AI guy is now Boring Business AI. Why?

Hi AI Enthusiast,

In case you missed hi slast week… we have news…

We’ve rebranded from "The AI Guy" to "Boring Business AI."

Here's what we've discovered: the real AI opportunity isn't in Silicon Valley sstartups. It's in ordinary businesses automating ordinary tasks…the unglamorous work that actually keeps companies running.

And here's what's exciting…

While everyone else chases AI hype, we're not just sharing ideas here but also building a community focused on real business owners sharing actual use cases and step-by-step playbooks.

Our team combines SMB experience with technical AI skills, but more importantly, we’re tapping business owners and documenting their real world use cases to uncover AI that’s actually driving results.

If you want to actually use AI instead of just reading about it, this newsletter and community is for you. We're keeping it free for a limited time while we build something genuinely useful.

Come steal what's working, share your wins, and help us document the real AI advantage—the boring one that's making businesses money.

Today in 5 minutes or less:

✔️ How a tech founder uses AI to slash lead qualification time by 95% 

✔️ The "Clay Method" that turns 10,000 random contacts into gold-standard leads 

✔️ Why human connection is now your BIGGEST competitive advantage

From Tech Bro to Home Service Hero

Meet Bryan Shankman, a guy who went from being employee #39 at a tech startup (Frame io, later acquired by Adobe) to building AI tools for blue-collar businesses.

After stints at TikTok and other tech companies, Bryan took an unexpected turn: he discovered the world of home services businesses—plumbers, pest control operators, and HVAC companies desperate for better technology.

It started with a random connection on Reddit with a pest control owner named Wesley who needed help with her accounts receivable. Bryan built her a system that used AI voice cloning to send automated payment reminders that sounded exactly like Wesley herself.

The result? Wesley collected $50,000 in overdue invoices in the first month alone.

What began as a one-off favor evolved into Bryan's current company, Lead Truffle, an AI customer service rep that helps home service businesses convert website visitors and missed calls into booked jobs.

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The Cold Outreach Crisis Nobody's Talking About

Here's a shocking reality: The SDR (Sales Development Rep) who used to spend an ENTIRE WEEK qualifying 1,000 leads can now do it in MINUTES using AI.

Bryan shared with me how he uses a tool called Clay combined with AI to completely transform the lead qualification process:

1. Import a list of potential companies from any source

2. Use AI to automatically visit EACH company's website

3. Categorize businesses based on specific criteria (without lifting a finger)

4. Generate personalized outreach for each prospect

What used to take a full-time employee a week now happens while you grab coffee.

Key Stats:

• 95% reduction in lead qualification time

• Thousands of websites analyzed automatically

• Zero manual verification required

"The AI can now do this in a couple of minutes," Bryan explained. "When I first started as an SDR 10 years ago, I would have had to go to every one of these websites and mark a checkbox."

Deep Dive

The Edge: When Everyone Goes Digital, Go Human

Here's where things get interesting. As AI makes mass outreach easier, it simultaneously makes it LESS effective.

"It's the classic zig when everyone else zags," Bryan told us. "When 10 years ago you could do a blast email campaign, it was relatively novel. Now that everyone can do it and send millions of emails per month, what's way more interesting is meeting someone in person, shaking hands and having a beer or coffee with them."

This creates the ultimate contrarian opportunity:

1. Automate the grunt work: Use AI to handle lead identification, qualification, and initial outreach

2. Double down on human connection: Invest the time you've saved into high-touch, in-person relationship building

3. Create a hybrid approach: Let AI handle after-hours customer service, while ensuring real humans are available during prime business hours

"For a home services business, if you can have a senior trained CSR pick up the phone when someone needs pest control tomorrow, that is just so comforting for the lead," Bryan explained.

3 Ways to Implement AI Lead Generation This Week

Ready to stop wasting hours on manual prospecting? Here's how to start:

1. The Easy Button: Sign up for a platform like Clay ($99/mo) that combines data sources and AI analysis. Import your leads and let it categorize them automatically.

2. The DIY Approach: Create a Google Sheet with potential leads, connect it to OpenAI through Zapier (or Make or N8N), and build a simple workflow that analyzes company websites and segments your list.

3. The Hybrid Method: Use tools like Lead Truffle to automate customer acquisition on your website, then focus your newly-freed time on networking events and relationship building.

The businesses that will dominate in the next decade aren't choosing between AI and human connection. They're strategically deploying BOTH.

BONUS: Want to see exactly how Bryan sets up his AI lead generation system? I've recorded a 10-minute tutorial showing his exact process. Hit reply with "SHOW ME THE AI" and I'll send it your way.

What AI tools are YOU using in your business? Hit reply and let us know. We read every response.

P.S. If you're in home services and want to check out Bryan's AI customer service tool that texts with potential customers, visit leadtruffle.com.

Get the full story here:

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Boring Business AI Poll

Liz’s Corner:

I Lead Generation Tips for Small Business Owners

When I worked for a large public company, I helped drive over 30% year-over-year revenue growth while managing a $500M+ sales organization. One of my biggest breakthroughs was systematizing our lead qualification process, which directly contributed to hitting our quarterly targets for 12 consecutive quarters.

Now, through my AI automation company, I'm seeing small business owners achieve the same systematic results that took Fortune 500 companies years to perfect—except they're doing it in weeks, not years

Based on Bryan's Clay methodology and real-world implementations across home services and tech companies, here are the actionable strategies that deliver immediate results:

1. Start with Lead Quality, Not Lead Quantity

• Bryan didn't start with "I want 10,000 contacts" — he started with "I need ICP-fit companies with 10-60 locations"

• Use AI to categorize and qualify leads BEFORE you reach out

• The Clay Method: Import your raw lead list, then use AI to visit each company's website and verify they match your ideal customer profile

• One qualified lead is worth 100 unqualified ones

2. Automate the Tedious Research, Not the Relationship Building

• What used to take Bryan a full week (manually checking 1,000 websites) now takes minutes with AI

• Key insight: "When everyone can send millions of emails per month, what's more interesting is meeting someone in person and having a beer"

• Use AI for data gathering and qualification, then invest your saved time in high-touch relationship building

3. Combine Multiple Data Sources Intelligently

• Don't rely on a single lead database — they're all incomplete

• The Clay approach: Connect disparate data sources (LinkedIn, email databases, company websites) into one cohesive spreadsheet

• Use AI to fill gaps: "Find the decision maker at this company" or "Verify this contact information"

• Your outreach is only as good as your data quality

4. Match AI Models to Specific Business Functions

• Standard models (GPT-4o): Use for creative outreach copy, customer service responses, content generation

• Reasoning models (o1, o3-mini): Use for complex lead scoring, financial analysis, multi-step problem solving

• Classification tasks: Perfect for categorizing leads by industry, company size, or buying intent

• Bryan's example: AI correctly identifying outdoor maintenance companies vs. other home services

5. Personalize at Scale Without Losing Authenticity

• AI excels at finding personalization hooks (recent LinkedIn posts, company news, mutual connections)

• But don't let AI write your entire outreach — it should inform your human touch

• Best practice: Use AI to research and suggest talking points, then craft genuinely personal messages

• The goal is informed personalization, not automated spam

6. Implement Voice AI Strategically in Customer Acquisition

• Bryan's Lead Truffle approach: AI handles initial website chat and qualification via text

• But when leads need immediate service ("pest control tomorrow"), human CSRs take over

• Key principle: Use AI for convenience and coverage, humans for high-stakes conversations

• Text-based AI is more reliable than voice AI for now, but still maintains personal connection

7. Think Integration, Not Replacement

• Bryan uses ChatGPT as a "pair programmer" for complex business problems

• The magic happens when you combine tools: Clay for data + AI for analysis + human judgment for strategy

• Example workflow: AI qualifies leads → AI suggests outreach angles → Human crafts personalized message → Human follows up with phone calls

• Don't automate the parts that build trust and relationships

The Competitive Advantage Window

Here's what most small businesses miss: The SDR who used to spend a week qualifying 1,000 leads can now do it in minutes.

But this creates a paradox. As Bryan points out: "When everyone can do blast email campaigns, what's more interesting is the human connection."

The winning strategy:

• Use AI to handle the 95% time reduction in lead qualification

• Invest that saved time in networking events, coffee meetings, and relationship building

• Your competitors are still manually researching leads or sending generic outreach

• You're sending highly targeted messages and then meeting people in person

Implementation Roadmap

Week 1: Set Up Your AI Lead Qualification System

• Sign up for Clay ($99/month) or build a basic version with Google Sheets + Zapier + OpenAI API

• Import your current lead list

• Create AI prompts to categorize leads by fit, industry, and buying intent

Week 2: Automate Data Enrichment

• Connect multiple data sources (LinkedIn, email databases, company websites)

• Use AI to fill missing contact information and company details

• Set up automated workflows to keep your data fresh

Week 3: Test Personalized Outreach

• Use AI insights to craft 3-5 different message templates for different lead segments

• A/B test AI-suggested personalization vs. generic outreach

• Track response rates and meeting conversion

Month 2: Scale the Human Touch

• Identify your highest-value prospects from AI qualification

• Attend industry events where these prospects gather

• Use your AI-freed time for in-person relationship building

• Track how many qualified leads convert through personal meetings vs. cold outreach

The Bottom Line

Bryan collected $50K in overdue invoices in the first month using AI voice cloning for payment reminders. But his biggest insight wasn't about the technology — it was about using AI to free up time for what really matters.

The companies winning aren't choosing between AI and human connection. They're strategically using AI to make human connection more valuable and more scalable.

Your competitors are either ignoring AI entirely or trying to automate everything. You have the opportunity to use AI intelligently: automate the research and qualification, then dominate through genuine human relationships.

P.S. If you're in home services and want to see how Bryan's AI customer service handles website leads and missed calls, check out Lead Truffle at leadtruffle.com. His approach to combining AI efficiency with human relationship building is exactly what small businesses need to compete with bigger players.

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Thanks for reading! Stay AI-some!

^{Boring Business AI}

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