Hey guys, Michael here My agency stoneclad is hiring Elite AI automation engineers I know that most of these hiring posts sound the same: “We’re growing. We need help. DM us.” This isn’t that. At Stonecladwe’re building a world-class AI agency—designed for scale, excellence, and solving real problems with AI. We’re not looking for beginners or people “dabbling” in automation. We’re looking for battle-tested automators who have already been in the trenches and know how to deliver serious results. Who You Are: - You’ve already built advanced automations. - You think in systems, not just tasks. - You get excited about finding leverage points inside businesses. - You can take ownership—no handholding required. Who We’re Not Looking For: - People who “just started learning” AI tools last month. - Folks who only know how to connect ChatGPT to Slack and call it an automation. - Anyone afraid of high expectations. What You’ll Get: - Generous pay. We believe top talent should be paid like top talent. - A chance to build on a team that’s serious about becoming the gold standard in the AI agency space. - Collaboration with other high-performers—iron sharpens iron. - Freedom to think, create, and push boundaries. What We Expect: - Excellence in execution. - Problem-solvers who go beyond templates and “cookie cutter” workflows. - People who care about building something bigger than themselves. If you’ve been waiting for the chance to work with a forward-thinking team, where both the pay and expectations are high, this is it. 👉 Drop a comment or DM me directly if you’re ready to step into a role where your skills actually matter. Let me know your expertise, and we'll chat about what you're capable of. Cheers -Michael p.s. If you don't meet the requirements above then please don't waste your time or mine.

Hey guys, We all talk a lot about getting clients… but let’s be real — the money is made in keeping them. When we first started, we were so focused on closing new deals that retention was almost an afterthought. And it showed — clients would come in, we’d do some great work, but a few months later they’d move on. It felt like we were always starting over. Here’s 3 things that turned it around for us (and maybe it helps you too): 1. Quick Wins. -Clients don’t want to “wait and see.” We make sure they get a tangible result in the first 1–2 weeks — even if it’s something small. That early momentum buys trust 2. Regular Communication. -Silence kills client relationships. We set up a simple rhythm — weekly updates (even if it’s just 3 bullet points). Clients who feel informed almost never leave. 3. Show the ROI. -Don’t assume they see the value. We actively connect the dots: “This workflow saved your team 40 hours last month. That’s roughly $X in savings.” When you tie results to dollars, retention becomes natural. Since tightening this up, our churn dropped massively. Clients who were leaving after 2–3 months are now staying 9–12+. So here’s my question for you guys: What’s one thing you’ve done (or are trying) to keep clients around longer? -Michael

Hey guys, Michael here.🤙 One of the biggest challenges I've had in growing my AI agency is figuring out what niche to focus on. It’s really tempting to say “we can help anyone,” but the truth is that usually means you help no one (at least not at a premium). So after a lot of trial and error I found that this really helped for narrowing down and creating a niche that businesses actually pay top dollar for: It's a simple 3-Part "Value/Niche" framework. It may seem simple, and maybe you're already using some of the steps. But when you actually focus on all 3 relentlessly, that's when you'll break through. 1. High-Pain Problem: Look for an area where businesses lose time or money every single day. Example: missed leads, manual data entry, etc. 2. High-Value Industry: Not every market is worth the effort. Go after businesses where solving the problem ties directly to revenue. 3. Focus on the front end: This is where the business actually makes money. Think Lead-Gen, Sales, Onboarding, Customer Acquisition. If you can help them automate something that directly makes them money (i.e. close even 1 more sale) then you can charge a premium. When those three align, you’ve got a niche that’s: Valuable to the client Easy to communicate Sellable at a premium That’s been a game-changer for us. And I actually built an entire comprehensive plug/play system for this that takes the guesswork out of finding your offer. Curious for those of you already working with clients: What niche or workflow have you found that businesses are willing to pay premium prices for? -Michael

Hey everyone, Quick thought on closing sales — because honestly, for me it’s one of the trickiest parts of my business. When I first got our lead-gen dialed in, we had no shortage of booked calls… but closing them was a whole different battle. A few struggles I ran into (maybe some of you can relate): - The infamous “Sounds great, but I need to think about it.” -I used to leave it there, and 9 times out of 10 the deal went cold(as you know). - ➡️What fixed it: Instead of letting the call end, I started asking: “Sure, what specifically do you want to think over?” That way we could handle the real objection on the spot. (feels hard at first, but get's easier with reps) - Discount hunters. -Prospects pushing for lower prices, or trying to cut our offer in half. - ➡️What fixed it: Reframing around ROI. We showed the cost of not solving the problem, and positioned our price as the “investment vs. cost” difference. (That's the "feel stupid saying no" bit) - “We’re already working with someone else.” - Easy to get discouraged here. - ➡️ What fixed it: Instead of competing head-on, we’d say: “Totally respect that. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s one thing you wish they did better?” That answer often opened the door for us. The biggest lesson? Closing isn’t about pushing harder. It’s about diagnosing what’s really holding them back from saying yes — and then solving that. After repeating these methods and adding a few more I've been able to compile my own sales cheat sheet and increase my close rate by over 22%. Literally feels like an unfair advantage. Curious to hear from you guys: 👉 What’s the #1 struggle you’ve faced when it comes to closing deals? 👉 And if you’ve cracked it, what worked for you? Would love to hear your experiences — I think we could build a pretty solid thread of “what actually works” for everyone here. -Michael

As a guy who builds AI automation systems, should I market myself as an agency owner or a freelancer?