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PerplexityHow ADM Garage Doors uses AI and automation to outclass companies 10x their size
Andre Marshall’s garage door company gets mistaken for a statewide operation.
Customers rave about his team’s professionalism. Suppliers tell him his systems are “light years ahead” of his competition. Competitors wonder how he’s suddenly everywhere, responding instantly while they’re still playing phone tag.
But Andre’s secret joke is that ADM isn’t a big team. He’s just figured out how to make a small operation look and perform like a corporate giant.
The problem: small fish, big pond
ADM Garage Doors operates in a brutal market, competing against companies with big fleets of trucks, office staff, and huge marketing budgets. For 17 years, Andre did it all himself. From calls, to estimates, marketing, followups, and of course, the work itself. All while trying to have a family life.
It was overwhelming and the workload was crushing. “That’s why I don’t have much hair,” he jokes. But the stress was real, and the limitations were a hard ceiling on growth. There’s only so much one person can handle, no matter how hard they work.
The turning point: when necessity becomes your advantage
Sometimes it’s the people backed into a corner who find ways to pull ahead. They have no choice.
Andre was using Housecall Pro with Chiirp integrated for automations, but it was frustrating to manage a bunch of disconnected systems. All the logins, 2-factor authentications, and windows felt like it created more work, not less. And the systems that didn’t even talk to each other sometimes.
“It was login hell just to get basic stuff done. It was too much.”
Then Andre discovered Workiz. To him, Workiz was a game changer because it combined calls, automations, AI answering, scheduling, invoicing, finance, inventory, and all other business functions into one simple system. Workiz wasn’t just another CRM, but a platform that can truly meet the unique needs of garage door businesses.
The setup: investing time to save eternity
Within a couple weeks from starting with Workiz, Andre had already built what might be the most sophisticated small garage door business in America.
50 automations and counting
Andre has 50 automations running his business. Together, they replace the need for a team of employees, handling everything from estimate followups, to pre-job reminders, post-job invoice follow-ups, review requests, and receipt delivery.
Each automation had to be set up, but Andre understood the math: a few hours of setup immediately saved Andre weeks of manual work. Like any business decision, the ROI just made sense.
“The automations are amazing in that they free me up so I don’t have to do all these tasks ever again.”
Jessica: the AI receptionist who outperforms humans
Andre’s secret weapon is Jessica, which is what he calls Workiz’s Genius AI Answering system. She’s his first line of defense for phone calls, email, and text messages. She answers all his leads and clients around the clock, and her results speak for themselves. Jessica answered over 500 calls, directly generating $7,600 in revenue, plus $3,600 more through automated text and email responses!
While many early adopters of AI answering use the technology as a fall back – to answer missed calls – Andre puts her front and center. ‘Realistically, I miss more calls than I can answer myself, so I just embrace Jessica as an employee and trust her to answer every call and incoming message. And truth is, she does a great job”.
His willingness to put a new technology like AI answering as the face of his business is based on experience. “I’ve had times where humans would answer the phone and do a bad job. They didn’t answer questions right. They didn’t think outside the box. And if I’m going to have somebody not think outside the box, might as well have AI do it because it’s much cheaper.”
The results: David outmaneuvering goliath
Andre’s payoff has been dramatic. He is leveraging a polished professional image to grow his company while maintaining the agility and personal touch of a small business.
Professional image drives higher prices
The professional image pays dividends. “I think you could almost charge a little bit more just because you’re giving them a better higher quality service than a lot of these other companies. So a lot of it is image and how you look good.”
Speed gets sales
Andre’s system responds to leads instantly while competitors struggle with returning missed calls. Jessica handles all calls, emails or text messages automatically. She books appointments directly into his calendar, and ensures no opportunity slips through cracks.
People like AI more than expected
Andre was initially worried about customer pushback on AI but necessity drove him to adopt it anyways. Now that it’s up and running, the data tells him that there was nothing to worry about. Only 13% of callers ask to speak to a human initially. Of those, 87% are willing to work with Jessica when she offers to help first. That means only 1.7% of people actually insist on human contact.
Systems create a good image
“People see how professional I am and they see that I have better service than a lot of these other companies,” Andre explains. A garage door supplier who works with dozens of contractors told him: “My system is impressive, light years ahead of my competitors.”
Unified systems save time
No more login hell. Everything runs through one portal. From calls, to texts, scheduling, invoicing, and inventory tracking. “It’s all bundled into one. You get your inbox all in one spot. It’s easier. Login is easier. Getting information is easier. It’s a different workflow when everything is in one place”
The philosophy: work smarter, not harder
Andre’s growth plan isn’t adding staff. It’s about using technology to his advantage.
“The automations make me look more professional because I’ve got the systems in place that make customers feel like they are being taken care of. They are updated about everything automatically, like if I’m waiting for springs for their door they know about it. If springs come in, they know about it. With my AI answering and automations I’m giving better customer service than anyone else, and I don’t care how many staff they have, my customer service is better.”
His secret sauce? Andre puts effort on ‘time multipliers’.
“Every minute I put into automations saves me hours right away and forever. The small upfront investment pays dividends because I never need to think about these tasks again.”
The competitive edge: being first
In the trades, being first to respond wins more jobs. With AI, Andre is always first. His system already has the job booked while his competitors are still checking voicemails, and playing phone tag.
“It’s really hard getting callbacks to answer the phone. Customers are busy, and many won’t pick up for an unknown number.” Andre sidesteps this entirely by having AI answering the first time, every time, no matter if the opportunity comes in as a call, email, or text. “I used to feel frustrated when I’d get back in touch with a lead and find out that they booked with another guy. Now I’m that other guy and I love how slow everyone else is.”
Andre’s biggest lesson
Andre Marshall proves that small teams with the right systems can beat the giants.
He’s created what customers perceive as a sophisticated, well-staffed operation while maintaining the efficiency and agility that big companies can’t match. His AI manages communications. His automations handle the routine work. And his integrated systems eliminate workflow friction.
The result? He can focus on delivering excellent and profitable service while his systems handle everything else.
If Andre could turn his small garage door business into a serious market contendor, imagine what your team could do with Workiz.
