HOW TO AUTOMATE
Actual tools you can use
Zapier, Make (Integromat), Airtable, HubSpot, Salesforce, OpenAI, CRM-specific tools, workflow software. These are some of the tools you can use. However, for certain automations, there are specialist tools worth considering. These are designed to excel at one specific task, such as reading documents, sending email campaigns, or handling AI-driven tasks.
What the process looks like
Identify task → define trigger → define action → test → deploy.
This is key to a smooth rollout. You need to know the order of tasks, when each part of the process becomes active, and when your staff can actually start using the new system. Planning is essential.
The role of AI in automation
Automating decisions, content creation, routing, and responses. This is evolving rapidly as new AI tools are released and integrations become more sophisticated. For example, mapping isn’t as rigid now that AI is so readily available. AI can replace a lot of hard-coded elements of automation, but it is not a substitute for everything.
Things to remember when doing so
Start simple, avoid overcomplicating, document workflows, test thoroughly. Don’t jump in the deep end. Push yourself, but not too hard. There’s a lot of information out there, but you need to know where to look. Finally, AI won’t have all the answers—it can mislead you or give false results, which can leave you chasing your tail.
Why using an expert is valuable
Reduces setup time, ensures best practices, avoids costly mistakes. Your time is valuable—that’s why you’re automating in the first place. Don’t waste it trying to build everything yourself. Signing up for software you don’t need, or building inefficient workflows, are prime examples of mistakes that can cost you money and slow down your business.
Maintenance
Regularly review automations, update workflows as processes change, check for broken integrations. This is massively overlooked. If your process changes, you need to check whether your automation:
Still works as is, or
Needs to be updated.
You must also ask whether the new version of the process can still be automated effectively.
