SHAI for App development studios
Client builds and the studio's own pipeline compete for the same hours, and the pipeline usually loses.
How this business runs
Client builds and the studio's own pipeline compete for the same hours, and the pipeline usually loses because a client is already paying and a prospect is not, yet. A proposal that goes quiet during a sprint is rarely followed up until the sprint ends, by which point the prospect has usually hired someone else.
The recommended team
8 agents from the roster, in the order this trade needs them.
/ghl-pipeline/ghl-calendar/offer-builder/pitch-deck/organic-content-creator/seo/forecasting/hr-director
The tasks that will run
Chase the proposals that went quiet
every weekday at 7amA proposal that goes quiet during a sprint is rarely followed up until it is too late.
/ghl-pipeline · runs the agent · delivered to dashboard
Ask closed clients for a referral, on a cadence
on the 1st of each month at 9amThe cheapest new engagement is a happy client sending one, if anyone asks.
/ghl-pipeline · runs the agent · delivered to dashboard
Post this week's build or case study
every Monday at 8amA studio that shows shipped work sells harder than one that describes its process.
/organic-content-creator · runs the agent · delivered to dashboard
Keep the service and case-study pages ranking
on the 1st of each month at 9amA founder searching for 'app developer for X' finds the studio that ranks for it, not the best one.
/seo · runs the agent · delivered to dashboard
Look at next quarter's build load against capacity
on the 1st of January, April, July and October at 9amSigning past delivery capacity is how on-time delivery quietly slips across every active build.
/forecasting · runs the agent · delivered to dashboard
Every one of these arrives as a proposal you approve or decline. Nothing is scheduled by signing up.
The tools to connect
Go High Level (GHL)
GoHighLevel is where the studio's own leads, pipeline and calendar live.
GitHub
Client builds live in repositories; this is how SHAI opens, tracks and reports on the work.
Google Ads API (paid ads)
Google Ads is where the studio buys its own demand from businesses already searching for a developer.
Each one is your own account, connected once. Every tool carries its price and the exact steps.
The first week
- Connect the CRM and let SHAI list every proposal sent in the last 60 days with no follow-up.
- Turn on the monthly referral ask for clients closed more than 90 days ago.
- Ask for utilisation across active builds - it is usually the first time double-booked senior time is visible.
What to read on a Monday
- Proposal-to-signed rate — The number that decides whether the studio's own marketing hours were worth spending.
- On-time delivery rate by build — The studio's reputation and its referral rate both run on this number, not on the portfolio.
- Utilisation across active builds — A studio double-booked on senior time is a studio quietly slipping every deadline at once.
- Referral and repeat-client share — The cheapest new engagement, and the one nobody follows up systematically once delivery gets busy.
What SHAI will not do in this trade
- Anything that texts or calls a prospect runs on a registered A2P 10DLC brand and campaign with the consent record on file. /ghl-a2p sets that up; SHAI will not send a prospect message before it exists.
- TCPA: no call or text to anyone who has not opted in, nothing outside 8am-9pm in the recipient's own time zone, and an opt-out honoured on the first message it arrives in.
- Every message SHAI sends to someone who is not the owner says it is an AI assistant acting for the business (master prompt 4.7). It is never presented as a person.
- SHAI never writes a review, never offers anything in exchange for one, and never posts as a customer. It drafts replies to reviews that already exist, for the owner to send.
- A client's code, data and credentials stay inside that client's own repository and workspace; portfolio and case-study content shown publicly needs that client's written permission.
- No delivery timeline, feature or outcome promised in marketing that the studio has not actually committed to in a signed scope.
Every line in this file is a recommendation written from an operator's knowledge of how this trade actually runs, never a promise about a result. Cadences are starting points; the owner changes them. Compliance notes are a reminder to check, not legal advice. Written 2026-09-21.
A playbook is a head start, not a requirement: SHAI works for any business, and a trade that is not on this list gets the same agents and a general plan built the same way.