Do not sell “AI consulting” as an undefined block of time. Package a specific client decision or outcome.
A simple offer ladder
1. Discovery call
A short commercial conversation to understand the situation and decide whether a paid engagement makes sense. This is not free consulting.
2. Paid diagnostic
A structured engagement that answers questions such as:
- where is value being lost in the current workflow?
- which AI, automation, integration or process changes are worth pursuing?
- what should the client implement first?
Typical outputs may include stakeholder evidence, current-state workflow understanding, opportunity prioritisation, value assumptions and an implementation roadmap.
3. Implementation project
A clearly scoped build, integration, workflow redesign or change project arising from the diagnostic.
4. Recurring service
Ongoing optimisation, governance, opportunity review, automation maintenance or fractional AI leadership.
Define six things for every offer
- Business question — what decision will the client be able to make?
- Scope — which process, team or business area is included?
- Method — how will evidence be collected and analysed?
- Deliverables — what tangible outputs will the client receive?
- Exclusions — what is explicitly not included?
- Next step — what should happen if the diagnostic confirms value?
Example: AI Opportunity Diagnostic
Objective: identify high-value opportunities in one operational process.
Includes: stakeholder evidence, workflow analysis, opportunity backlog, prioritisation, value assumptions and roadmap.
Excludes: production implementation unless separately contracted.
Where Iris fits
Iris can underpin the diagnostic evidence and process-understanding layer. The consultant still owns scope, stakeholder selection, validation, recommendations and the implementation sale.
Avoid making the diagnostic so broad that it becomes an unpaid transformation strategy programme hidden inside a fixed fee.
