Oct '25 • General discussion 💬
Client said "our automation is too complicated to explain." I asked for 3 bullet points. Built it in 6 minutes. They'd been quoted $22k and 8 weeks.
Client said "our automation is too complicated to explain." I asked for 3 bullet points. Built it in 6 minutes. They'd been quoted $22k and 8 weeks.
Complexity is usually a lie.
THE DISCOVERY CALL
Inbound lead from my website.
Owner of a coaching business.
Her: "I need automation but it's really complex"
Me: "Tell me about it"
Her: "It's hard to explain"
Me: "Try"
Her: "I got a quote but it seemed high"
Me: "How much?"
Her: "$22k and 2 months"
For automation that's "hard to explain."
THE BREAKDOWN
Her: "I've tried explaining this to 3 developers"
Her: "They all said it's super complex"
Her: "One said it might be impossible"
Me: "Give me 3 bullet points. What needs to happen?"
Her:
- Client books call
- Send them prep materials
- Follow up after the call
Me: "That's it?"
Her: "Well, there's more details but..."
Me: "That's the core?"
Her: "Yes"
THE "COMPLEXITY"
She sent the agency's proposal.
28 pages.
Section titles:
- "Multi-stage Engagement Architecture"
- "Dynamic Content Delivery System"
- "Intelligent Follow-up Matrix"
- "Custom Calendar Integration Layer"
Translation:
- Send an email
- Attach some PDFs
- Send another email later
They made it sound like rocket science.
THE REAL REQUIREMENTS
Dug deeper with simple questions:
Me: "When someone books, what should happen?"
Her: "Email with 3 prep documents"
Me: "After the call?"
Her: "Thank you email with my calendar link"
Me: "Anything else?"
Her: "If they don't book a follow-up in 3 days, remind them"
That's it.
3 emails.
1 conditional reminder.
Agency quote: $22k, 8 weeks
Reality: Basic email automation
THE BUILD
Me: "Want me to build this now?"
Her: "On this call?"
Me: "Give me 10 minutes"
2:15 PM - Opened Skada.ai
Typed:
"Calendar booking triggers welcome email with 3 document attachments, call completion triggers thank you email with booking link, if no follow-up booked within 3 days send reminder email"
Skada built:
- Calendly webhook trigger
- Welcome email with attachments
- Call completion detection
- Thank you email automation
- 3-day delay timer
- Conditional reminder
- Booking link inclusion
2:21 PM - Done
Added her branding:
- Email templates with her colors
- Custom signature
- Personalized messaging
2:23 PM - Complete and tested
Total time: 6 minutes
THE REACTION
Me: "Test it. Book a fake call."
Her: "You're done?"
Me: "Test it"
She booked a test call.
Email arrived in 4 seconds.
Perfect formatting.
All 3 documents attached.
Her: "This is exactly what I needed"
Me: "Now cancel the call to trigger follow-up"
She marked call as complete.
Thank you email arrived.
Booking link included.
Her: "The agency said this was 8 weeks of work"
THE PROPOSAL BREAKDOWN
I read their 28-page proposal:
Week 1-2: "Discovery & Requirements"
- What I did: Asked 3 questions
Week 3-4: "Architecture Design"
- What I did: Nothing, Skada handled it
Week 5-6: "Development Phase 1"
- What I did: Typed one prompt
Week 7: "Integration Testing"
- What I did: Sent one test booking
Week 8: "Deployment & Training"
- What I did: Already deployed
Their complexity was fiction.
THE COST COMPARISON
Agency quote:
- Discovery: $3,000
- Architecture: $4,000
- Development: $12,000
- Testing: $2,000
- Training: $1,000
Total: $22,000
Timeline: 8 weeks
My actual build:
- Discovery: 3 questions
- Architecture: Automatic
- Development: 6 minutes
- Testing: 2 minutes
- Training: None needed
Total: $1,800
Timeline: 6 minutes
THE PSYCHOLOGY
Agencies profit from perceived complexity.
Simple request + Complex language = High price
"Send an email" becomes:
"Multi-channel engagement orchestration"
"Wait 3 days" becomes:
"Intelligent temporal delay matrix"
"Send reminder" becomes:
"Automated re-engagement protocol"
Same thing.
Different words.
10x the price.
THE PATTERN
Her: "Every developer made this sound impossible"
Me: "That's how they justify the price"
I've seen this exact pattern 12 times:
- Client has simple need
- Developer adds fake complexity
- Quote balloons to $15k-30k
- Timeline stretches to 6-12 weeks
- Client thinks their case is uniquely complex
It never is.
THE REAL BUILDS
Last 30 days of "complex" projects:
"Complex multi-system integration" = 8 minutes
"Advanced conditional logic workflow" = 11 minutes
"Enterprise-grade automation platform" = 14 minutes
"Custom AI-powered processing" = 9 minutes
Average quoted price: $24,000
Average quoted timeline: 7 weeks
Average my build time: 10 minutes
Average my price: $2,200
THE TEST
Simple way to spot fake complexity:
Ask: "In one sentence, what needs to happen?"
If they can't answer = Red flag
If answer is simple = It's simple
If they use words like "orchestration," "matrix," or "architecture" = Run
Real complexity exists.
But 90% of what's called "complex" isn't.
THE CLOSE
Her: "What do I owe you?"
Me: "$1,800"
Her: "That's it?"
Me: "That's it"
Her: "The agency wanted $22k"
Me: "I know"
She paid same day.
Left a testimonial:
"6 minutes. Perfect. Agency wanted 8 weeks."
THE CURRENT PIPELINE
9 "too complex" projects in pipeline:
- All described in under 5 bullet points
- All actually simple workflows
- All quoted $15k-35k by others
- All buildable in under 15 minutes with Skada
Projected revenue: $18,500
Projected build time: ~90 minutes
Projected client savings: $187,000
THE LESSON
Complexity is the oldest sales tactic.
Make it sound hard = Justify the price
Make it sound impossible = Justify the timeline
With Skada, I can't hide behind complexity.
Client describes it simply.
I build it in minutes.
No room for BS.
Transparency kills the complexity scam.
THE QUESTION
If you can't explain your automation need in 3 bullet points, the problem isn't complexity.
It's clarity.
And if a developer says your 3-bullet-point need requires 8 weeks...
They're lying.
Who else is finding "impossibly complex" projects that take 10 minutes?
2
2 comments
Client said "our automation is too complicated to explain." I asked for 3 bullet points. Built it in 6 minutes. They'd been quoted $22k and 8 weeks.
skool.com/brendan
A free community to help you master no-code AI Automations.
Join to learn, share ideas, and build real systems for the future of work.
Leaderboard (30-day)
1
+124
2
+79
3
+59
4
🔥
+54
5
+54
Powered by