6d • Win 🏆
I almost lost a $1207.75 deal because of a silly mistake.
A few days ago I applied to a job on Upwork. I sent over a Loom video of my profile, what I've done and just some proof that I can deliver. They came back a few hours later and booked a meeting. Before the call I received an 18-page PDF on what they wanted. That document scared me to the point where I was second-guessing my skills.
But then on the call itself, they revealed that they're looking for an AI agent to reply to customers. Lol. A lot easier than I thought.
So here's where things go wrong. I do not diagnose the problem at all. I assume that the problem they present is the problem to solve. So when I agree to the job and that I can deliver the agent, we're basing the entire project on:
"what they think the problem is."
So I sent over an offer for $1207.75. They try to negotiate it down to $800. I revert back that this covers the entire project. And they counter with adding in more things and accept the deal. A few minutes later I receive the contract.
At this point I've locked down the contract and I believe I can complete the job. I have a week to deliver an MVP and I have enough cash to hire help if I can't deliver. But then I receive an invitation to their customer service platform. I start looking around and setting up everything.
This is when I start to realize that they're using zero internal automations. And when I start going through their emails I realize that 97% of all tickets use templated replies. The last 3%? Refund/cancellation issues or standard customer service questions. Those 3% are the perfect place to use AI because of the nuances. But the 97%? A simple set of rules and automation handles that.
They don't need AI, they need automations that runs based on rules. That will clear all cases within a day. And that's without using AI. Looking at this, I could have figured this out if I had asked them about their setup in the call. I would have offered a simpler solution instead of a complex one without even thinking about it.
The lesson is: ask more questions, dig for the problem.
6
5 comments
I almost lost a $1207.75 deal because of a silly mistake.
powered by
skool.com/ai-first-client-formula-8589
From zero to first $1k/month with AI automation in 30 days. Get the exact formula + templates that landed 100+ their first client.
Suggested communities
Powered by