AI SDR / Fractional Growth

AI SDR Consultant: Autonomous Outbound Agents That Scale Pipeline

An AI SDR is not a hire and not a black-box SaaS subscription. It is a system: agents that research accounts, draft relevant outreach, and manage sequences automatically, with a human approving the work that matters. I build these on n8n, the Claude API, and Postgres, the same AI-native stack I run my own business on, so you own the engine rather than rent another tool.

The AI SDR market is full of expensive black boxes

A wave of AI SDR products promises a robot that books meetings while you sleep. Most are closed platforms that blast generic AI-written emails at scale, which is the fastest way yet invented to torch your domain reputation and annoy your market. You pay a steep subscription, you do not own the logic, and when results disappoint you cannot see why or fix it.

The version that works treats AI as the research and drafting layer inside a system you control, not an autonomous spam cannon. Agents handle the heavy lifting: pulling account signals, personalizing the angle, sequencing the follow-up. A human reviews quality and approves the messages that need judgment. You get the leverage of automation without surrendering the relevance and reputation that make outbound work at all.

What I build, and how it fits a fractional engagement

An AI SDR system is one capability inside a growth engagement, not a standalone product I sell you a seat to. As your fractional head of growth I make sure the agents target the right ICP, feed the same pipeline as your other channels, and stay measured against real opportunities. The system is built on infrastructure your team owns and can extend.

Research agents

Agents that pull account signals, enrich contacts, and assemble the context a good rep would gather before reaching out.

Drafting agents

Claude-powered drafting that personalizes each message to the account’s real signal, not a mail-merge token.

Human in the loop

Approval gates so a person reviews quality and judgment calls before anything sends. Automation does the volume, humans guard the standard.

Deliverability and orchestration

Sending infrastructure, warmup, and sequence logic wired in n8n, so the engine scales without burning your domain. See n8n automation.

I run my own business on this exact stack

This is the strongest reason to build with me rather than rent a closed AI SDR tool: I dogfood the stack. My own marketing operation runs on n8n for orchestration, the Claude API and Claude Code for agent work, and Postgres for the data layer, with self-hosted deployment I control. I build and debug AI agents on this stack daily for content, research, reporting, and AI-search monitoring. When I build your AI SDR system, I am handing over patterns I depend on in production, not a demo I assembled for a sales call. The build story behind one of these agents is on the Claude Code SEO and GEO skill page.

How I keep AI SDR systems effective and safe

Signal-driven, not volume-driven. The agents act on the same signal-based logic as good human outbound: fewer, better accounts with a relevant reason to reach out now. See outbound.

Human approval where it counts. Agents draft and sequence; a person approves anything that needs judgment. That keeps quality high and stops the system from sending something that damages the brand.

Owned infrastructure. Built on your n8n, Claude API keys, and database, so the logic is readable and the data is yours. No vendor lock-in, no per-seat tax that scales against you.

Deliverability discipline. AI does not get a pass on reputation. Separate domains, authentication, warmup, and capped volume apply exactly as they would for human-run outbound.

Measured on pipeline. Success is qualified opportunities, not emails sent. The agents are tuned to reply quality and meeting-to-pipeline, and I cut what does not convert.

When an AI SDR system is right, and when it is not

Right when

Outbound already fits your model, you have a defined B2B ICP, and you want to scale the research and drafting load without proportionally scaling headcount, while keeping a human on quality.

Wrong when

Outbound itself is not your channel, or you expect a fully autonomous robot with no human oversight. Hands-off AI outbound at volume is how domains get burned and brands get hurt.

The honest call

If you do not yet have outbound working with humans, I will tell you to prove the motion first. AI scales a system that works; it does not rescue one that does not.

Why trust me to build this

I combine growth-operator experience with a stack I run myself. I led acquisition at Elementor from roughly $200K to over $20M ARR between 2018 and 2020 as it passed five million users. I led growth at cnvrg.io, an MLOps platform built for exactly the technical B2B buyer AI SDR systems serve, ahead of its acquisition by Intel announced in November 2020 (TechCrunch). I drove 337% MRR growth at Riverside. And I build AI agents on n8n and Claude every day for my own business. See the cnvrg.io case study and AI marketing.

Frequently asked questions

What is an AI SDR, really?

A system of agents that research accounts, draft relevant outreach, and manage sequences automatically, with a human approving the work that needs judgment. It is leverage on the research and drafting load, not a fully autonomous robot.

How is this different from AI SDR SaaS products?

Most are closed platforms that blast generic AI emails and lock you in. I build on your own n8n, Claude API, and database, so you own the logic and data and a human stays on quality.

Do you actually use this stack yourself?

Yes. My own marketing runs on n8n, the Claude API, Claude Code, and Postgres. I build and debug these agents in production daily, so the patterns I hand over are proven, not demoware. See the Claude Code skill.

Is there a human in the loop?

Yes, by design. Agents draft and sequence; a person approves anything needing judgment before it sends. That keeps quality high and protects the brand.

Will AI outbound hurt my domain?

Only if it is run as a hands-off spam cannon. I apply the same deliverability discipline as human outbound: separate domains, authentication, warmup, and capped volume.

Do I need outbound working first?

Ideally yes. AI scales a motion that already works. If outbound is not yet proven with humans, I will tell you to validate it before automating. See outbound.

Who owns the system?

You do. It is built on your infrastructure and documented so your team can run and extend it. No vendor lock-in and no per-seat tax that scales against you.

How much does this cost?

A fixed-scope diagnostic sprint runs $6,000 to $8,000. Infrastructure builds start at $5,000 per month. A full embedded operator engagement runs $8,000 to $18,000 per month.

Pricing

An AI SDR system can be advised on, built as owned infrastructure, or run as part of a fractional operator role.

Diagnostic sprint

Fixed $6,000-$8,000

2-4 week audit of your growth stack plus a 90-day roadmap. Fixed scope, converts to a retainer.

AI Marketing infra

From $5,000/mo
  • Research and drafting agents
  • Human-in-the-loop workflow
  • Deliverability infrastructure
  • Team handoff and docs
Operator (embedded)

$8K-$18K/mo

Full fractional role with the AI SDR system owned alongside the rest of growth. See fractional CMO.

Build an AI SDR system you own, not one you rent

Book a 15-min call. I will tell you whether an AI SDR fits your motion, what to build on your own stack, and where a human still needs to stay in the loop.