Service · Marketing & Sales Automation
Marketing and sales automation built on the stack we run for our own business.
Most marketing and sales tools are configured once and left to drift. The CRM has duplicate contacts nobody cleaned up. The outreach sequences stalled after the first campaign. The booking link is disconnected from the pipeline. We build the automation layer that connects lead capture, outreach, CRM, and booking into a system that runs without someone pushing it through every step. The engine we build for you is the one we run for our own business and for the service businesses we already manage it for.
Helix Stax builds marketing and sales automation for service businesses that need a working pipeline, not a stack of disconnected tools. The work covers CRM configuration and cleanup, cold outreach sequences on an authenticated sending domain, lead scoring, Places-based prospecting, booking automation, and PostHog event tracking. Every build is proof-led: we test the flow before we call it done. We run Twenty CRM, n8n, Saleshandy, Cal.com, Resend, and PostHog in production, both for our own operations and for the client businesses we manage this for. When we recommend a tool or a configuration, it is because we operate it day to day, not because we read about it.
This is not marketing strategy or brand creative. It is the technical layer under your sales motion: the integrations, the automations, the tracking, and the data flows that make your existing marketing spend work harder. If you are an ai automation agency looking to hand off operational build work, or a service business whose tools are not talking to each other, this is the engagement.
Key service areas
What the work looks like.
- CRM configuration and data cleanup: Twenty CRM or existing CRM structured so leads move through a defined lifecycle, duplicates removed, fields standardized, and pipeline stages matching the way deals actually close
- Cold outreach automation: sequenced email campaigns on a separate authenticated sending domain, Saleshandy-managed sequences, opt-out and volume discipline baked in so deliverability is not a quarterly fire drill
- Lead scoring and qualification automation: rules-based or n8n-driven scoring that surfaces high-intent leads to your team before they go cold, tied to CRM stage changes and outreach triggers
- Places-based prospecting: Google Places API discovery piped through the n8n enrichment engine to identify and score net-new prospects by geography, category, and presence signals
- Booking and calendar automation: Cal.com embedded in your funnel, prefilled from lead data, with CRM write-back on booking, reminder sequences, and a no-show follow-up that runs automatically
- Event tracking and pipeline analytics: PostHog events tied to lead form submissions, CRM stage changes, and outreach opens so you know which campaigns move deals and which do not
- n8n workflow integration: the connective tissue between every tool in the stack, webhook receivers, HTTP calls, and data transformation flows that handle the handoffs your team currently does by hand
Named engagements inside this capability
How this shows up as a scoped engagement.
CRM and Pipeline Build
A CRM that actually reflects how deals close is the foundation every other automation layer depends on. We configure or clean up your CRM, define lifecycle stages that match your sales motion, and build the n8n flows that keep contact records current without anyone doing manual entry. The result is a pipeline you can read at a glance and a CRM the team actually uses.
- Lifecycle stage design: stages named and defined to match how your deals actually progress, not a default template nobody believes in
- Data cleanup and deduplication: contact and company records audited, duplicates merged, required fields enforced, and import hygiene documented for the next batch
- CRM-to-outreach sync: Twenty CRM or existing CRM wired to Saleshandy or your outreach tool so enrolled sequences and reply events write back to the record automatically
- Pipeline health dashboard: PostHog or CRM-native reporting set up to show stage conversion rates, average deal age, and the contacts sitting in each stage past their expected close date
Cold Outreach Automation
Cold email works when deliverability is maintained, sequences are honest, and the sending domain is separate from your main business domain. We build outreach sequences on Saleshandy, configure the sending domain with full SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication, and set volume and opt-out discipline from the start. We do not buy lead lists or send spam. Prospects come from your own research or the Places prospecting engine.
- Sending domain setup: dedicated outreach domain provisioned and fully authenticated (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) so your primary domain deliverability is never at risk from cold volume
- Saleshandy sequence build: personalized multi-step sequences with A/B variants on subject lines and step timing, built to the volume and cadence your prospect list supports
- Opt-out and compliance wiring: one-click opt-out in every sequence, suppression list synchronized with the CRM, and volume capped below the thresholds that trigger provider scrutiny
- Reply routing and CRM handoff: positive replies flagged in Saleshandy and written to the CRM as a qualified lead with the conversation context attached so no context is lost at handoff
Places-Based Prospecting
The Places prospecting engine discovers net-new prospects from Google Places API data, enriches them with presence scores and gap signals, and loads scored leads into the CRM ready for outreach. We built this for our own prospecting operation and run it in production. The engine works best for service businesses targeting other local service businesses by geography and category.
- Google Places discovery: category and geography queries returning business name, address, phone, website, and place ID for every matching location in scope
- Presence scoring: each prospect scored on website quality, review count, review recency, and social presence signals to rank by likely need and outreach priority
- Gap-reason enrichment: human-readable gap signals computed per prospect so the first outreach email references something real about their current posture
- CRM upsert with deduplication: scored leads loaded into Twenty CRM via REST with place ID deduplication so the same prospect is never created twice
Booking and Calendar Automation
A booking link that is not connected to your pipeline is just a scheduling tool. We embed Cal.com in the right place in your funnel, prefill it from lead data already in the CRM, write the booking back as a CRM event, and build the reminder and no-show sequences that run without anyone managing them. The result is a booking flow that captures intent and follows through automatically.
- Cal.com event configuration: event type, duration, buffer, confirmation email, and timezone handling set to match the way your sales call actually runs
- Funnel embed with prefill: Cal.com embedded in the step where intent is highest, prefilled with name, email, and phone from the lead record so the friction is as low as possible
- CRM write-back on booking: n8n webhook receiver captures Cal.com booking events and writes the appointment date, attendee, and booking ID to the CRM contact record
- Reminder and no-show sequences: automated reminder at 24 hours and 1 hour before, no-show follow-up fired 15 minutes after a missed call, all running through n8n with CRM stage updates attached
How we engage
The stack we run ourselves.
Marketing and sales automation runs at every engagement tier. The vCIO Retainer advises on stack decisions. The Engagement builds the pipeline. The Operate tier runs and evolves it as the business grows.
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vCIO Retainer
Advisory on which CRM to run, which outreach tool fits your volume, and where the n8n automation layer should live. We review your current stack, name the gaps, and give you a written recommendation with the build sequence. We advise; your team or a contractor builds.
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Helix Engagement
We build the pipeline. One defined engagement: CRM cleanup and pipeline configuration, outreach sequence build on an authenticated domain, Places prospecting setup, Cal.com integration, and event tracking. Scoped, built, tested, documented, and handed off.
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Helix Operate
Ongoing operation and evolution of the full stack. New sequences as you enter new markets, scoring model updates as the prospect data grows, Places prospecting runs on a schedule, and the monthly analytics review that tells you which campaigns are moving deals. Built for businesses where the pipeline is a continuous growth lever.
What you walk out with
Concrete deliverables.
- A CRM audit and cleanup report: duplicate contacts merged, lifecycle stages defined, and required fields enforced with a data hygiene runbook for the next import
- A built and documented outreach sequence on an authenticated sending domain, with A/B variants, opt-out wiring, and CRM reply sync confirmed working on a live test
- A Places prospecting run: scored prospect list loaded into the CRM, gap-reason fields populated, and a deduplication check confirming no existing contacts were duplicated
- A Cal.com booking integration: funnel embed, CRM write-back, and automated reminder and no-show sequences tested end-to-end before handoff
- An n8n workflow map: every automation built, the data it moves, the error handling, and the named owner after the engagement closes
- A PostHog event tracking setup: lead form submissions, CRM stage changes, and outreach engagement events flowing into PostHog with a session replay confirmed active
Honest scope
What we do not do.
We are not a marketing agency and we do not write ad creative, manage paid campaigns, or run social media accounts. We do not buy lead lists or send unsolicited bulk email; cold outreach runs on prospects you have identified, on a separate sending domain, with opt-out and volume discipline. We do not build custom e-commerce or subscription billing logic; scoped pipeline and CRM automation is the engagement, not a full commercial platform build. We do not guarantee lead conversion rates or sales outcomes; the automation runs correctly and tracks accurately, but the pipeline produces results only when the offer and the outreach message are right. See /services/it-projects-automation for general workflow automation and AI builds outside the marketing and sales context.
Industries we apply this to
Where this service shows up most.
- Service Businesses The dispatch board, the tech's phone, and tonight's invoice each tell a different story.
- Legal Practice management, a document portal, and the spreadsheet your senior partner will not give up.
- Hospitality POS, online ordering, a loyalty app, and a scheduling tool the kitchen never opens. The assistant GM is the integration layer.
- Distribution A WMS that only talks to the ERP through a nightly export that breaks every other Friday.
You can have the number by Friday.
The free call is free, and the only thing you walk out with is your CTGA score and the three gaps that cost you the most. If we are not the right fit, you keep the score and we both move on.