Your Focus: Automation

Automation in sales means your repeat AI work doesn't start from scratch. You climb one rung at a time: a saved prompt, then a tested template, then a routine that runs on a schedule with a human check before anything reaches a buyer. To move up one level, pick one task you do every week and move only that task up one rung. This page shows what each answer looks like, how to tell which one is yours and a 30 day plan to move up one step.

The four levels of automation

Each answer word for word, what it looks like in a real week and what keeps people there.

What changes between levels is how much you have to remember. At 0, you remember everything. At 1, the doc remembers the words. At 2, the template remembers the words, the inputs and the rules. At 3, the calendar remembers when to run it, and your job is to review the result.

Where you probably are

1. Check your results screen. Every area shows a bar with your score, such as "1 of 3." That number is your level here.
2. Know the tie rule. Automation is last of ten when scores tie. If it's in your three, you probably scored lower here than in most other areas.
3. Match your profile.

If you scored 0 or 1 here and below 2 on prompt structure, start there. A routine built on a weak prompt just produces weak work on a schedule.

Your move up one level

Aim for one step, not the top.

1. From 0 to 1: save the prompt that worked

   Target answer: "I copy and paste a few prompts I've saved in a doc." The next time a prompt gives you something you'd actually use, copy it into one doc before you close the chat. Add one line on what it's for. Three saved prompts in a month is a good start.

2. From 1 to 2: test it, then make it a template

   Target answer: "I use saved templates or Projects for my regular tasks." Pick your most used prompt. Replace the parts that change with placeholders in curly braces, like {company} and {trigger}. Add a rule for missing inputs: "If a placeholder is empty, ask me instead of guessing." Run it on three real accounts. When it works on all three, it's a prompt template.

3. From 2 to 3: put one template on a schedule

   Target answer: "I have templates or skills for repeat work, plus at least one routine that runs on a schedule." Choose work that happens at the same time every week, such as a Monday pipeline digest. Use a scheduling feature your company has approved, in your AI tool or your CRM. The routine drafts. You review before anything moves.

4. Already at 3: measure and maintain

   Your advanced tip: "Measure the before and after time on your routines, and add a human review step to anything that touches a buyer." Write down what each routine saves, and check one output closely every month. If a routine stops saving time or starts needing heavy edits, fix the template or switch it off.

Your 30 day plan

Your results screen gives this area one tip. This page turns it into a month, so one real task moves up a rung and stays there.

Which work to automate first

Prompts for automation

Run these in your company approved AI tool.

Here's a list of the AI tasks I did this week, with roughly how long each took. Group them into tasks I repeat (same kind of input, same kind of output) and one off tasks. For each repeated task, estimate how many times a month I do it and say whether it would work as a template: yes, maybe or no, with one reason.
Rank the yes and maybe tasks by time per month. Use only my list.

<tasks>
{paste your list}
</tasks>

Here's a prompt I use often and two examples of what I typed into it. Turn it into a reusable template:
1. Replace the parts that changed between my examples with placeholders in curly braces.
2. Add a rule: if any placeholder is empty, ask me for it instead of guessing.
3. Add a fixed output format so every run looks the same.
4. List the inputs I need before each run.
Keep my wording where it worked. Don't add new instructions I didn't ask for.

<prompt>
{paste your prompt}
</prompt>
<examples>
{paste two examples}
</examples>

Below is an export of my open deals: name, stage, amount, next step, next step date and last activity date.
Give me a digest for this week with three sections:
1. Overdue: deals whose next step date has passed, oldest first.
2. No next step: deals with an empty next step.
3. Stale: deals with no activity in 14 days.
For each deal, one line: name, stage, what's wrong and the question I should answer. Use only the export. Don't guess at missing values; write MISSING.

<export>
{paste the export}
</export>

Here are the last four outputs of a weekly routine and the edits I made to each before using it. Tell me:
1. Which kinds of edits I keep making.
2. Whether the edits are growing or shrinking over the four weeks.
3. One change to the template that would remove my most common edit.
Use only what I pasted.

What not to automate

Retake the assessment

Retake it at day 30 and answer from what you actually did. One step up here adds one point to your total.

Frequently asked questions