Key points
- Most owners who approach an AI consultant arrive with a problem rather than a brief. They are busy, have heard AI might help, and many are unsure it is for them.
- Some owners have been stung before, by software their staff ignored or a project that overran its budget and underdelivered. Buyers usually fear money wasted, and a pitch instead of help.
- Buyers also fear losing control of their data, systems or freedom to switch supplier; not understanding a purchase, or being made to feel foolish; and hidden costs, staff time included. Answering these unasked earns trust faster than a stronger portfolio.
- In micro businesses, up to nine staff, the owner is usually buyer, user and checker of your work. Short of time, they need a small first step at a clear price, and plain words throughout.
- Small businesses, ten to forty-nine staff, often have one keen champion and several doubters. Naming an internal owner and caring about staff adoption are decisive.
- Medium firms, fifty to two hundred and forty-nine staff, may have in-house IT or data skills and several possible projects. Advice on priorities and a clear split of work matter more.
- Large organisations, two hundred and fifty staff or more, bring formal purchasing, security forms and slower decisions. Prepare plain answers on your firm, security and insurance.
- Open a first meeting with questions, not tools: the firm, the job, how the buyer would recognise improvement, who handles it now, where it fails, and what they already spend on. Buyers notice listeners versus sellers, and weigh them up.
- Understand the buyer's worries, and ask questions before you pitch.
Transcript
Most owners who approach an AI consultant arrive with a problem rather than a brief. They are busy, have heard AI might help, and many are unsure it is for them. Some owners have been stung before, by software their staff ignored or a project that overran its budget and underdelivered.
Buyers usually fear money wasted, and a pitch instead of help. Buyers also fear losing control of their data, systems or freedom to switch supplier; not understanding a purchase, or being made to feel foolish; and hidden costs, staff time included.
Answering these unasked earns trust faster than a stronger portfolio. In micro businesses, up to nine staff, the owner is usually buyer, user and checker of your work. Short of time, they need a small first step at a clear price, and plain words throughout.
Small businesses, ten to forty-nine staff, often have one keen champion and several doubters. Naming an internal owner and caring about staff adoption are decisive. Medium firms, fifty to two hundred and forty-nine staff, may have in-house IT or data skills and several possible projects.
Advice on priorities and a clear split of work matter more. Large organisations, two hundred and fifty staff or more, bring formal purchasing, security forms and slower decisions. Prepare plain answers on your firm, security and insurance. Open a first meeting with questions, not tools: the firm, the job, how the buyer would recognise improvement, who handles it now, where it fails, and what they already spend on.
Buyers notice listeners versus sellers, and weigh them up. Understand the buyer's worries, and ask questions before you pitch.