# 1. Discovery Call **Outcome:** Multi-call discovery complete -- all context captured to build AI Roadmap (automation opportunities ranked by ROI x Simplicity) **Trigger:** Cal.com booking received for onboarding call (from sales handoff) **Duration:** 10-13 hours total over 1-2 weeks **Output:** Onboarding call transcript + staff interview transcripts + updated CLIENT.md ### Quick Reference | Call Type | Who | Duration | Goal | | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Onboarding Call (Call 1) | Business owner / decision maker | 60-90 min | Map the landscape: departments, pain points, tech stack, who to interview next | | Staff Interviews (Calls 2-N) | Process owners, managers, admin staff | 30-60 min each (6-8 hours total) | Deep-dive: step-by-step process walkthroughs, exact hours, decision points, exceptions | **Key principle:** The onboarding call is wide and shallow. The staff interviews are narrow and deep. **Always record every call** -- transcripts are the raw material for the AI Roadmap. See also: [Call Cheatsheet](https://internal-docs.theentourageai.com/ai-roadmap/call-cheatsheet) -- a condensed version for use during calls. *** ### Pre-Call Prep (30 min) Before the onboarding call: * [ ] Read sales call transcripts -- understand what was already discussed (avoid repeating) * [ ] Research the company: website, LinkedIn, industry context * [ ] Create client folder if not done (CLIENT.md, settings.json) * [ ] Send pre-onboarding email 1-2 days before (see email templates below) * [ ] Have the question framework open on a second screen * [ ] Start recording (Read.ai, Otter, or similar) * [ ] Have notepad ready for real-time notes on key quotes and numbers *** ## Onboarding Call (Call 1) The onboarding call has five natural phases. Do NOT deep-dive into step-by-step process walkthroughs -- save those for the staff interviews. #### Phase 1: Opening (5 min) Set the tone immediately. This is the first impression after sales -- be human, be direct about what is happening. > "Pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Mac, I'll be your account manager here at The Entourage AI. What we're doing for you is an AI Roadmap -- we're mapping out what the next 12-24 months looks like for you and how the adoption of AI looks for your business. > > This call is pretty laid back. What I'm trying to do is get a high-level view of your business -- departments, where the pain is, what tech you're using -- and then figure out who on your team I should speak to next for deeper dives. > > You've got people inside the team that know more about what they do day-to-day than you do as a boss. So after this call, I'll book follow-up interviews with those people -- I'll ask them detailed questions about how their processes work without giving them the impression they're being replaced. A lot of what we do is free up people to do people things -- customer relationships, strategy -- instead of repetitive manual work. > > I also do something called technical feasibility -- I go through your software stack and make sure everything's viable for AI adoption. > > So the first thing I want to do is just hear a bit of a high level around the business, what the problems are, where you think AI can slot in, and what that looks like." **Key beats in the opener:** * Explain the multi-call process so they are not surprised by follow-up interviews * Frame it as "freeing people up" not "replacing people" -- especially if staff will be on later calls * Mention technical feasibility so they know you are assessing their tools, not just listening * End with an open invitation to talk -- then shut up and listen **Recording consent:** > "I'll record this call so I can capture the details accurately -- is that okay with you?" #### Phase 2: Let Them Dump (10-15 min) After the opener, the client will usually start talking. Let them. This is the most valuable part of the call. Do not interrupt unless you need to clarify something technical. **Your only job here:** Listen, take notes on names/roles/tools/hours/pain signals, and mentally map departments. What to listen for: * **Department names** -- "We've got the admin team, the sales team, the warehouse..." * **People's names and what they do** -- "Sarah looks after the admin team" * **Pain signals** -- sighing, "that's very manual", "it's time-consuming", "someone's full-time role is just..." * **Volume indicators** -- "2,000 invoices a month", "30 devices arrive some days" * **Tech mentions** -- every software name, even in passing **When to interrupt:** * To clarify which software they are using: "Can I interrupt you? Are you using Outlook as your email system?" * To confirm a number: "Sorry, did you say 20 hours a week on that?" * To get a name: "Who specifically handles that?" **When NOT to interrupt:** * When they are mid-story about a process * When they are listing multiple pain points in a row * When they are describing relationships between departments #### Phase 3: Department Rotation (20-30 min) Once the initial dump slows down, you drive the conversation department by department. The goal is to get a high-level picture of every department -- NOT a step-by-step process walkthrough. **Transition into this phase:** > "That's really helpful. So it sounds like the main areas are \[department 1], \[department 2], and \[department 3]. Let me make sure I've got a good picture of each one." **For each department, get:** | Data Point | Priority | Example Question | | ------------------------------------ | ----------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | What the department does | **\[MUST]** | "So \[department] -- what's the core function? What are they responsible for?" | | Who is in it (names + roles) | **\[MUST]** | "Who are the key people in \[department]? Names and roles." | | Biggest time sink | **\[MUST]** | "What takes the most time in \[department]? What feels like it should be faster?" | | Rough hours per week on manual work | **\[MUST]** | "Roughly how many hours a week does \[person] spend on \[task]?" | | What tools they use | **\[MUST]** | "What software does \[department] use day-to-day?" | | What breaks at scale | **\[NICE]** | "If volume doubled, what breaks first in \[department]?" | | Existing automations or integrations | **\[NICE]** | "Do any of these tools talk to each other already?" | **Navigating between departments:** > "Okay, so that area is sorted. Is there any other big department in the business we should look at?" Or, if you know what is next: > "Could we loop through the sales area for five minutes or so?" **Time boxing:** If a department is taking too long (more than 10 minutes on one area), gently move on: > "There's a lot of detail here -- I'm going to save this for the follow-up interview with \[person]. For now, I just want to make sure I've got the high-level picture across the whole business." #### Phase 4: Tech & Compliance (10 min) Only cover this if it has not already come up naturally. Often the client will mention their tools throughout the department rotation -- if so, just confirm and fill gaps. **Tech stack questions (only what was not already mentioned):** | # | Question | Priority | | - | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | 1 | "What software tools does your business use day-to-day? Let's list them all." | **\[MUST]** | | 2 | "Which tools talk to each other already? Any existing integrations?" | **\[MUST]** | | 3 | "Do you have admin access to all your platforms?" | **\[NICE]** | | 4 | "Are there tools you're paying for but not fully using?" | **\[NICE]** | | 5 | "Do you use any spreadsheets as a key part of a process?" | **\[NICE]** | **Compliance (brief -- only if relevant to their industry):** | # | Question | Priority | | - | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | | 6 | "Are there industry regulations that affect how you handle data?" | **\[MUST]** if regulated | | 7 | "Do you need audit trails for any processes?" | **\[NICE]** | | 8 | "Is there sensitive data involved -- personal info, financial records?" | **\[NICE]** | #### Phase 5: Interview Planning + Close (15 min) This is where you plan the follow-up calls. You should already know who to talk to from the department rotation. > "Based on everything you've told me, here's what I'd like to do next. I want to schedule follow-up interviews with the people who actually do the work day-to-day. Specifically:" > > * "\[Person] about \[department/process] -- probably 60 minutes" > * "\[Person] about \[department/process] -- probably 30-60 minutes" > * "\[Person] about \[department/process] -- probably 30 minutes" > > "Each department takes about an hour to an hour and a half. So in total, we're looking at maybe 4-6 hours of interviews over the next week or two. You don't have to do it all in one go." **Ask them to nominate people:** > "Who would be the best person to walk me through \[process] in detail?" **Address the replacement fear:** > "Just make sure to tell them we're not trying to replace their job -- we're trying to make the job easier. We want them doing the human stuff, not the manual repetitive stuff." **Close script:** > "So here's what happens next. I'm going to spend the next couple of hours processing everything from this call and mapping out the departments. Then I'll send you an email with: > > 1. A summary of what we covered today > 2. Who I'd like to interview and about what > 3. Booking links for those interviews > > All you need to do is forward that to the right people and get them booked in. The interviews will probably take a week or two to get through. After that, I'll put together your AI Roadmap -- a full document covering every automation opportunity with time savings and ROI estimates. The whole process takes about two to three weeks." #### What NOT to Do on Call 1 * **Don't deep-dive into step-by-step process walkthroughs.** Save for interviews. * **Don't try to cover all the questions.** Map the landscape -- depth comes from interviews. * **Don't solution on the call.** "I'll go into that in the audit" -- save the how for the roadmap. * **Don't give pricing.** "I'll include investment details in the roadmap alongside the ROI estimates -- that way you can see the full picture together." * **Don't let one department eat the whole call.** Time box and move on. #### Enterprise Signal Detection Listen for these phrases -- they indicate the client may need custom software (dashboards, portals, platforms), not just workflow automation: * "I wish I had a dashboard that showed..." * "We need something built specifically for..." * "Our clients need a portal to..." * "We're thinking about building a platform..." * "I want to see what's happening in real-time across..." If you hear these, note them. Enterprise mode adds a Custom Dashboard section and Investment Summary to the roadmap. *** ## Staff Interviews (Calls 2-N) ### Opening (5 min) Staff members may be nervous. They might think they are being evaluated or replaced. Set the tone immediately. > "Hi \[Name], thanks for taking the time. I'm Mac from The Entourage AI -- I'm working with \[Business Owner] to identify where automation can save your team time. \[Business Owner] mentioned you'd be a great person to speak with about \[specific area]. > > I'm mostly going to be asking questions and listening. There's no wrong answers -- I just want to understand how things actually work day-to-day, from the person who does it. The goal is to free up your time so you can focus on the stuff that actually needs a human." **Recording consent:** > "I'll record this so I can capture the details accurately -- is that okay?" ### The Core Loop: Process Walkthroughs (20-30 min) For each process this person owns, walk through it end to end. This is the meat of the interview. **Start with the big picture:** > "Walk me through a typical day or week. What does your time look like?" Then drill into each process they mention. For each one: | Step | Question | Priority | | --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | 1. Trigger | "What kicks this off? What's the trigger?" | **\[MUST]** | | 2. Input | "What data comes in? What format -- email, PDF, spreadsheet, phone call?" | **\[MUST]** | | 3. Steps | "Walk me through what you do step by step." | **\[MUST]** | | 4. Decisions | "Are there decisions along the way? Rules you follow, or is it judgement?" | **\[MUST]** | | 5. Output | "What's the output? Where does the result end up?" | **\[MUST]** | | 6. Frequency | "How often does this happen? Daily, weekly, per order?" | **\[MUST]** | | 7. Hours | "How many hours per week does this take you?" | **\[MUST]** | | 8. Exceptions | "When does this go off the rails? What are the exceptions?" | **\[MUST]** | | 9. Errors | "How often do mistakes happen? What kind?" | **\[NICE]** | | 10. Tools | "What tools do you use for this? Do they talk to each other?" | **\[MUST]** | | 11. Workarounds | "Are there any manual workarounds you've developed?" | **\[NICE]** | **Transition between processes:** > "Got it. What's the next thing that takes up a lot of your time?" Or if you know from Call 1: > "\[Business Owner] mentioned you also handle \[process]. Can we walk through that one?" ### ROI Questions (10 min) Ask these for every major process. These produce the numbers in the roadmap. | # | Question | Priority | Why It Matters | | - | ------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------- | --------------------------------------- | | 1 | "How many hours per week do you spend on \[task]?" | **\[MUST]** | Produces annual cost: hours x rate x 52 | | 2 | "What's the rough hourly cost of your time to the business?" | **\[MUST]** | Denominator for ROI | | 3 | "What would you do with the time if this was automated?" | **\[MUST]** | Captures opportunity cost narrative | | 4 | "How often do errors happen and what do they cost?" | **\[NICE]** | Adds error cost to ROI | | 5 | "If volume doubled, could you keep up?" | **\[NICE]** | Identifies scaling constraint | **Pushing for specifics:** When they say "a lot of time" or "it takes ages", push gently: > "Even a rough estimate helps -- are we talking 5 hours a week or 20?" When they give a number, anchor it: > "So roughly 15 hours a week on that. And is that just you, or does someone else also work on it?" ### Automation Readiness (5 min) | # | Question | Priority | | - | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | 1 | "Which parts of this require your judgement vs following rules?" | **\[MUST]** | | 2 | "Are there approval steps that need to stay human?" | **\[MUST]** | | 3 | "Is any of the knowledge in your head rather than documented?" | **\[NICE]** | | 4 | "What would 'good enough' automation look like? Does it need to be perfect or just faster?" | **\[NICE]** | ### Handling Nervous Staff | Signal | Response | | ----------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Guarded, short answers | "There's no wrong answers here. I'm just trying to understand how it works so we can make it easier." | | Asks if they're being replaced | "The goal is to free you up to do \[what owner said]. The manual stuff goes away, the human stuff stays." | | Over-explains to justify their role | Let them -- there is useful detail in there. Gently redirect when needed. | | Defers to manager on everything | "I understand -- but you're the one doing it day-to-day. I want to hear your perspective." | ### Close (5 min) > "That's really helpful -- thanks for walking me through all of that. If anything else comes to mind about how these processes work or things that slow you down, feel free to send it through. > > After I've spoken with everyone, I'll put together the AI Roadmap and present it to \[Business Owner]. The goal is to map out every automation opportunity with time savings and ROI." *** ## Navigation Playbook ### Reading the Room | Signal | What It Means | What to Do | | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | They are listing pain points rapidly | High frustration -- lots of material | Let them finish, take notes, come back to each one | | They pause and say "what else..." | Trying to help but running out of steam | Prompt with a department or process you have not covered | | They go deep into one process | They care about this one -- probably high-pain | Let them go for 2-3 minutes, then gently redirect to high-level | | They mention another person a lot | That person is the real process owner -- interview them | Note the name, ask to include them in follow-ups | | They say "I'm not the best person for that" | Respect it -- do not push | "No worries -- who would know that best? I'll ask them in the follow-up." | | They start asking about pricing | They are interested but want to understand cost | "I'll include investment details in the roadmap alongside the ROI -- that way you see the full picture together." | | They seem nervous or guarded (staff) | They think they are being evaluated | Reassure: "We're just trying to make this easier. \[Owner] wants you doing the human stuff, not the repetitive manual stuff." | ### Time Management | Situation | Action | | ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Call 1 running past 75 minutes | Check: have you covered all departments at a high level? If yes, wrap up. If no, speed through remaining departments. | | One department eating the whole call | "There's a lot of detail here -- I'm going to save this for the follow-up interview with \[person]. For now I just want the high-level picture." | | Client is a talker -- stories everywhere | Listen for 2-3 minutes, then redirect: "That's really interesting -- let me come back to that. I want to make sure I understand \[the other area] first." | | Interview running long on one process | "Got it, I think I have a good picture of that one. What's the next thing that takes up your time?" | | Running out of time but missing ROI data | Prioritize hours questions: "Before we wrap up -- roughly how many hours per week goes into \[task 1], \[task 2], \[task 3]?" | ### Strategic Interruptions Interrupt to **clarify**, never to **redirect** mid-thought. Good interruptions: * "Sorry -- which system is that in? Salesforce or Jim2?" * "Can I just confirm -- did you say 2,000 invoices a month?" * "Quick one -- who specifically handles that step?" * "Are you using Outlook or Gmail for email?" Bad interruptions: * "Let's move on to another topic" (while they are mid-explanation) * "Have you thought about \[solution]?" (solutioning on the call) * "How many hours does that take?" (when they are mid-story -- wait for a natural pause) ### Handling Common Situations | Situation | Response | | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | "I don't know the exact hours" | "Even a rough estimate -- are we talking 5 hours or 20? Just a ballpark." | | "That's hard to automate" | "You'd be surprised -- we've done similar things for \[industry]. I'll assess it in the audit." | | "We tried automation before and it didn't work" | "What happened? (Listen.) We build around your specific processes, not a generic template." | | "Can you just automate everything?" | "We'll identify everything that's viable and rank it by ROI. Some things are better left human." | | "Will this replace \[person]?" | "The goal is to free \[person] up to do \[what owner said they want them doing]. The manual stuff goes away, the human stuff stays." | | "We don't have time for all these interviews" | "I'll keep them tight -- 30 minutes each. And I'll come prepared with specific questions so we don't waste anyone's time." | | "Our systems are old / we're behind" | "That's actually fine. We work with legacy systems all the time. We can connect to almost anything." | ### Validation Phrases (Use Throughout) These build trust and keep the conversation flowing: | When | Say | | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | After they describe a pain point | "Everything you've mentioned is super common. We deal with that a lot." | | After a complex process description | "Even though it sounds really complex, AI is pretty decent at that." | | When they mention a specific tool | "We work with \[tool] quite a bit -- that integrates well." | | When they express frustration | "I know it's not good at the moment, but I promise you, AI has all the capabilities to fix this." | | When they list lots of manual work | "You are sounding like our dream client -- we can present almost anything and there'll be a nice ROI on it." | | To relate to them | "I just spent two hours with a \[similar industry] business with the exact same problem." | *** ## Question Reference (Full List) All questions organized by section. Use as a reference during calls -- do not read from this list. ### Business Overview \[Call 1] | # | Question | Priority | | - | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | 1 | Tell me about your business -- what do you do and who do you serve? | **\[MUST]** | | 2 | How long have you been operating? | **\[NICE]** | | 3 | What makes you different from your competitors? | **\[NICE]** | | 4 | What's your rough team size? | **\[MUST]** | | 5 | Where are you headed in the next 12-24 months? | **\[MUST]** | | 6 | What was the trigger for exploring automation now? | **\[MUST]** | | 7 | If your business doubles next year, what breaks first? | **\[MUST]** | | 8 | What's the single biggest bottleneck holding back growth? | **\[NICE]** | ### Team & Roles \[Call 1] | # | Question | Priority | | -- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | 9 | Who are the key people day-to-day? Names and roles. | **\[MUST]** | | 10 | For each person -- what do they spend most of their time doing? | **\[MUST]** | | 11 | Who's most impacted by manual processes? | **\[MUST]** | | 12 | Are there roles that exist purely because of manual work? | **\[NICE]** | | 13 | How many hours per week does \[person] spend on \[task]? | **\[MUST]** | | 14 | What's the rough hourly cost of that person's time? | **\[MUST]** | | 15 | If we freed up \[person]'s time, what would they do instead? | **\[MUST]** | | 16 | Are you hiring or planning to hire to handle growing volume? | **\[NICE]** | ### Time & Pain \[Call 1 + Interviews] | # | Question | Priority | | -- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | | 17 | Walk me through a typical week -- where does the most time go? | **\[MUST]** | | 18 | What tasks feel like they should be faster but aren't? | **\[MUST]** | | 19 | What's the most repetitive thing your team does? | **\[MUST]** | | 20 | If you could automate one thing overnight, what would it be? | **\[NICE]** | | 21 | How often do mistakes happen? What kind? | **\[NICE]** | | 22 | What does it cost when something goes wrong? | **\[NICE]** | | 23 | Are there compliance or audit requirements? | **\[MUST]** if regulated | | 24 | What happens when the person who knows this is on leave? | **\[NICE]** | ### Technology Stack \[Call 1] | # | Question | Priority | | -- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | 25 | What software tools does your business use? Let's list them all. | **\[MUST]** | | 26 | For each tool -- what's it used for, and who uses it? | **\[MUST]** | | 27 | Which tools talk to each other already? | **\[MUST]** | | 28 | Are there tools you're paying for but not fully using? | **\[NICE]** | | 29 | Where does your data live? Spread across systems? | **\[NICE]** | | 30 | Do you have admin access to all platforms? | **\[NICE]** | | 31 | Any tools you're considering switching to? | **\[NICE]** | | 32 | Do you use spreadsheets as a key part of a process? | **\[NICE]** | ### Process Mapping \[Interviews] | # | Question | Priority | | -- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | 33 | Walk me through \[process] step by step -- what kicks it off? | **\[MUST]** | | 34 | What data comes in? What format? | **\[MUST]** | | 35 | What decisions get made? Rules or judgement? | **\[MUST]** | | 36 | What's the output? Where does it end up? | **\[MUST]** | | 37 | How often does this happen? | **\[MUST]** | | 38 | What are the exceptions -- when does it go off the rails? | **\[MUST]** | | 39 | Which parts require human judgement vs following rules? | **\[MUST]** | | 40 | Are there approval steps that need to stay human? | **\[MUST]** | | 41 | Is any knowledge in someone's head rather than documented? | **\[NICE]** | | 42 | What would "good enough" automation look like? | **\[NICE]** | ### Compliance & Risk \[Call 1] | # | Question | Priority | | -- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | | 43 | Are there industry regulations that affect data handling? | **\[MUST]** if regulated | | 44 | Do you need audit trails? Who audits you? | **\[NICE]** | | 45 | Is there sensitive data involved? | **\[NICE]** | | 46 | Are there data residency requirements? | **\[NICE]** | ### Success Definition \[Call 1] | # | Question | Priority | | -- | --------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | | 47 | What does success look like in 3 months? | **\[NICE]** | | 48 | How would you measure whether this was worth doing? | **\[NICE]** | | 49 | What's your timeline? Is there urgency? | **\[MUST]** | | 50 | Who else needs to be involved in the decision? | **\[MUST]** | *** ## Post-Call Actions ### After Call 1 1. **Save the transcript** to `{client}/context/calls/{YYYY-MM-DD}_onboarding-call.md` 2. **Update CLIENT.md** with departments, team members, pain points, tech stack 3. **Create the Interview Plan** -- list who to interview, what processes to focus on, and tailored questions 4. **Send post-call summary email** (see template below) 5. **Send interview scheduling emails** to staff members (see template below) ### After Each Staff Interview 1. **Save transcript** to `{client}/context/calls/{YYYY-MM-DD}_{person-name}-interview.md` 2. **Update CLIENT.md** with new data (hours, processes, pain points) 3. **Update the Interview Plan** (mark as complete, note any follow-up needed) *** ## Email Templates #### pre-onboarding **When to send:** 1-2 days before Call 1 ``` Subject: Onboarding Call -- What to Expect Hi {Name}, Looking forward to our call on {date/time}. Here's what we'll cover and how to get the most out of it. WHAT WE'LL DO ON THE CALL - Walk through your business structure and key departments - Identify where your team is spending the most time on manual work - Map out which processes are the biggest pain points - Figure out who on your team I should speak to next for deeper dives WHAT WOULD HELP - Have a rough idea of your team structure -- who does what, which departments exist - Think about which tasks feel like they take too long or happen too often - If there are specific people who manage day-to-day processes, let me know -- I'll likely want to chat with them separately after our call LOGISTICS - The call will be about 60-90 minutes - I'll record it so I can capture the details accurately (with your permission) - After this call, I'll schedule 2-4 shorter follow-up interviews with your team members to go deeper on specific processes See you on {date}. Best, Mac ``` *** #### post-call-summary **When to send:** Same day after Call 1 ``` Subject: Onboarding Call Summary -- Next Steps Hi {Name}, Thanks for the call today. Here's a summary of what we covered and what happens next. WHAT I HEARD - {Department 1} is spending significant time on {task} -- roughly {X} hours/week - {Department 2} has manual work around {task} that could be streamlined - {Person} is most impacted by {specific pain point} - Your current tools: {list of key platforms} NEXT STEPS I'd like to schedule 30-60 minute interviews with the following people to dig deeper into their specific processes: | Person | Role | What I want to understand | |--------|------|--------------------------| | {Name} | {Role} | {Process/area of focus} | | {Name} | {Role} | {Process/area of focus} | | {Name} | {Role} | {Process/area of focus} | Could you introduce me via email or share their contact details? I'll reach out directly to schedule. After all interviews are complete (usually 1-2 weeks), I'll put together your AI Roadmap -- a full document mapping every automation opportunity with time savings and ROI estimates. Best, Mac ``` *** #### interview-scheduling **When to send:** After receiving staff contact details from business owner ``` Subject: Quick Chat About Your Role at {Company} -- 30 Minutes Hi {Name}, I'm Mac from The Entourage AI -- I'm working with {Business Owner} to identify where automation can save your team time. {Business Owner} mentioned you'd be a great person to speak with about {specific area}. I'd love 30 minutes of your time to walk through how {process/area} works day-to-day. I'll mostly be asking questions and listening -- no prep needed on your end. Are any of these times available? - {Option 1} - {Option 2} - {Option 3} Thanks, Mac ``` *** #### post-interview **When to send:** After a staff interview (optional -- send if they were particularly helpful) ``` Subject: Thanks for Your Time, {Name} Hi {Name}, Thanks for walking me through how {process} works. That was really helpful -- especially the detail about {specific thing they explained well}. If anything else comes to mind about how {process} works or things that slow you down, feel free to send it through. Best, Mac ``` *** ### If Scope Differs from Proposal ``` Minor differences? -- Document and proceed -- Note for AI Roadmap document Significant differences? -- Flag to sales immediately -- May need revised quote -- Do NOT proceed until aligned ``` *** ### Verify * [ ] All calls recorded and transcripts saved * [ ] Notes complete -- all sections filled for every call * [ ] Software stack confirmed * [ ] Interview plan created and all interviews completed * [ ] CLIENT.md updated with complete data from all calls * [ ] Top opportunities identified (initial list) * [ ] AI Roadmap delivery timeline set (typically 1-2 business days after final interview) * [ ] No scope misalignment (or flagged to sales) **Next:** [Roadmap Generation](https://internal-docs.theentourageai.com/ai-roadmap/roadmap-generation)