YouTube gives you tips. This gives you a system.
YouTube shows what's possible. This shows what to implement first. Second. Third.
You'll leave with AI in your actual workflow. Not just interesting ideas you might try.
For mid-sized firms with teams to manage, scattered tips waste months. You need a sequence that compounds.
We start with the 20% that drives 80% of ROI. Lead generation. Proposals. Delivery.
Then we layer in team adoption so it scales.
YouTube is free. But it costs you months of guessing.
Hire for strategy if you need answers now. Take the 6-Week AI Implementation Sprint if you want to build capability.
Strategy session: 90 minutes. Custom roadmap. You execute.
Sprint: 6 weeks. You learn the system. Your team learns too.
Most mid-sized firms start with strategy to get clear on priorities. Then take the Sprint to build internal skills.
You can do both. Strategy first for direction. Sprint after to build lasting capability.
Or just strategy if you'll execute independently. Or just the Sprint if you're ready to dive in.
Strategy = I build your roadmap. Sprint = I teach you the system.
Strategy session: We audit your workflow. Find your top 2-3 AI opportunities. You leave with a plan.
6-Week Sprint: Hands-on. You learn to spot opportunities, implement solutions, measure results.
Strategy gets you unstuck fast. Sprint builds lasting capability.
Both include follow-up.
Pick strategy if you need direction now. Pick the Sprint if you want your team to own this.
AI helps to keep you visible when you're too busy to market.
The problem isn't the season. It's that you go quiet when you're slammed.
Your competitors don't.
AI maintains outreach, content, and follow-up without adding headcount.
When you're busy, AI keeps your pipeline warm. When things slow, those leads convert.
Specific uses: personalized email sequences, social posts, proposal templates that adapt.
Most firms lose 30-40% of revenue to inconsistent visibility.
AI solves "too busy to market."
Three signs it's working:
Same work, less time
Team asks to use it more
You can measure the savings
Three signs you're overcomplicating:
Managing the tool takes longer than doing the work
Team avoids it
Can't point to specific time saved
Start with one repetitive task. Measure before and after.
If one tool saves 30 minutes daily per person across 50 people? That's 25 hours per day.
If you're three months in and can't name three faster tasks? You've added complexity.
Scale back. Pick one thing. Make it work.
AI handles repetitive work. Your team handles strategy.
For mid-sized firms, next stage usually means hiring 10-20 more people. Payroll. Management overhead. Complexity.
AI gives you another option.
Most work is 20% strategy, 80% execution. Proposals. Updates. Communication. Documentation.
AI handles 60-70% of execution. Your team does strategy, relationships, problem-solving.
Real example: 75-person firm used AI for proposals and client updates. Scaled 40% more revenue. Same team.
You don't scale by doing more work. You scale by eliminating lower-value work.
Copilot is built for Microsoft's world. Good if you live in Word and Excel. Limited everywhere else.
ChatGPT and Claude handle 80% of what you need now.
Building your own sounds smart. But you'll spend 6-12 months and $50K+ for 10% more capability.
Start with the tools that work today. Learn what's useful. Then - maybe - build for edge cases.
Most firms waste money on Copilot subscriptions nobody uses. Or waste months building custom tools they don't need.
Start simple. Master fundamentals. Customize only if there's real ROI.
ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro. $20/month each.
Skip everything else until you've mastered these.
They cover 80%: proposals, communication, documents, meetings, research, content.
Once you're using them daily and can prove time saved? Then consider specialized tools.
Don't buy tools before you have a process.
Use general LLMs for 3-6 months. Find what's still slow. Then buy tools for that specific gap.
Most firms buy five tools hoping one works. Better: master two, then expand strategically.
The most repetitive task that takes 30+ minutes daily.
For most mid-sized firms: proposals, client updates, meeting summaries, common email responses, social content.
Ask your team: "What feels like you're doing the same thing over and over?"
That's your start.
Repetitive tasks are predictable. You can template them. Test AI output. Measure time saved.
Don't start with your most important work. Start with your most repetitive work.
Get a win. Build confidence. Then tackle bigger challenges.
Training doesn't work. Specific tasks with templates and accountability do.
What fails: "Everyone should use AI."
What works: "All proposals use this template starting Monday. [Name] reviews quality for two weeks."
For mid-sized firms, inconsistent adoption wastes money. Half using AI, half not = two workflows.
Pick one team. One task. Give them the tool, template, and expectation.
Measure for 2-4 weeks. Works? Roll out to next team. Doesn't? Adjust.
Don't make AI optional. Make it the standard for specific tasks.
Yes.
AI tools are text boxes. If you can write an email, you can use ChatGPT.
You don't need to understand how it works. You need to understand what it's good at.
You already know your business. What takes too long. What's repetitive. What your team struggles with.
That knowledge matters more than technical skill.
Recognizing patterns is the skill: "We write 20 similar proposals monthly. Could AI draft the first version?"
That's a business question, not a tech question.
You don't need to code. You need to spot opportunities.
Tools will change. Skills won't.
What's permanent: spotting repetitive work, creating templates, evaluating output, building workflows.
What's temporary: specific features of today's tools.
Waiting for stability means you're 12-18 months behind competitors learning now.
Think about driving. Cars changed completely in 100 years. The skill transferred.
You're not learning ChatGPT. You're learning to scale without adding headcount.
That skill is permanent.
Start now. Learn fundamentals. Adapt as tools improve.
Look for implementation experience, not theory. And someone who understands your industry.
Red flags:
Leads with technology, not your problems
Promises "transformation" without asking about your processes
Wants multi-month engagement before you see results
Green flags:
Asks about operational bottlenecks first
Names specific examples from similar businesses
Starts with focused pilot, not massive transformation
Teaches you to fish
For growing firms: avoid enterprise consultants. You need practical AI, not complex infrastructure.
Ask: "What's the smallest, fastest win you can help us achieve?"
If they can't answer specifically, keep looking.
Six Sigma consultant: Cut project analysis time from 5 hours to 1 hour using AI. Doubled her client load without adding team members.
Management team: Used AI for root cause analysis. Cut analysis time in half, freeing the team to focus on implementation instead of data gathering.
Pattern: They didn't automate everything. Picked one or two high-impact tasks. Measured results. Expanded from there.
No technical expertise required. No massive budgets.
Clear thinking about where AI eliminates repetitive work.
Trying to automate everything at once. Buying tools before defining the process. Not measuring results.
Mistake 1: "We're going all-in." Result: overwhelmed team, no clear ROI. Better: pick one task, master it, expand.
Mistake 2: "Let's buy five tools." Result: unused subscriptions, frustration. Better: start with ChatGPT and Claude, learn what you need, then buy specific tools.
Mistake 3: "We trained everyone." Result: training happened, behavior didn't change. Better: one team, one task, one template, accountability.
Mistake 4: "Automate our most important work first." Result: mediocre output on high-stakes work. Better: start with repetitive, low-stakes tasks.
If you can't name three tasks that are faster after 90 days, you're doing it wrong.
AI generates volume. Quality is the challenge.
Challenge 1: Thousands of "leads" but 95% aren't your market. Solution: tight targeting. Better 20 qualified than 200 random.
Challenge 2: Generic outreach sounds like AI wrote it. Solution: Use AI for research and drafts. Add personalization that shows you understand their situation.
Challenge 3: No follow-up process. Solution: Build the workflow before you scale generation.
Challenge 4: Over-reliance on one channel. Solution: Diversify where your buyers actually are.
What works: AI identifies leads, researches them, drafts outreach, automates sequences.
Humans qualify and close.
AI amplifies process. Doesn't replace judgment.
Time investment upfront. Learning curve. Risk of over-reliance on changing tools.
Drawback 1: First 30-60 days might feel slower, not faster. You're learning. Budget for this.
Drawback 2: AI output needs human review. Can't blindly trust it. Someone reviews and refines.
Drawback 3: Tools change constantly. Ongoing learning, not one-time setup. Skills transfer. Tools don't.
Drawback 4: Privacy concerns. Sensitive client data shouldn't go into public tools. Need clear policies.
Drawback 5: Team resistance. Some will resist. Some worry about being replaced. Change management is part of the work.
Firms that succeed acknowledge these and plan for them.
Not a magic bullet. A tool that works when applied thoughtfully.