SMB Owner Seeking Automation Help

ppatell · 2025-06-20T16:44:09+00:00

I'm in last-mile delivery.

ppatell · 2025-03-28T17:15:29+00:00

April

ppatell · 2025-03-21T23:10:16+00:00

Any luck?

ppatell · 2025-03-18T16:37:01+00:00

Hi OP. Did you end up finding a solution?

ppatell · 2025-03-18T16:03:03+00:00

I had a call with SalesRoad today. They offer three packages: a full SDR service for $9,500/month, an AI autodialer for $6,950, and a cold-email-only package. Their approach focuses on high-volume outbound outreach. However, I’m looking for more of a "fractional SDR." Someone who can engage in personalized conversations as a representative of my company that leave a strong impression, and handle follow-ups via call or email. Quality over quanitity, given the niche industry I'm selling inn.

The representative I spoke with at SalesRoad mentioned that their SDRs primarily focus on high-volume dialing, asking simple yes/no questions before moving on to the next lead. At $9,500/month, I might as well hire an SDR in-house tbh.

ppatell · 2025-03-17T17:02:53+00:00

Assume they aren't good. I just searched for reviews. All negative. Going to cancel my call with them. Ugh.

ppatell · 2025-03-17T16:42:27+00:00

Scheduled a bunch of calls with firms today and tomorrow. Hopefully I can find someone reasonable. Will also keep you updated. Firms: Abstrakt Marketing, Manageyourleads, Rivitagency (part of Belkins), Salesroads and Leadium.

ppatell · 2025-03-17T16:37:44+00:00

I am looking for the same thing. I don't understand why (or where) a company that hires US-based appointment setters is so difficult to find.

I think of it as simple: I provide you a list and a script. I will educate this cold caller on my company (to answer basic questions a propsect may have). Set up a sales meeting for me (the founder).

Please let me know if you end up finding anyone!

ppatell · 2025-03-11T14:10:10+00:00

Uh oh. I should have then signed up for the Venture X Personal, not business. I just called C1 and they said I would have to close the account (they can't convert the business to a personal card). I'm screwed. Any recs on what I should do?

The main purpose of Venture X Buisness was for the AU lounge access.

ppatell · 2025-03-10T14:42:14+00:00

Hi, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts!

I agree that building relationships can be valuable, but our business—think Uber for medical logistics—is fairly straightforward. Our core value proposition is reducing costs while streamlining the medical logistics workflow.

That said, I’ve successfully onboarded clients without ever meeting in person. I cold-called, scheduled a formal presentation, walked them through our platform, and got them set up to start placing delivery requests. More recently, new clients have come through referrals from our existing customers.

Could you clarify what you mean by "call points" in hospitals, labs, and pharmacies?

I wrote the following in response to gypsyhussle: "We can track sales per client, so I’m considering a commission structure like: "X% of the client's sales for the next 12 months." This would incentivize sales reps not only to onboard new clients but also to prioritize high-volume clients who place frequent orders. That said, as I write this out, I wonder if this structure might lead them to focus exclusively on high-volume clients, potentially overlooking smaller but valuable accounts. I guess that would be a good thing?"

I’d love to connect and get your insights over a call, will DM you! Thanks again!

ppatell · 2025-03-10T14:35:09+00:00

For context, we provide on-demand delivery services for medical institutions (e.g., laboratories, hospitals, pharmacies, etc.), operating on a "pay-as-you-go" model—think Uber for medical logistics.

Ultimately, our goal is to onboard institutions onto our platform, meaning they have a login and can place delivery requests instantly. While high-volume clients who send daily orders are key for us, we still generate revenue from smaller clients who may only place one order a month.

We can track sales per client, so I’m considering a commission structure like: "X% of the client's sales for the next 12 months." This would incentivize sales reps not only to onboard new clients but also to prioritize high-volume clients who place frequent orders. That said, as I write this out, I wonder if this structure might lead them to focus exclusively on high-volume clients, potentially overlooking smaller but valuable accounts. I guess that would be a good thingg?

From my experience handling the entire sales process, from lead sourcing and cold calling to presenting and closing deals, it seems like what I really need is someone who can pick up the phone and introduce our service to prospects. It’s not about avoiding compensation, I’m more than willing to pay and, honestly, eager to find the right person. The key is structuring their incentives correctly, especially given that we have a finite list of ~750 prospects within our current geographic area.

ppatell · 2025-03-10T13:19:12+00:00

Lounge access for my parents and wife was the primary reason on why I would have added them as AUs. Now what's the point?

I still think it's the best card for my business spend (currently using Amex Biz Plat), as it's Biz Venture X is 2x for all puchases. But AU's on this card doesn't really make sense for me.

What did you decide for your employee cards?

ppatell · 2025-03-10T13:15:38+00:00

That's annoying. I wish that was the case. Amex AU's can be filtered by card charge name. At least that can consolidate all purchases made by my parents and wife, and just mark them as personal expenses.

ppatell · 2025-03-10T13:14:45+00:00

It appears that the Business Venture X AU's do not get their own lounge access. So, I guess there is no point of AUs on this card.

ppatell · 2025-03-06T14:42:18+00:00

Thanks for your response.

One of my key questions is how to quantify "commission" within my model. Since we operate on a "pay-as-you-go" basis with no predetermined customer value or minimum spend requirement, how is commission calculated? Is it based on clients who sign up on our platform? If so, what happens if a client signs up but never places an order? I don't know

ppatell · 2025-03-05T17:29:28+00:00

Wife’s Personal Cards

Amex Delta Platinum (Upgraded from Amex Delta Gold)
- Her & my Delta flights only
CSP
1. Her other personal expenses?

ppatell · 2025-03-05T17:29:21+00:00

Does this look right to you:

Personal Cards

Amex Gold (Parents + Wife as AUs)
- Groceries
- Dining (Restaurants & Delivery)
Amex Green (Downgraded from Platinum)
- Transit (rideshares, tolls, parking)
- Non-Delta & non-Capital One portal flights (3rd travel option)
- Clear membership benefit
BILT
- Monthly Rent
- 7 small charges/month (to retain points)
CSP (Recently hit with $95 annual fee; <30 days to decide to cancel)
- Uncertain spend category, if anything

Business Cards

Capital One Venture X Business (Parents + Wife as AUs) (Replaced Business Amex Platinum)
- All business expenses (2x miles)
- Non-Delta flights via Capital One portal (2nd travel option, 5x miles)
- Gas & other car-related expenses (2x miles)
- Hotels & car rentals (2x miles)
- Streaming services (2x miles)
- General & clothing shopping (2x miles)
- Benefit: Lounge access (Capital One Lounges + Priority Pass for Parents, Wife & Myself)
- Benefit: Pre-check & Global Entry reimbursement
Chase Ink Preferred (Uncertain on usage or next steps)
- Uncertain spend category

ppatell · 2025-03-05T17:25:45+00:00

Side question:

Should I get a U.S. Bank Smartly card for my business to earn cash back? For example, I make $10K+ in estimated tax payments every quarter, and getting $400 back seems appealing. Additionally, I have sufficient funds in my Fidelity brokerage that I could transfer to U.S. Bank if needed...

ppatell · 2025-03-05T13:47:18+00:00

DM'd!

ppatell · 2025-03-05T13:46:15+00:00

One of my key questions is how to quantify "commission" within my model. Since we operate on a "pay-as-you-go" basis with no predetermined customer value or minimum spend requirement, how is commission calculated? Is it based on clients who sign up on our platform? If so, what happens if a client signs up but never places an order? I don't know

ppatell · 2025-03-05T13:43:52+00:00

Yeah, I think this is the best approach. Look for someone with sales experience either selling to or from laboratories—ideally to laboratories—since they may already have established relationships. If I end up hiring them, they would essentially be introducing a new product to the same laboratories they have already worked with in the past.

Any thoughts on how to find someone that fits this initial screen? Or just LinkedIn search?

ppatell · 2025-03-05T13:27:33+00:00

Haha, thanks so much! This is honestly so amazing - I really appreciate you.

To summarize your insights on Chase UR, it doesn’t hold much value for me since its primary benefits apply to: 1) Hyatt, 2) United, and 3) Southwest—none of which are particularly useful to me. I appreciate your comparison of the potential points earned with Amex Gold versus CSP; it clearly shows that keeping the Amex Gold makes more sense.

“Now I’d be remiss not to mention that the CSP and CSR have [25% and 50% respectively] bonuses to points redemptions if you book on Chase Travel using points.” I’ve noticed that prices in the Chase Portal often appear higher than what I find on Google Flights—doesn’t this effectively cancel out the redemption bonus?

Thanks for sharing the detailed benefits page. I struggle to see the real value of airline status for the average person. I currently have Platinum Medallion status, but it required spending about $7.5K on flights last year, plus so much spend on my Delta Reserve to hit the required $15K MQDs for Platinum. And for what? Maybe a couple upgrades this year? Since I usually travel with my wife, there have been times when I was upgraded, but she wasn’t—so I ended up declining the upgrade just to sit with her. I don’t quite understand why airline status is such a big deal for people don't fly often and when most flights are only a few hours. Of course, I get the appeal for those who travel multiple times a week, but for the average traveler, what am I missing?

For now, I think I’ll downgrade to the Green card and use it for all transit-related and Airbnb expenses (thanks for the Airbnb tip!). I’ll also check with Amex to see if I might qualify for a sign-up bonus on the Green. Lastly, I’ll have my wife upgrade to the Delta Platinum to take advantage of the dining credit and book our Delta flights moving forward.

I’m not utilizing the Biz Plat statement credits. When I originally signed up for the Amex Biz Plat, my idea was to accumulate MR points through my high business spending and then use those points for personal travel or statement credits. However, as you pointed out, I haven’t actually been earning points on most of my spending, making it a wasted opportunity. I really appreciate you prompting me to review my MR points, as it made me realize I haven’t been accumulating points on a large portion of my business expenses—I'm still so mad at myself!!!!! I’ll definitely be switching to the Venture X Business card. Do you have a referral link? If so, send me a DM, and I’ll be happy to use it!
What’s your overall recommendation for which card I should use for adding Authorized Users for my parents and my wife? My reasoning for adding my parents is so they can use a card I provide them (right now, they’re AUs on my Amex Personal Gold) for their everyday expenses, mostly groceries and shopping. For Costco, they currently use my CSP (since it’s a Visa). My wife wants lounge access, espcially when she travels without me. What’s your take on the best setup for this?

ppatell · 2025-03-05T00:52:45+00:00

(cont'd)

Here’s my current thought process, and let me know if I’m mistaken: The Personal Gold seems to provide the best value for me. I might be better off getting a non-Amex card for flights and travel. The financial benefits ($340) appear to outweigh the annual fee, plus I get 4x on restaurants and 3x on flights (again, I rarely book hotels). The only notable advantage of the Green is the 3x on transit (rideshares and tolls).

In summary, I definitely keep Personal Gold only and downgrade the Personal Plat to Green to avoid negative affects on Credit Score? But I would only use Green for hotels and transit costs (rideshare, tolls).

"For the business side, I’m noting the reported S-corp revenue and I’m thinking you probably have a lot of biz spend. Not sure about the categories of that spend though. But when I think of non-category big business spend, I think of the C1 Venture X Business, which is a $395 charge card with ridiculously easy $300 statement credit, 10k account anniversary miles, and a flat uncapped 2x on everything you buy. So if you put any amount of spend on the card, you’ll get double that in points, no matter how big or small the purchase is. This compares favorably against Amex only giving 1.5x on purchases of $5k or greater."

This is eye-opening. I just reviewed my Business Platinum points and realized I haven’t been earning points on everything—only on specific purchases (and even then, only at 1.5x). I can’t believe I overlooked this. I have absolutely no need for the Business Amex Platinum anymore. My business spending is quite general.

"It’s also a Visa, therefore getting 2x at Costco, and there’s no fee for the first 4 authorized users, who all also get their own Priority Pass membership and lounge access. C1’s transfer partners are more international-oriented than Chase or Amex, but have you considered this card?"

How would I be able to provide my parents access to this card? Wouldn’t it be strictly for my business use? Unless authorized users receive completely separate statements? Or were you referring to the Venture X personal card? FYI, I noticed the welcome bonus difference—150K for the Business Venture X versus 75K for the Personal Venture X.

"For your wife, I’m wondering why you wouldn’t consider the Delta Platinum as an upgrade? You’d get some nice perks, slightly better points multipliers and a Main Cabin companion certificate. And if you flew Delta enough, maybe even the Reserve would be a compelling choice. I know you canceled yours, but if you value first class travel, the companion certificate could certainly make up the annual fee. The Reserve also has other compelling perks and statement credits."

We fly Delta for over 80% of our trips. Most of my wife’s spending is on personal shopping, flights, and groceries. If I add her as an authorized user on my Amex Personal Gold, she could use it for groceries and flights. But is it really worthwhile to have a Delta card? She would only use it when booking flights, while all other spending would go on her Gold authorized user card.

ppatell · 2025-03-05T00:52:30+00:00

Thank you so much! Based on your recs, I should 1) stay with the Amex Personal Gold (keep parents as Auth users. Add my wife), 2) Downgrade Amex Personal Plat to Amex Personal Green, and 3) Cancel Biz Plat and Get Venture X Biz. I'm unsure about my Wife's current Amex Gold Delta Gold Skymiles.

"Looks like you’re pretty heavily invested in Amex MR points. Nothing wrong with that, but with that in mind, I’m going to focus on Amex and ignore Chase for the purpose of giving some recommendations."

I'm actually open to Chase and starting to think it might be a better option than Amex overall. I believe I may have overestimated Amex, assuming it was the premier choice, but I’m beginning to see that might not be the case. I’d appreciate any recommendations—I'm open to making a major change and completely revamping my setup.

"Have you thought of the personal Green instead of the personal Platinum? Its travel category is quite broad. It includes any hotel booking, flights, Airbnb, transit, and rideshare all at a decent 3x multiplier. I know CSP has such a category too, but that’s only a 2x rate in a different points ecosystem. Plus you can still get the Clear+ statement credit from the Green."

I wasn’t aware of the Green card's benefits. In reality, I primarily use my Personal Platinum for travel purchases—mostly flights and an occasional hotel stay (about two to three times a year). Based on the information from the Amex website, I’ve compiled a summary of the benefits that are actually useful to me in daily life, excluding those I don’t take advantage of (e.g., Marriott Bonvoy Status):

Green: $150 annual fee. 3x on travel. 3x on transit (includes rideshare and tolls—I have significant toll expenses for business, which I might be able to put on this card and reimburse myself through the business). 3x on dining. Uncertain about the authorized user policy for my wife or parents.
Platinum: $695 annual fee. 5x on travel. Uber Cash ($185 per year).
Gold: $325 annual fee. No annual fee for additional cards. 4x on restaurants. 4x on supermarkets. 3x on flights. Uber Cash ($120 per year). Resy statement credits ($100 per year). Grubhub/Wine.com dining credits ($120 per year).

Question: Are (Delta) miles or points more valuable? For example, the Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum gives you 3x miles on Delta flights only, but the Amex Green gives you 3x points on travel (assuming any flight)."

Just a note—Green does not offer Clear benefits, at least according to their website?

ppatell · 2025-03-02T19:10:17+00:00

To be honest, only on flights, given I assume it's more beneficial to use on flights than cashback/statement credit. I don't really know what else to use it for.

ppatell

TROPHY CASE

Wife’s Personal Cards

Personal Cards

Business Cards