When I show people how I run Delcaro Media, a common reply is, "How can I get that for my business?" Before I answer, I ask them one question: how many of your processes do you have written down right now?
Most of the time, the answer is zero. Every process lives in the owner's head, and that is the real problem to solve before AI can help.
AI needs a written process to follow
An AI tool does not know how you quote a job, who gets the invoice, or what you check before you call a job done. You know those things because you do them every day. If the steps are not written down, nobody else knows them, and that includes the AI.
If I add AI to a business with no written processes, the AI has nothing to follow. It has to guess, and a guess makes new problems instead of fixing old ones. You then spend your time checking and correcting the AI, which is slower than doing the work yourself.
When the process is written down, the picture changes. We can look at each step, decide what tool fits it, and set it up so that it works the same way every time.
Many steps need simple technology, not AI
Software solved many business problems years before AI arrived. A lot of what people want AI to do is work that a template, a form, or a piece of software already does well, for less money.
Take the welcome email for a new client. If you send the same welcome email every time, you do not need AI to write it each time. Save the email as a draft template. When a new client signs, open the template, type in their name, and send it. Every client gets the same clear message, and the template costs nothing.
Here are more steps that need a process and some simple technology, but no AI:
- Appointment reminders. Online booking software can send a reminder before each appointment.
- Monthly invoices. If a client pays the same amount each month, your accounting software can send a repeating invoice.
- New client details. A web form can collect the name, address, and project details in one step, instead of five emails back and forth.
- Follow-up calls. A reminder in your calendar can tell you when to call a client back.
None of these steps need AI. They need you to decide what the step is, and then set up the tool once.
AI helps with the steps that change each time
AI is useful when a step is different every time and needs someone to read, sort, or write something new. For example, AI can help to:
- write a summary of your notes from a client call
- sort incoming email into the right folders and flag what is urgent
- write a first draft of a quote from your notes and your price list
- answer common customer questions from your written policies
Each of these examples still depends on something that you wrote down. AI writes a better quote when it has your price list. It answers questions better when it has your policies. The written process comes first, and the AI comes second.
How to write down a process
You do not need special software to write down a process. A shared document or a notebook is enough to start. Use these steps:
- Pick one task that you do every week.
- The next time you do the task, write down each step as you do it.
- For each step, write who does it and what tool they use.
- If the step has a decision, write the rule. For example: "If the job is over $5,000, ask for a deposit."
- Write what "done" looks like, so that anyone can tell when the task is finished.
- Give the written process to someone else, and ask them to follow it. If they get stuck, add the missing step.
The last step is the most important. If another person can follow your written process without a call to you, then the process is ready for technology, and maybe for AI.
An example: a new client process
Here is a short example of a written process for a new client. Each step shows the tool that fits it.
- The client fills in the web form on your website. Tool: web form.
- You read the form and decide if the job is a good fit. Tool: you.
- You send the welcome email. Tool: saved template.
- You book the first call. Tool: booking software.
- After the call, you write up the notes and the next steps. Tool: AI, from your call notes.
- You send the quote. Tool: AI writes a first draft from your price list. You check it and send it.
- You set a reminder to follow up in one week. Tool: calendar.
In this example, AI does two steps out of seven. The rest of the process runs on simple tools and your own judgement. That is normal, and it is a good result.
Ask three questions about each step
When you look at a written process, ask these questions about each step:
- Is the step the same every time? If yes, use a template or set up the software to do it.
- Does the step change each time, and need someone to read or write something? If yes, AI can help, as long as it has your written rules.
- Does the step need your judgement or your relationship with the client? If yes, keep that step with you.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Buying a tool first. If you buy an AI tool before you write down the process, you will not know what to ask the tool to do.
- Steps that are too vague. "Look after the client" is not a step. "Send the welcome email within one day" is a step.
- Trying to write down the whole business at once. Start with one process. Finish it, test it, and then start the next one.
- Keeping the process where nobody can find it. Put it in one shared place, so that you and your staff use the same version.
Start with one process this week
You do not have to fix your whole business at once. Pick one task, write it down, and test it with another person.
When you have one process written down, send it to me. We can look at it together and pick the right tool for each step. Sometimes that tool is AI. Often it is something simpler.