Based on your other post, you're in an industry that values relationships and trust. Sounds like the first strategy is a nonstarter. You'll need relationships to break in, which makes the latter your only choice, and probably means you continue to be a value added commodity. You won't own the relationship, at least, not without a LOT of work to learn the industry and its people.

Total speculation, but do you have a strong understanding of what needs to happen when something goes wrong with the process you are automating? It's sometimes too easy to automate 99%, and think you've got it solved, when the last 1% is the actual hard part.