“The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know.”

-Albert Einstein …. or someone

Atop Angels Landing, Zion National Park

Every time I learn something new, or uncover a new tool, it’s a motivating mixture of excitement and frustration.

Yes, I now know something new, which is good. But it’s almost always accompanied by a new perspective, through which I can also see a brand new lineup of things I don’t know.

So, it’s double edged, right? Because yes the destination (functionality) is exciting, but sometimes the journey (learning curve) is intimidating. And often times that’s the process for learning Infusionsoft as well.  Just when you reach the next crest you can see another one towering over you. In hiking they call these false summits – and as with in business, they can be equal parts demoralizing and inspiring.

Example 1: A very common example of this with Infusionsoft is when people start to think about automation in new ways.  For example, most people think about Infusionsoft as a funnel that automates the process of collecting leads, and driving them toward a purchase. You can work toward understanding and mastering that for years.

But then when you start to think about all of the automation opportunities that come after the sale, boom, you’ve unlocked a whole new level of understanding, usage, and efficiency.

Example 2: Another example is that many Infusionsoft users think of automation as being something that is totally hands off, and that removes humans from the equation. You know: A prospects requests your free report, they receive it, they click on it and the system automatically follows up with them, and then eventually they buy and you don’t even lift a finger during the process. You can build some really ninja campaigns and funnels this way that will certainly save you time and grow your sales.

But, you can also use automation to supplement your human interactions. To multiply your people instead of replacing them. It’s the concept of using automation that is triggered by something YOU do, instead of by something THEY do.  When you start to use automation this way, yup, you’ve unlocked a whole new understanding of the software, and have increased your capacity to use it.

Check out this short video for an example of a FAQ campaign that falls in this category (or, read through Jordan’s post on the same subject here).

So, the false summit I’m going to illuminate today is around internal automation.

Most people think about automation in terms of how it directly impacts their customers. They strive to create a seamless and permeating lead capture process, they embrace Lifecycle Marketing and build nurture processes to build a relationship with the prospect, and they design complex fulfillment campaigns that are designed wow their customer and then automatically capture testimonials.

All of these things are good. And yes, they’ll make the customer’s life easier, and the customer’s journey less turbulent.

But what about you?

Automation can also be used to simplify your life too; and the things that are a part of your day-to-day responsibilities. Remember, the more you take off of your plate, the more you can focus on being great at whatever it is you’re great at. (This can have a powerful indirect impact on your customers)

You can use automation for your internal processes in a wide variety of ways, anything from collecting W9 forms during tax season to automating your coffee run.

I wanna share with you an internal automation campaign that I use in my business. It’s not fancy, in fact, it’s really basic. But the fact of the matter is many people don’t know how to look for opportunities like these in their own businesses, so my hope is that it may help you recognize areas inside your own business that you can simplify or streamline with a little automation.

I use this campaign to automate the collection of guest blog posts. I’m not trying to sell these folks anything, but they’re part of a repeatable process that was consuming my time, so I built a system to help support it as it scales. You likely have opportunities in your business where you can do the same thing, but if you aren’t looking, you likely won’t see them.

Check it out, and let me know how you are already using, or how you plan to use automation for your own internal processes! Enjoy.