Operation Hired: From Rolodex to Revenue With Smart CRM Automation
The Challenge
Operation Hired had a strong contact network but no structured system to act on it. There was no way to mass email or build sequences, so outreach was slow and inconsistent.
Operation Hired is a veteran-led startup matching skilled veterans and spouses with career opportunities. The result was a big vision running on a manual process that was stalling growth.
Key Challenges Faced
- No Structured Outreach System
- There was no way to mass email or build sequences, so outreach was slow and inconsistent.
- Business Cards Piling Up
- Cards accumulated everywhere with no easy way to log or act on new contacts.
- Manual Meeting Booking
- Leads were not being nurtured efficiently.
- Disjointed Workflow
- No link existed between trade shows, outreach, and CRM follow-up.
The Solution
TekConnected built a Monday.com CRM fully tailored to Operation Hired's sales flow, then trained the client's assistant to run it day to day.
What Was Built
- Automated Email Outreach
- Follow-ups, newsletters, and booking links.
- Card-to-CRM Workflow
- Taking a photo of a business card lands it as a contact item instantly, via business card OCR and CRM sync.
- Smart Trade Show Templates
- Log leads in real time and trigger sequences, giving the team a repeatable same-day process.
- Custom Lead Management Dashboards
- Visibility across the pipeline.
- Assistant Training
- Confident, hands-on support for daily nurturing, so the system has a clear owner inside the business.
Technology Stack
Results & Outcomes
- 50+ Hours Saved Monthly
- No more manual logging or chasing leads.
- Newsletter-Ready CRM
- Segmented, up to date, and mass-mail capable.
- Repeatable Trade Show Process
- Same-day lead entry and engagement.
- Assistant Now Owns the System
- Founders stay focused on mission and strategy.
Strategic Impact
- A strong contact network finally has a structured system to act on it.
- Trade shows, outreach, and CRM follow-up are linked in one workflow.
- Business cards convert to CRM contacts instantly through OCR rather than manual entry.
- The system has a trained internal owner, removing founder dependency on daily nurturing.
We’ve gone from folders full of business cards to an outreach system that runs itself. It’s professional, scalable, and built for our mission.
The Brothers, Founders of Operation Hired
Who This Applies To
This build pattern fits an organisation that:
- Holds a strong contact network with no structured system to act on it
- Collects business cards with no easy way to log or follow up on them
- Books meetings manually, so leads are not nurtured consistently
- Runs trade shows with no link between leads captured and CRM follow-up
