"Your Marketing Sucks if You Have SDRs..."--The AI-Powered Marketing Formula: Automate or Get Left Behind

AI is shattering the old playbook for sales and marketing agencies and departments, creating a growing divide between those who embrace automation and those left scrambling to keep up. This article focuses mostly on marketing but also touches on sales as it pertains to marketing, so this is a must read for both parties! We touch on areas such as: 1) Your marketing sucks if you have a lot of SDRs, 2) Why deepfakes are more dangerous than you might have realized before and what we should do about it (individually, societally, and how AI Agents can make a huge difference) 3)Why should I adopt AI now if the tech is changing rapidly?, 4) How will the gap between AI-adopters and AI-holdouts look like in the near and distant future? 5) How can AI boost your social media/LinkedIn game significantly? . And much more...check it out below!

Author

Ross Green
March 18, 2025

Table of Contents

Introduction:

The groundbreaking book, “Your Marketing Sucks” by Mark Stevens, ushered in a cultural-linguistic change in sensibility and approach to marketing. We use this as a bit of inspiration for many of the sections below, but in particular, our discussion of how a big SDR team means your marketing plain sucks.

In this issue, we’re diving deep into The Great Divide: Agencies That Automate vs. Agencies That Struggle, where we’ll explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is separating top-performing agencies/departments from the rest, the key automation strategies driving success, and the hard data behind the transformation. Then, we’ll break down AI vs. Human: The Perfect Marketing Team, revealing the 80/20 rule of AI in marketing and where AI should take over and where human expertise still reigns. We’ll also tackle AI Tooling and How to Pick the Right Stack, helping you navigate the flood of AI tools to find the ones that actually move the needle.

From there, we’ll shift to the future with AI SuperAgents Take Over Sales & Marketing. AI isn’t simply assisting teams, but rather, it’s running entire workflows. We’ll cover The Evolution of Outreach & Lead Nurturing, where AI turns sales prospecting into a precision science; Content That Writes & Optimizes Itself, where AI is taking over strategy, creation, and distribution; and the ultimate question: Can You Run an Entire Agency on AI? We’ll also break down the critical difference between AI Agents vs. Chatbots and ultimately why chatbots are not just yesterday’s tech, but frankly last year’s tech, and AI Agents are the present and their evolution is the future.

This isn’t theory or hype; it’s happening now. Expect real-world strategies, no-BS insights, and actionable recommendations on how to build an AI-powered agency that thrives in the new era of sales and marketing.

Now is the perfect time to begin your AI journey. With rapid advancements unfolding every month, I often hear the question, “Why should I invest in AI Agents now?” The reality is, delaying adoption comes with significant risks: 1) In the short term, you’ll fall behind competitors who are already leveraging AI for efficiency and growth. 2) In the long run, when you finally decide to implement AI, you’ll face a difficult learning curve and you’ll likely struggle to catch-up from there as there’ll be so much AI content to learn in a short period of time…in short, you’ll thank your younger self when you are older for digging into AI sooner rather than later, we promise you that.

Stay ahead of the curve, embrace AI now, and lead the way! Read on for details!…

The Great Divide: Agencies/Departments That Automate vs. Agencies That Struggle

In 2025, the marketing landscape is witnessing a pronounced divide between agencies/departments that have embraced AI and those that have not. This disparity is reshaping industry dynamics, with AI-powered agencies and departments alike achieving unprecedented efficiency and creativity, while others struggle to keep pace. It's crucial to recognize AI's strengths while also understanding the areas where human expertise is indispensable.

The AI-Induced Performance Gap

In 2025, the marketing industry is experiencing a stark contrast between agencies that have adopted artificial intelligence (AI) and those that have yet to do so.….read more here.

One example at Custom AI Studio of a Multi-modal/Multi-nodal AI Agent

Ross Green, MD. (2025) “The AI Performance Balancing Act.” napkin.ai

Ross Green, MD. (2025) “AI-Driven Strategies for Agency Success.” napkin.ai

Ross Green, MD (2025). “AI Ad Agent Workflow.” Excalidraw.com

AI vs. Human: The Perfect Marketing Team

AI can handle 80% of repetitive marketing tasks  , including data analysis, content generation, and automation, thereby  freeing humans to focus on the 20% that requires strategy, creativity, and relationship-building. But what tech tools you use is essential for now and for future-proofing your marketing. Now is the time to act — wait too long, and you won’t just miss out on short-term gains, but you’ll also face the uphill battle of catching up in a future when AI is exponentially more advanced and complex

In The 80/20 Rule of AI in Marketing, we explore how AI enhances efficiency without replacing human expertise. We will break this section down into automated tasks vs. human-driven responsibilities, overall strategy of human-in-the-loop, how to build brand loyalty with AI agents, the hidden cost of using AI for marketing, and how to future-proof your AI marketing agents.….read more here

Ross Green, MD. (2025) “Should Agencies prepare for emerging AI capabilities?.” napkin.ai

In AI Tooling — Picking the Right Stack and How to Future Proof It, we select the best AI tools to complement your team, ensuring seamless execution and maximum ROI while also ensuring your marketing is future proofed...read more here.

Ghostwriting for Growth: AI’s Role in LinkedIn, Instagram and X (Twitter) Thought Leadership

Thought leadership is much more about timing, engagement, and strategic positioning than just about what you post. In a digital landscape where attention is currency, AI-driven ghostwriting and audience AI intelligence are reshaping how professionals build influence on LinkedIn, Twitter, and beyond.

The best part? AI is orchestrating an entire ecosystem of engagement, ensuring your posts land with precision, your network expands with intent, and your brand evolves at the speed of relevance. Custom AI Studio is at the forefront of this!

Ross Green, MD. (2025) “AI-Driven Strategies for Agency Success.” Canva.com

AI as Your Personal Brand Architect

Imagine an AI agent that studies your audience better than you do. It tracks who engages with your posts, what topics resonate most, and even identifies high-value…read more here.

A flow diagram Ross Green, MD, made for a client looking for an Instagram scraper to identify for his OnlyFans clients who should be followed, what comments to like, which influencers to emulate, etc.

AI-Generated Content That Feels Real (AND RISKS of DEEPFAKES, briefly)

AI-generated content has evolved beyond robotic-sounding text. With the latest advancements, AI can craft authentic, high-impact posts that feel deeply personal—while still being entirely data-driven…read more here.

Ross Green, MD. (2025) “AI-Driven Content Personalization.” napkin.ai

Can you run an entire agency on AI? ...Maybe. And how does having a lot of SDRs mean your marketing sucks?

The idea of an AI-powered agency once seemed like science fiction. Today, it’s an experiment already playing out in real time. Some agencies have gone all-in. What is your strategy? And what does a big SDR team say about your failures in marketing?…

The AI Powered Agency

The idea of an AI-powered agency once seemed like science fiction. Today, it’s an experiment already playing out in real time. Some agencies have gone all-in, automating everything from sales to content creation to account management. The big question is: does it work?…read more here.

If you’re using a lot of SDRs, your marketing plain sucks.

Relying heavily on a large Sales Development Representative (SDR) team indicates to us that there are underlying deficiencies in your company’s marketing strategy; AI can help….read more here.

AI Agents vs. Chatbots: What’s the Difference, and Why Does It Matter (short article)?

For years, businesses have leaned on chatbots, which use rigid, rule-based responders that handle basic customer inquiries but struggle with anything beyond pre-programmed responses. Now, AI Agents are taking over…read more here.

Comparison Table: AI Agents vs. Chatbots

Chatbots 🤖

AI Agents 🧠

Feature

Conversational Ability

Scripted, rigid responses

Context-aware, adaptive conversations

Memory & Learning

No memory; every interaction is standalone

Remembers past interactions and improves over time

Task Execution

Only answers questions

Takes action—schedules, researches, and executes tasks

Proactivity

Only responds when prompted

Predicts needs and engages users before they ask

Integration

Limited to basic API connections

Seamlessly integrates across CRMs, emails, social media, and more

Personalization

Generic responses

Tailored, human-like interactions

Automation Capability

Handles simple queries

Automates multi-step workflows end-to-end

Scalability

Breaks down under complexity

Scales effortlessly with growing business needs

Final Thoughts:

The sales and marketing landscape of 2025 is witnessing a stark divide between agencies that have embraced AI-driven automation and those that continue to rely on traditional methods. AI-powered agencies are outperforming their competitors by leveraging hyper-personalization, predictive analytics, programmatic advertising, and AI-powered content creation. These advancements are fundamentally reshaping how marketing and sales operate.

As AI SuperAgents take over, businesses that integrate AI into their marketing and sales strategies are seeing significant gains in efficiency, lead conversion, and customer engagement. AI is not just automating tasks but actively driving decision-making, personalizing interactions, and optimizing campaigns in real time. The 80/20 rule of AI in marketing underscores that while AI can handle 80% of repetitive tasks, the remaining 20%, which involves creativity, strategic planning, and relationship-building, still requires human expertise.

However, AI adoption comes with challenges. Subscription fatigue, integration issues, and ethical concerns around deepfakes and misinformation require careful consideration. The key to success lies in finding the right balance between automation and human oversight. Companies that strategically implement AI while maintaining authenticity and transparency will thrive, while those that resist change risk being left behind.

he question is no longer if AI will dominate but how businesses will adapt to stay ahead in this rapidly evolving digital age.

Now is the time to start your AI journey. To be sure, there are so many exciting developments coming down the pike AI-wise, and every month seems to bring new advances and novel challenges, so we commonly hear, “why should I invest now in AI Agents.” In short, getting left behind on AI will have the following effects: 1) In the shor term, you will fall behind and lose to competitors, 2) In the long run, when you do determine AI solutions you want to use and decide ‘now’ is the right time, if you pull the trigger in months from now, you will have a difficult learning curve ahead of you to catch-up. So…be bold and be at the forefront!

Other resources:

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