The Automation Opportunity
Most businesses know they should automate. But when you're busy, it's hard to step back and figure out where to start.
Here's the thing: you don't need to automate everything. Start with the tasks that eat the most time with the least value. These seven are the usual suspects.
1. Lead and Contact Management
The problem:
Someone fills out your contact form. Then what? Usually, the form submission sits in an inbox until someone manually copies the details to your CRM, sends a thank-you email, and assigns the lead to a team member.
Every hour of delay reduces your chance of closing by 60%.
The automation:
- New form submission → Instantly added to CRM with all details
- Personalized thank-you email sent within seconds
- Lead automatically assigned based on type, region, or product
- Team notification via Slack/Teams/WhatsApp
- Follow-up task created with reminder
Time saved: 3-5 hours/week
2. Invoice and Payment Processing
The problem:
Creating invoices manually is tedious. Tracking payments is worse. And chasing late payments? Nobody wants to do that.
The automation:
- Invoice generated automatically when order is placed or project milestone completed
- Sent to client via email with payment link
- Payment status tracked automatically
- Reminder emails sent at 3, 7, and 14 days overdue
- Accounting system updated when payment received
Time saved: 4-6 hours/week
3. Customer Onboarding
The problem:
New customers need welcome emails, account setup instructions, introduction calls, and follow-up check-ins. Doing this manually for each customer doesn't scale.
The automation:
- Welcome email sequence triggered by signup/purchase
- Account created in relevant systems automatically
- Calendar link sent for kickoff call
- Onboarding checklist created and tracked
- Day 7 and Day 30 check-in emails scheduled
Time saved: 2-4 hours/week
4. Inventory and Stock Alerts
The problem:
Running out of stock costs you sales. Overstocking ties up cash. Checking inventory levels manually across multiple channels is a full-time job.
The automation:
- Stock levels synced across all sales channels in real-time
- Low stock alerts sent to team when items hit threshold
- Purchase orders drafted automatically for approval
- Supplier notified when order approved
- Inventory reports generated weekly
Time saved: 3-5 hours/week
5. Report Generation and Distribution
The problem:
Every Monday, someone spends two hours pulling data from different systems, formatting it into a report, and emailing it to stakeholders. Every. Single. Week.
The automation:
- Data pulled automatically from all sources (CRM, accounting, analytics)
- Report generated and formatted to your template
- Sent to the right people at the right time
- Stored in shared drive with proper naming
- Dashboard updated for real-time access
Time saved: 2-4 hours/week
6. Social Media and Content Publishing
The problem:
Posting content across multiple platforms is repetitive. Tracking engagement means logging into each platform separately. And repurposing content? That takes even more time.
The automation:
- Single post distributed to all platforms simultaneously
- Engagement metrics aggregated into one dashboard
- Top-performing posts automatically flagged for repurposing
- Content calendar reminders sent to team
- Mentions and comments consolidated for easy response
Time saved: 3-5 hours/week
7. Employee Requests and HR Tasks
The problem:
Leave requests, expense claims, equipment requests—all require manual processing, approvals, and record-keeping. HR spends more time on admin than on people.
The automation:
- Request submitted via form → Routed to correct approver
- Approver notified instantly, can approve from email/phone
- Employee notified of decision
- HR system and calendars updated automatically
- Monthly summary reports generated
Time saved: 2-4 hours/week
How to Prioritize
You can't automate everything at once. Here's how to decide what to tackle first:
- Frequency × Time: How often does this task happen, and how long does it take each time? Daily tasks that take 30 minutes add up faster than weekly tasks that take 2 hours.
- Error risk: Which manual tasks cause the most mistakes? Automation eliminates human error in repetitive processes.
- Revenue impact: Does this task directly affect sales or customer experience? Prioritize automations that improve revenue or retention.
- Complexity: Some automations are simpler than others. Start with quick wins to build momentum.
Getting Started
Pick one task from this list—probably the one that frustrated you most recently. That's your starting point.
You have two options:
- DIY approach: Sign up for Make.com or Zapier and try building it yourself. There's a learning curve, but for simple automations, it's doable.
- Get help: If time is more valuable than money, or if your workflow is complex, hire someone who knows these tools inside out. You'll save weeks of trial and error.
Either way, the important thing is to start. Every week you delay is another week of wasted time.
Want help figuring out where to start?
Book a free call and we'll map out your biggest automation opportunities—no commitment required.
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