they do best: building relationships, making strategic decisions, and driving growth. Lesson 3: Choosing the Right Tools Makes or Breaks the System I once worked with a startup that was drowning in tech tools. They used Zapier for automation, Pipedrive for CRM, Slack for communication, Notion for tracking tasks, and spreadsheets for… well, everything else. The problem? Nothing worked together smoothly. For example, they tried using Zapier to sync customer interactions between their tools, but because their CRM wasn’t the right fit, they had duplicate contacts, broken workflows, and frustrated employees. We stepped back and asked:✔ What are the essential automation needs?✔ Which tools integrate seamlessly?✔ What’s the most scalable solution? By switching to Pipedrive as their main hub (instead of forcing multiple tools to do what they weren’t designed for), everything started working effortlessly. Lesson learned? Don’t just grab tools because they’re popular—choose the right ones for your unique business needs. Lesson 4: Data is Everything—Keep It Clean and Organized Bad data is the silent killer of automation. I once consulted a business that had thousands of contacts in their CRM. But guess what? Half of them were duplicates, outdated, or missing key details. Their automations were firing randomly, sending emails to old customers, assigning leads to the wrong reps, and—worst of all—missing real opportunities. We implemented a data cleaning strategy:✅ Standardized how data was entered✅ Removed duplicates and outdated records✅ Ensured every automation only triggered on verified, clean data The impact? Their conversions increased by 22% overnight. Your automation is only as good as the data feeding it. Keep it clean, structured, and organized. Lesson 5: Testing & Monitoring is the Key to Long-Term Success Automation isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it system. A company I worked with had an automation that quietly stopped working—without them realizing it. Leads weren’t being assigned, follow-ups weren’t happening, and it went unnoticed for weeks. By the time they caught it, they had lost thousands in potential revenue. Since then, I always recommend:✔ Test before launching – Never assume an automation will work perfectly the first time.✔ Set up error notifications – Use tools like Zapier to alert you instantly when something breaks.✔ Review automations monthly – A 10-minute check can save thousands in lost opportunities. A single failed automation can cost a business more than the automation itself. Always test, monitor, and optimize. What Doesn’t Work: Common Pitfalls to Avoid 🚫 Automating broken processes – Fix the process before you automate it. Otherwise, you’re just making a bad process faster. 🚫 Trying to automate everything at once – Start with one simple workflow, perfect it, and then expand. 🚫 Ignoring user adoption – If your team doesn’t understand or use the automation, it’s worthless. Train them properly. Final Thoughts: My Advice for Anyone Looking to Automate After automating 739+ businesses, here’s what I know for sure: ✅ Simplicity wins – Overcomplication kills automation.✅ Automation supports humans, not replaces them – Use it to enhance your team, not replace them.✅ Choose the right tools – A mismatched tool can break your entire system.✅ Keep your data clean – Garbage