Key points
- The question is what a small business should write before first speaking to an AI consultant. Put your problem differently on each call, and the proposals may end up describing different projects.
- So send every consultant one identical short brief, and judge replies against it alone. Writing the problem first stops an adviser bending it to fit what they sell.
- Begin with your business and the software you use, since lots of the paid tools you have now offer AI features. Then describe one problem as you see it, with its cost in time or money.
- Saying two staff spend most Mondays on the same client emails gives a consultant something they can measure. Saying you want to use AI for customer service only invites a sales pitch. Note how you could manage without AI too, so proposals must beat that simpler fix.
- Set an outcome you can check, record roughly where things stand, and pick a review date. AI tools will sometimes err, so say how much error you could accept.
- Describe your data and where it sits, patchy parts included, because messy records are a common cause of delay; but keep the data itself back. For cost, choose a price range rather than one sum, or say you are unsure.
- List your timing and busy months, the person who decides, and the people doing the task now, since those people understand the exceptions. Put identical questions to every consultant.
- Leave the choice of tool out, because that choice is the advice you are buying. A plain reply that answers your question beats a polished one answering another. The full guide and free template are on AI Consultancy Finder.
Transcript
The question is what a small business should write before first speaking to an AI consultant. Put your problem differently on each call, and the proposals may end up describing different projects. So send every consultant one identical short brief, and judge replies against it alone.
Writing the problem first stops an adviser bending it to fit what they sell. Begin with your business and the software you use, since lots of the paid tools you have now offer AI features. Then describe one problem as you see it, with its cost in time or money.
Saying two staff spend most Mondays on the same client emails gives a consultant something they can measure. Saying you want to use AI for customer service only invites a sales pitch. Note how you could manage without AI too, so proposals must beat that simpler fix.
Set an outcome you can check, record roughly where things stand, and pick a review date. AI tools will sometimes err, so say how much error you could accept. Describe your data and where it sits, patchy parts included, because messy records are a common cause of delay; but keep the data itself back.
For cost, choose a price range rather than one sum, or say you are unsure. List your timing and busy months, the person who decides, and the people doing the task now, since those people understand the exceptions. Put identical questions to every consultant.
Leave the choice of tool out, because that choice is the advice you are buying. A plain reply that answers your question beats a polished one answering another. The full guide and free template are on AI Consultancy Finder.