The hardest part of getting started with automation isn't learning the tools — it's knowing where to start. After building hundreds of automations for businesses of all sizes, these are the 10 that consistently deliver the highest return. Set these up first.
1. Lead Capture to CRM
Every form submission (contact form, Typeform, Calendly booking) automatically creates a contact in your CRM, tags them with the source, and notifies the responsible sales rep on Slack. No leads slip through the cracks, and your team is alerted instantly.
2. AI Lead Scoring
Pass each new lead's information to Claude or GPT-4 via Make.com. The AI scores them 1–10 for fit and intent, writes a brief summary, and adds it to the CRM record. Your sales team sees a qualified assessment before they pick up the phone.
3. New Client Onboarding
When a deal is marked 'Closed Won', Make.com triggers: create a project in your PM tool, create a shared Google Drive folder, send a welcome email with onboarding instructions, create a Slack channel for the client, and schedule the kickoff call invite. Everything happens in seconds.
4. Invoice Follow-Up
Check your invoicing tool (QuickBooks, Xero, or even Airtable) daily. Any invoice overdue by 7 days triggers a polite reminder email to the client. Overdue by 14 days triggers a firmer follow-up. No more manual chasing, no more awkward conversations you've been avoiding.
5. Social Media Scheduling
Write your content in an Airtable base or Google Sheet — title, caption, image, platform, scheduled date. Make.com publishes it automatically to LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Facebook, and Instagram on schedule, formatted for each platform. One source of truth, zero manual posting.
6. Weekly Performance Report
Every Monday morning, Make.com pulls data from your CRM, project management tool, and analytics, compiles it into a formatted summary, and emails it to the leadership team. Everyone starts the week with the same picture of where things stand.
7. Support Ticket Routing
Incoming support emails are processed by Make.com — categorised by AI (billing, technical, general), assigned a priority, and routed to the right team member with a Slack notification. Critical issues escalate immediately. Your support team always knows what to tackle first.
8. Review Request After Project Completion
When a project is marked complete in your PM tool, wait 3 days, then automatically send the client a personalised email asking for a Google review or testimonial. Consistent follow-up dramatically increases review volume — without anyone on your team remembering to do it.
9. Job Board Monitoring
Monitor job boards for companies posting roles relevant to your services (a great prospecting signal). Make.com checks daily and adds matching companies to your CRM as prospects, along with the job posting as context for your outreach.
10. Data Backup and Sync
Automatically sync data between your tools so nothing lives in just one place. New Airtable records backed up to Google Sheets. New CRM contacts synced to your email marketing list. New Shopify orders logged in your accounting software. Data consistency without manual export/import.
You don't need to set up all 10 at once. Start with #1 (lead capture) and #3 (client onboarding) — these typically save 5–10 hours per week immediately and have the most visible business impact.
We implement all of these and more for our clients. Book a free consultation and we'll identify which automations will save your business the most time, then build them for you.