Podcast Summary

Using AI at Work: AI in the Workplace & Generative AI for Business Leaders

Host: Chris Daigle
Episode: 67 – Using AI and Automation to Scale Lead Generation with Jay Feldman
Date: September 1, 2025
Guest: Jay Feldman ("Lead Gen J")

Episode Overview

This episode explores the transformation of lead generation in business through AI and automation. Host Chris Daigle interviews Jay Feldman—known as Lead Gen J—who has evolved from traditional digital marketing and cold emailing into building sophisticated, AI-powered, omnichannel outreach systems for client acquisition. They break down real-world applications, technical tools, change management, and the strategic edge AI offers for both solo entrepreneurs and enterprise teams.

Key Topics & Insights

1. Jay Feldman’s Background & Evolution in Marketing [03:12]

• Originally trained as a medical doctor, Jay moved into business, scaling his marketing agency to $600k/month pre-AI by leveraging tools like Zapier and Click Send for cold emailing. As anti-spam rules got stricter, he pivoted to advanced AI and automation tools.
• Current setup: Runs a 60-person PR agency and a 15-person lead gen agency, both heavily reliant on AI/automation.

“For me, being able to automate getting clients—I mean, really, what is more revenue-generating than that?” — Jay Feldman [02:37]

2. Defining Cold Email & Addressing Spam Concerns [05:06 - 07:03]

• Cold email: Targeted outreach to people who don’t know you; cost-effective, scalable, and avoids reliance on major platforms.
• Spam debate: Bad cold emailing is spam; good, relevant, highly personalized cold outreach is welcomed by recipients.

“No one likes bad advertising… Done well, you’re hitting people who actually are interested and in need of your thing, with a message that resonates.” — Jay Feldman [06:30]

3. Omnichannel/Omnipresence Marketing Through Automation [07:03 - 09:35]

• Omnipresent marketing means engaging prospects across every channel where they might interact—email, SMS, voicemail drops, direct mail, LinkedIn, and more.
• Process automation (using tools like N8N, make.com, Handwritten) allows marketers to trigger different actions based on recipient's activity (e.g., sending direct mail after someone opens an email).

“The more channels that you’re able to contact somebody on, the more they feel like they know you… They can trust you because they’ve seen you here, here, and here.” — Jay Feldman [08:44]

4. AI-Powered Personalization & Scaling Outreach [11:38 - 12:50]

• AI can now generate cold emails that are indistinguishable (or better) than those written by US-based SDRs, customizing every outreach with deep research (LinkedIn, websites, social posts).
• Automation boosts productivity 10x–100x over human-centered SDR models; teams no longer need mass human effort for outreach.

“With the right prompt engineering, [AI] can write one-to-one outreach that is indistinguishable or better than a human. And it can do it at a scale humans just can’t.” — Jay Feldman [12:18]

5. Trends in AI Adoption & Community Savviness [13:07 - 15:47]

• Jay’s community of 25,000+ ranges from experts to people just starting out in lead gen.
• Most businesses still only scratch the surface—using AI for basic tasks like email writing and summarization—while advanced scaling remains rare.

“No fancy automation in the world is going to fix a bad offer or bad targeting.” — Jay Feldman [15:40]

6. Productizing AI Lead Gen for Businesses [16:00 - 19:27]

• Jay’s agency offers a range from DIY learning to full-service installs—testing until a working lead system is built for each client.
• Automated systems are typically modular and can be redeployed across clients with some customization.

“Once it’s built, tested and in production, ... the architecture just gets copied over once it’s built, with a few nuances.” — Jay Feldman [18:36]

7. Tech Stack Recommendations & Cost Realities [20:11 - 25:48]

• Modern AI stacks for sales/marketing are vastly cheaper and more accessible than legacy systems (e.g., SAP).
• Essential tools: Airtable, Go High Level for CRM, GPT/Claude/Perplexity for LLMs, make.com/N8N for automation.
• Full lead gen automation tech stack could cost less than $1,000 total (and often under $100/mo per tool).

“It still shocks me how affordable all of this is. The AI Sales Director I just explained—the software that powers all of those things is under a hundred bucks a month.” — Jay Feldman [25:45]

8. The AI Sales Director Agent – Automation in Action [26:14 - 28:48]

• Custom AI agent reviews all sales calls, grades performance on metrics, gives feedback—previously required an expensive sales director listening to hundreds of calls.
• Sales team appreciates automation, as it removes tedious tasks and lets them focus on higher-value activities.

“If anyone...has a sales team, this [AI agent] is one of the first things you should install. Unbelievably powerful. And the sales team loves it.” — Jay Feldman [26:31]

9. Change Management: Addressing AI Anxiety [29:48 - 31:18]

• Accepting, introducing, and framing AI for existing (sometimes non-tech) staff is an art—focus on how AI empowers and enables current employees rather than threatens jobs.
• Not introducing AI means falling behind competitors who are adopting these tools aggressively.

“If everyone’s using it, if you don’t adopt it, how are you going to compete?” — Jay Feldman [30:56]

10. The Competitive Imperative: Move Fast or Fall Behind [31:20 - 34:03]

• Companies slow to AI adoption face growing, potentially unbridgeable productivity gaps.
• Jay is watching autonomous SDR and PR tools—while imperfect now, improvement is rapid and will force entire business model pivots.

“The offer you deliver could...not be viable a year from now. If you’re not on top of this stuff…” — Jay Feldman [33:04]

11. Staying Ahead: How to Keep Up with AI’s Breakneck Pace [37:23 - 39:28]

• Jay’s method: consume tons of relevant online content, get repeated validation from different sources before deeply investing in a new tool, then commit focused learning time.
• For executives, joining niche, curated communities is the shortcut—filters out noise, increases learning speed.

“Get in the right community, you have collective knowledge that’s filtering out that noise and just bringing in signal...” — Chris Daigle [39:37]

12. Career Leverage: Internal AI Champions [41:31 - 44:06]

• Employees who upskill in AI set themselves apart; they’re seen as valuable resources and catalysts for innovation.

“Right now is still a huge opportunity where there’s a gap in the people who are in the know and people who are still lagging behind.” — Jay Feldman [44:00]

13. Practical Roadmap: How to Start with AI-Powered Lead Gen [44:50 - 46:48]

• Step one: Validate the offer—a good product is still essential.
• Step two: Layer in more advanced orchestration, automation, and omnichannel tactics one at a time, ideally with expert community support.

“None of this works if you don’t have something good to sell. ... Then you use the AI automation to get the next 10% out of those results.” — Jay Feldman [44:51 / 15:41]

14. Special Offers & Getting Started with Jay’s Community [49:56 - 55:23]

• Jay offers podcast listeners a 20% discount to his Insiders Program (go to legionj.com/caio, code: CAIO), which includes coaching, templates, and technical blueprints for automated omnichannel lead generation.
• Emphasis on not just access to templates but the deeper learning, troubleshooting, and community support needed for actual results.

“The nuance is huge. Downloading a hundred best prompts or a hundred JSON templates, it never gets you anywhere.” — Jay Feldman [52:56]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On outperforming with AI:
  “The power of automation gives one doctor the power of a hundred… instead of one person dialing all day, now they’re just intaking calls of people who call back. It’s a much more effective use of time. A hundred times more effective.” — Jay Feldman [10:15]

• On the risk of standing still:
  “If you guys are like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going to talk about it in Q1, or whatever,’... even then, six months from now it’ll be tough to catch up with competition who’s taking action now.” — Chris Daigle [32:32]

• On future business model threats:
  “I’m terrified, not just about us not implementing AI fast enough, but if my business model is even going to be viable a year from now.” — Jay Feldman [32:55]

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |:--------------------------------------------|:------------------:| | Jay’s journey from doctor to AI marketer | 03:12 – 05:06 | | Defining and justifying cold email | 05:06 – 07:03 | | Omnichannel automation strategies | 07:03 – 09:35 | | The scale of AI vs. human effort | 10:15 – 12:50 | | The role of community in AI upskilling | 13:07 – 15:47 | | Tech stack/cost for AI lead gen | 20:11 – 25:48 | | Deep dive: AI Sales Director Agent | 26:14 – 28:48 | | Addressing employee resistance to AI | 29:48 – 31:18 | | Why companies must act fast | 31:20 – 34:03 | | How to spot and adopt new, valuable tools | 37:23 – 39:28 | | Becoming the internal AI champion | 41:31 – 44:06 | | Practical steps for starting AI lead gen | 44:50 – 46:48 | | Exclusive offer & joining Jay’s community | 49:56 – 55:23 |

Final Thoughts

The episode drives home that integrating AI and automation into lead generation isn’t an optional tech upgrade: it’s already separating winners from losers in competitive industries. Through hands-on tactics, technical details, warnings about market shifts, and concrete offers for further learning, Chris Daigle and Jay Feldman provide a blueprint for executives and marketers to future-proof their growth strategies.

Whether you’re “AI savvy” or just getting started, the path to competitive advantage is accessible—and urgent. As Jay notes, “It is the number one skill you can learn right now if you’re interested in AI automation: how to get clients using these tools.” [54:36]

For resources, discounts, and community links, see: legionj.com/caio (use code: CAIO).