Stop Babysitting Your Workflows

Nathan Weill here.

I'm the CEO @ Flow Digital, where we help companies unleash their full potential by strategically automating every inch of their workflows. Each week, I share hot AI and automation tips to help you move your business into the future successfully.

Slack’s Automated Messages

Most teams rely on manual calendar reminders or spreadsheet alerts to track critical deadlines—contract renewals, project milestones, compliance windows. That means someone has to remember to check, calculate dates, and send follow-ups.

Slack's new time-based automation triggers let you schedule automated messages based on relative dates tied to your actual business data.

How it works:

• "3 days before contract expiration" → Auto-send renewal reminder to account owner

• "1 week after project start" → Request status update from project lead

• "Within 2 days of deadline" → Escalate overdue tasks to manager

Instead of reactive scrambling when a contract auto-renews or a deadline passes, your team gets proactive alerts exactly when action is needed.

Teams using time-based triggers report significant reductions in manual calendar monitoring time. You catch expiring contracts before they slip through, follow up on projects without setting manual reminders, and never miss a time-sensitive action. The result: fewer missed renewals, faster response times, and less administrative overhead.

The Best Outbound Email Tools

Cold email alone doesn't cut it anymore—prospects ignore inboxes but respond on LinkedIn, SMS, or calls. The winning play is multichannel. Here's how to pick the right tool.

Quick Decision Framework

Lemlist — Best for True Multichannel

Best for: Sales teams wanting unified sequences across email, LinkedIn, and calls

• Native multichannel: email, LinkedIn (messages, connection requests, profile visits), calls via Aircall

• AI sequence generator creates campaigns without copywriting expertise

• Free email warmup (Lemwarm) included—critical for deliverability

• Dynamic personalization: custom images, videos, landing pages per prospect

Watch out for: Higher per-user cost; CRM integrations require Zapier workarounds.

Snov.io — Best for Email-First on a Budget

Best for: Teams leading with email who want LinkedIn as an optional add-on

• Highly accurate email finder + verifier

• Native email warmup included

• Built-in CRM handles up to 10,000 deals

• Unlimited email accounts at no extra charge

Watch out for: LinkedIn automation costs extra ($69/month per account)—scales expensive fast

Pricing: Free plan (100 recipients); Starter $39/month; Pro 5K $99/month

Apollo.io — Best for Database + Outreach in One

Best for: Teams needing a massive lead database AND outreach tools (willing to invest setup time)

• 210M+ contact database with advanced filters (intent, technographics, company size)

• All-in-one: prospecting, email sequences, calling, LinkedIn tasks

• Chrome extension for LinkedIn prospecting saves significant time

• Strong CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot)

Watch out for: Steep learning curve; sequencer and deliverability controls less robust than specialized tools (Scalelist); credit system gets expensive at scale

Pricing: Free plan available; Basic ~$59/user/month; Professional ~$99/user/month

Know Before You Start

Choosing the right tool is only half the battle. Here's what can derail your outreach before it starts.

• Deliverability is the real game: 21% of B2B emails never reach inboxes due to poor domain/IP setup. Use secondary domains, warm up inboxes 2-4 weeks before scaling, and cap sending at 100-200/day per inbox.
  

• "Unlimited emails" is misleading. Gmail and Outlook cap sending at 200-500 emails/day per inbox regardless of what your tool promises. Lemlist's built-in Lemwarm helps; Apollo's warmup is basic.
  

• LinkedIn automation carries real risk. LinkedIn limits automations to 10-20 connection requests/day, so 50-100 messages is a safe target. Avoid automating outreach from executive LinkedIn profiles. Checkout this LinkedIn Automation Safety Guide.
  

• GDPR applies to B2B cold outreach. If targeting EU contacts, you need "legitimate interest" (a real, relevant reason) for each person.

Start with one channel, nail your deliverability basics, then expand. Remember, a well-warmed inbox on any tool beats a cold one on the fanciest platform.

Visualize Your Workflows

With Make Grid

Companies running 500+ Make scenarios face a common problem: zero visibility into how workflows connect. One renamed field in Airtable or a policy change in Salesforce can break dozens of automations—and you won't know which ones until something goes wrong.

The Solution: Make Grid is a new, auto-generated visual map that displays your entire automation landscape in one view. Every scenario, app connection, data store, and AI component appears as an interactive object you can explore in real time.

Key Features:

• Search by owner, app, or error level to troubleshoot in minutes instead of hours of manual hunting

• Identify dependencies instantly—see which workflows rely on a specific database field or API before making changes

• Test changes before deploying to avoid breaking connected automations

Real Results: Wemolo, a parking management company running 500+ daily scenarios, can now manage seven times more projects because small organizational changes no longer cascade into workflow disruptions.

Get Started with Make today or read more about visualizing your workflows with Make Grid.

Need a hand managing all the moving pieces? Schedule a discovery session with a Make expert →

Google’s New AI/Automation Tool

Built Into the Suite You Already Pay For

Google just made AI-powered automation native to Workspace. This month, the company launched Workspace Studio—a no-code platform to design, manage, and share AI agents across Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Chat.

The capabilities themselves—sentiment analysis, content generation, intelligent prioritization—aren't new. Most major SaaS platforms now offer similar AI features. What's notable is Google embedding these tools directly into the productivity suite millions of businesses already live in, without requiring additional subscriptions or third-party connectors.

How it works in practice:

Users describe tasks in plain language. Tell Workspace Studio "every Friday, ping me to update my tracker" and Gemini builds the agent instantly. No coding, no specialized syntax.

Operations teams get agents that pull context directly from Drive files, emails, and documents—answers based on your actual data, not generic responses.

Marketing teams can deploy agents that generate content while referencing existing brand materials across Gmail, Docs, and Drive.

Integration options extend beyond Google's ecosystem. Workspace Studio connects to Asana, Jira, Mailchimp, and Salesforce out of the box.

For teams already embedded in Google Workspace, this consolidates functionality that previously required juggling Zapier, Make, or platform-specific AI tools. Worth evaluating if you're currently paying for separate automation and AI subscriptions on top of your Workspace license.

SMART WORDS OF THE WEEK:

— W. Edwards Deming

When 500+ automations run in the background, one small change can break dozens of workflows. Tools like Make Grid give you the visibility to manage complexity before it manages you.

Stay in touch with our team from anywhere.