Follow-up for Tim & Melissa · June 30 meeting
The three models, the costs, and Zoho
Answers to what we opened up on the call — the model comparison, what Claude actually costs to run, and whether Zoho can handle automated lead response. Built around the plan we landed on: test with PolyMagnet, not the demo sites.
The plan we agreed on
PolyMagnet as the real test case
Melissa's call was the right one: a demo site can't produce a credible case study, but PolyMagnet can — it's a real business with a real baseline (~10 leads/week). So we onboard all three models with PolyMagnet's data, compare the outputs side by side, and let a clear winner emerge. Target to report back: about a week (ideally this weekend).
We tabled the "league" idea — it muddied the water. This is simpler: one real business, three models, a measurable before/after.
Action item 1
The three models — what's actually different
Honest answer first: under the hood they're the same engine — the same seven roles, the same outputs, the same scripts. The difference is the story each one tells. Pick by audience, then we consolidate to one.
| Model | The story it tells | Choose it when the client… |
|---|
The Board
deptless.com | The whole department live on one screen, each role flapping to its status. | …wants an at-a-glance, always-on view — a cockpit. |
The Careers Page
automarketingdept.com | Every role is an open position, filled by software, with the ~$390K/yr payroll you never spend. | …needs the cost/ROI case made to a budget-holder. |
A Day in the Life
automarketing.wholetech.com | A 24-hour timeline with a "now" line — what's happening this minute. | …wants proof the work happens continuously, on cadence. |
For PolyMagnet: I'd lead with The Careers Page — the ROI framing lands hardest with a real owner watching a lead number — and keep The Board as the day-to-day dashboard. The onboarding will tell us for sure once we see the outputs against PolyMagnet's data.
Action item 2
What it costs to run (Claude tokens)
For a live client deployment, the content is generated by Claude, so tokens aren't free. Two ways to handle it:
- Client's own account — they hold an Anthropic API key and pay Anthropic directly. Fully transparent, scales with use. Best for a client comfortable owning it.
- Managed through me (reseller) — I run it under one account and bill a flat monthly that covers tokens + management. Simpler and predictable for the client; no key to manage.
Rough monthly ranges by volume and model tier (a leaner model like Haiku for routine drafts, a premium one like Opus for the heavy lifting):
| Volume | Lean (Haiku) | Balanced (Sonnet) | Premium (Opus) |
|---|
Light
a few posts/day · ~2M tok | ~$8/mo | ~$25/mo | ~$40/mo |
Medium
~8M tok/mo | ~$30/mo | ~$95/mo | ~$160/mo |
Heavy
~20M tok/mo | ~$80/mo | ~$240/mo | ~$400/mo |
These are estimates to confirm with PolyMagnet's real usage — and prompt caching typically cuts them a good deal further. The smart setup mixes tiers: cheap model for routine drafts, premium only where quality matters. Most small businesses land in the Light-to-Medium band.
Action item 3
Zoho CRM — automated lead response
Short answer: yes, and it's the right next layer. Generating content proves lead generation; the bigger win for PolyMagnet is never letting an inbound lead sit.
- How it wires up: Zoho fires a webhook the moment a lead comes in → the engine drafts a tailored response (email/SMS) → a human approves (keeping our outbound gate) → it sends and logs the activity back to Zoho.
- Effort: Zoho's API and Zoho Flow are well-documented — a working prototype is a few days, not weeks.
- Fit: this is exactly the "automated lead response" phase we flagged to layer in after generation is proven.
Recommendation: prove generation on PolyMagnet first (this round), then bolt on the Zoho lead-response loop as phase two — same engine, one new input.
What's next
This week
- Melissa & team: complete the onboarding questionnaire on all three models with PolyMagnet's data; note friction points; report back (~this weekend).
- Paul: bring this grid + firmer token numbers once we see PolyMagnet's real usage, and a Zoho prototype plan.
- Together: reconvene in about a week to compare outputs and pick the model we run with.