Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle

Start an AI agency on the side: sell AI agents, automations & websites to local businesses. Free step-by-step guide ↓

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

"I need to think about it."

It kills more deals than any "no".

Because you don't know what to do with it, so you say "Sure, take your time", and never hear from them again.

Here's what it almost always means.

They are unsure about one of 3 things:

Whether the product works.
Whether they can trust you.
Whether they can trust your company.

That's it. Everything else is dressing.

Here's how I answer it. 5 steps:

Stay warm.

"Of course. That's fair."

Never argue. The moment you push back, they hide.

Ask what exactly they want to think about.

"Sure. What exactly would you like to think over?"

Vague words hide real doubts. This question brings the doubt into the open.

Ask if there's anything else.

"Besides that, is there anything else holding you back?"

Ask it until the answer is, "No, that's it."

You want every objection on the table now. Not a new one next week.

Make it conditional.

"If we solve that, are we in business?"

If yes, you now know exactly what to solve. If no, there's something you haven't heard yet. Go back to step 3.

Solve it. Ask for the order. Stop talking.

Example, made up:

Owner: "I need to think about it."

You: "Of course. What exactly would you like to think over?"

Owner: "Whether it's really going to work for my practice."

You: "Makes sense. Besides that, is there anything else?"

Owner: "No, that's it."

You: "If I show you it working on your own calls before you pay a cent, are we in business?"

Notice what you just did.

You turned "I'll think about it" into one clear thing to prove.

If they still need time, set the next step with a date:

"When will you decide? Shall I call you Thursday at 10?"

And plan for more than one round.

Most real decisions take a few conversations. Plan 3, not 1.

The deal doesn't die at "I need to think about it".

It dies in the silence after.

You now have a way to answer it.

Save this.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

No degree. No audience. No code. No team.

You can start anyway.

8 reasons people tell themselves they can't start, and why none of them holds:

"I need a degree."

Customers never ask. They ask one thing: can you fix my problem?

"I can't code."

You describe what you want in plain English. AI builds it. Platforms connect the pieces.

"I need an audience."

Your first clients live in your town. You find them with a phone, not a following.

"I need money."

Far less than any business used to cost. Your first client costs you a few phone calls.

"I need the perfect niche."

Pick one tonight. Change it in 3 months if it's wrong. The only wrong niche is the one you're still researching.

"I need a website, a logo and a company name."

You need a phone number and a sentence. "I help dentists stop losing patients to unanswered calls."

"I need a team."

One person can run a handful of clients with automation doing the repetitive work.

"I'm too old. I'm too late."

Local businesses aren't going anywhere. They still lose calls, forget follow-ups and pay people to do jobs a machine can start.

What you do need:

→ One type of business

→ One problem you can fix

→ One conversation a day

→ Enough patience to be bad at it for a while

That's it.

Which number has been holding you back? 👇

Drop it below and I'll tell you what I'd do about it.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

I ask 3 questions before I say a single word about what I sell.

They do more work than any pitch.

Most beginners open with 12 features. The prospect nods. Then says, "I'll think about it."

Why?

Because you pitched a product to a person you haven't met. You don't know what they want. You can't.

Here are the 3 questions. (The example is made up, for a dental practice.)

The goal behind the goal.

Owner: "I want fewer missed calls."

You: "And if that were solved, what would change for you?"

Owner: "I could finally stop working Saturdays."

Now you know what you're really selling.

It's not missed calls. It's Saturdays.

People don't buy what you built. They buy the thing behind the thing.

The precision question.

Vague words are where deals die. Make them specific.

"It's too expensive." → "Compared to what?"

"We're too busy." → "Busy with what, exactly?"

"That won't work for us." → "What exactly won't work?"

"Customers are unhappy." → "Which customers? About what?"

Every vague answer you turn into a concrete one is a sale you pull back from the edge.

The conditional question.

"If I can show you [what they said matters], is this something you'd want to go ahead with?"

Now the real objection comes out before the proposal. Not after.

Notice what's missing.

Zero pitch.

The owner did most of the talking, said out loud what he wants, and heard himself say what it's worth.

That's how I sell.

Save this. On your next call, ask these 3 before you say a word about your product.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

The trick is usually to skip Google’s own app review entirely.

Building your own Gmail and Calendar integration means going through Google’s verification for restricted scopes, and that alone can stall a build for weeks.

A platform that already passed that review and just connects your account is faster than getting your own app approved.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

One more thing worth checking before the numbers: how fast the business answers its own phone and messages.

Broken job costing shows up in the books eventually — a business that’s already losing leads to slow replies shows it faster, in the pipeline, before you ever buy it.

Cheap due diligence. Most buyers skip it.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

Once the calendar’s live, route the no-shows and reschedule requests the same way: by text, not email.

Clients check a text within minutes; an email confirmation sits in a folder next to the receipts.

Scheduling is one door. The follow-up after a no-show is the one most firms skip.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

@DannyMagazu The part worth noticing: his team couldn’t keep up with the calls, not the leads.

That’s the usual failure point once a campaign actually works — demand shows up faster than the business can answer it.

Whoever answers first still closes it. Lead volume alone doesn’t.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

Wiring your own AI stack together is the easy half.
The leverage is on the other side — connecting it to the doors a customer actually uses to reach a business: phone, Instagram, WhatsApp, a web form.

Most of that volume never touches a terminal command, it touches a missed message.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

Once that category goes live, call your own number and listen as if you’re the customer.

That’s where you catch the gap, not in the Google dashboard.

I build AI receptionists for local shops and the setup itself takes about 15 minutes — testing it properly takes longer than that.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

Same shift is happening on the front end of these businesses.

Most of what a firm’s intake person does all day is answer the same 10 questions — hours, pricing tiers, document checklist, appointment times.

Hand that to AI and the advisor spends their time on actual advice instead of repeating themselves all day.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

Point 5 is the one most people skip.

A booked call means nothing if the lead goes cold before anyone calls back — contacting a lead within an hour makes them about 7x more likely to qualify versus waiting (Harvard Business Review).

Same math applies before the ad account even matters: speed to first contact decides more than the hook does.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

The partnership only works if both sides actually answer.
I’ve seen an electrician get a referral from a plumber and sit on the DM for two days.

Now the plumber looks bad to his own customer, not just the electrician.

Cross-referrals are worth nothing without a fast reply on both ends.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

@andywalkerhq There’s a second moat most owners ignore: the lead that never gets answered.

A new hire can learn the business in a month.
A missed call at 7pm is gone for good in under a minute, no second chance to fix it.

Protect both or the first moat doesn’t matter much.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

@DannyMagazu 115 mulch jobs is proof the boring niche wins.
Same logic works picking who to sell AI services to: a roofer or a med spa with nobody answering their DMs is an easier sell than chasing “business owners” in general.
Narrow is where the money actually is.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

@Codie_Sanchez There’s a 4th hard most people skip: staying stuck is hard too, it just doesn’t feel like it yet.

I spent years failing at dropshipping, print on demand, affiliate, trading, before I found something that actually worked.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

No degree. No audience. No code. No team.

You can start anyway.

8 reasons people tell themselves they can't start, and why none of them holds:

"I need a degree."

Customers never ask. They ask one thing: can you fix my problem?

"I can't code."

You describe what you want in plain English. AI builds it. Platforms connect the pieces.

"I need an audience."

Your first clients live in your town. You find them with a phone, not a following.

"I need money."

Far less than any business used to cost. Your first client costs you a few phone calls.

"I need the perfect niche."

Pick one tonight. Change it in 3 months if it's wrong. The only wrong niche is the one you're still researching.

"I need a website, a logo and a company name."

You need a phone number and a sentence. "I help dentists stop losing patients to unanswered calls."

"I need a team."

One person can run a handful of clients with automation doing the repetitive work.

"I'm too old. I'm too late."

Local businesses aren't going anywhere. They still lose calls, forget follow-ups and pay people to do jobs a machine can start.

What you do need:

→ One type of business

→ One problem you can fix

→ One conversation a day

→ Enough patience to be bad at it for a while

That's it.

Which number has been holding you back? 👇

Drop it below and I'll tell you what I'd do about it.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

If you’re dealing with multiple agents, all at once, this little gadget could become really handy.

[SlashVibe @slashvibe_ai]

Here's our latest prototype in action. See → Switch → Speak

See your agents' status at a glance. Check what's running, waiting, or done without opening each window.

Switch sessions with a flick. Use the joystick to select a session and bring its window to the front.

Speak your next instruction. Press the button, and the mic is ready to record in under 100ms.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

"I need to think about it."

It kills more deals than any "no".

Because you don't know what to do with it, so you say "Sure, take your time", and never hear from them again.

Here's what it almost always means.

They are unsure about one of 3 things:

Whether the product works.
Whether they can trust you.
Whether they can trust your company.

That's it. Everything else is dressing.

Here's how I answer it. 5 steps:

Stay warm.

"Of course. That's fair."

Never argue. The moment you push back, they hide.

Ask what exactly they want to think about.

"Sure. What exactly would you like to think over?"

Vague words hide real doubts. This question brings the doubt into the open.

Ask if there's anything else.

"Besides that, is there anything else holding you back?"

Ask it until the answer is, "No, that's it."

You want every objection on the table now. Not a new one next week.

Make it conditional.

"If we solve that, are we in business?"

If yes, you now know exactly what to solve. If no, there's something you haven't heard yet. Go back to step 3.

Solve it. Ask for the order. Stop talking.

Example, made up:

Owner: "I need to think about it."

You: "Of course. What exactly would you like to think over?"

Owner: "Whether it's really going to work for my practice."

You: "Makes sense. Besides that, is there anything else?"

Owner: "No, that's it."

You: "If I show you it working on your own calls before you pay a cent, are we in business?"

Notice what you just did.

You turned "I'll think about it" into one clear thing to prove.

If they still need time, set the next step with a date:

"When will you decide? Shall I call you Thursday at 10?"

And plan for more than one round.

Most real decisions take a few conversations. Plan 3, not 1.

The deal doesn't die at "I need to think about it".

It dies in the silence after.

You now have a way to answer it.

Save this.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

If a plumber can't repeat your offer after hearing it once, you don't have an offer yet.

Most people trying to sell AI services say something like:

"I build AI-powered automation solutions for businesses."

That sentence could mean anything. So it means nothing.

Use this instead:

"I help [specific people] get [result they can picture] without [pain they hate]."

Examples (made up, to show the shape):

"I help dental practices stop losing patients to unanswered calls, without hiring anyone."

"I help estate agents follow up with every enquiry within minutes, without chasing."

"I help lawyers book consultations around the clock, without extra staff."

3 rules:

Name the person. "Businesses" is nobody.

Name a result they can picture. "Efficiency" isn't a picture. "No missed calls" is.

Use words your mother would use. AI is fine as the how. It's never the what.

Now your turn.

Write your offer in one sentence in the comments 👇

I'll reply to the first 20 with a rewrite.

[Thorsten Dembski | AI Agency Side Hustle @ThorstenDembski]

A close friend of mine was scared.

Skeptical. Hesitant. Every reason in the world not to do it.

I pushed him anyway.

He bought 10 apartments.

Later he sold 8 of them for a 500% gain. The 2 he still owns, he effectively got for free.

Every time we meet, he thanks me for pushing him.

(One friend. One market. One time. His result, not a promise.)

I didn't push him because I wanted my commission.

I pushed him because I knew it was right for him, and I could see that the only thing standing in his way was fear.

This is the most important lesson of my career:

Most "no" is not a no.

It's fear.

And the same thing will happen the day you try to sell an AI agent, a website or an automation to a local business owner.

He needs it. He wants it. He can afford it.

And he says, "I'll think about it."

Here are the 5 fears behind that sentence, and what moves each one:

"I'll waste my money."

Make the first step small. A short pilot instead of a long contract.

Make the cost of waiting visible: "What does it cost you each month this stays as it is?" Let him say the number.

"I'll look stupid."

Give him something he can show his partner or his team. Proof. A result on one real case. A one-page summary he can forward.

"I'll be locked in."

Month to month. Easy exit. "If it isn't working, you stop. No hard feelings."

Removing the exit is what scares people. Opening it is what lets them walk in.

"It won't work for MY business."

Show it on his business before he buys. His name. His calls. His website. Generic demos don't move him. His own does.

"I have to decide alone."

Ask: "Who else should see this?" Invite the office manager, the partner, the spouse into the next call.

Then the push.

A push is a gift when 4 things are true:

He truly needs it.
He truly wants it.
He can afford it.
You'd bet your own money on it.

If any one of these is missing, you don't push. You let him go.

That's the difference between selling and hustling.

The test I use is simple: "Will he thank me in a year?"

If yes, you owe him the push.

Because the real price of a "no" born from fear isn't paid by you.

He pays it, every month, for years.

Save this for the day a perfect-fit prospect says "let me think about it."