Wade didn’t like starting his mornings staring at an empty schedule.
But most days began that way.
He ran a small, reliable tug service along Florida’s Intracoastal. Three boats, seven crew, and not nearly enough inbound work to keep the fuel paid and the team busy. The big jobs went to the bigger players. Wade’s team got the leftovers — if they got anything at all.
His office was modest — a desk, a whiteboard with last month’s jobs half-erased, and a coffee pot that ran nonstop. The phone sat quiet most mornings. Occasionally, a yard manager would call for a last-minute favor. More often, Wade just refreshed his inbox and waited.
He had tried marketing. Flyers. Local radio ads. Even a social media intern — for two weeks. But in the tug world, it wasn’t clicks that mattered. It was trust, visibility, and being top-of-mind when someone needed help now.
And without that visibility, Wade’s crew stood idle. He rotated assignments to keep morale up. Kept engines warm just in case. But even his most loyal captain, Troy, had started asking if they’d be running full-time this season.
Wade couldn’t sleep. The stress piled up with each unanswered call.
“This is good work we do,” he muttered one night over budget sheets. “We just need people to know we’re here.”
That’s when he called us.
He didn’t need branding. He didn’t need rebranding. He needed business.
So we deployed a fleet of invisible allies: digital AI drones.
These weren’t physical bots or fancy dashboards. They were behind-the-scenes automations tuned to act like a business development team, but without the salary, attitude, or sleep schedule.
We started simple:
- A drone monitored harbor traffic and marine job listings for opportunities
- A second one watched Wade’s inbox and contact form 24/7, instantly replying with personalized follow-ups
- A third scraped public dispatch logs and job board posts, then drafted quote messages with Wade’s exact specs
- And one focused only on lead revival — reviving old conversations, reengaging lukewarm past clients, and following up with those who once said, “check back next season”
Wade didn’t have to do anything but approve the tone. We made the rest happen.
Within 72 hours:
- 9 dormant leads replied — 3 converted to jobs
- A boatyard client who hadn’t booked in 6 months reengaged for 2 weekly assist runs
- A new freight operator asked for Wade’s monthly availability
Wade didn’t just have activity — he had momentum.
The real test came during week two.
One of Wade’s drones detected a job request buried in a late-night forum thread. It auto-generated a quote, sent it with a personalized message, and followed up the next morning.
That job alone paid for the entire system’s setup.
Wade was floored.
“Feels like I’ve got five people out there working phones for me,” he said, staring at a growing list of replies on his screen.
By the end of month one:
- The whiteboard was full
- 22 jobs were completed
- 4 new repeat clients were locked in
- Wade was hiring a second dispatcher just to help coordinate
And the best part?
“I’m not chasing leads anymore,” Wade said. “They’re chasing me.”
He still ran the show. He still approved every final quote. But now, he wasn’t scrambling. He was scaling.
AI didn’t change Wade’s business.
It let him build it on his own terms.
No more dry spells. No more staring at the phone. Just a system that ran — every hour, every day — bringing opportunity to the dock.
If you’re tired of wondering where your next job is coming from…
Schedule a Discovery Call and let’s build your business development drone.
