The AI Coach

Once you have completed the Situation Appraisal, initiate an AI Analysis.

Running the analysis

Select the AI Coach tab to display the Analysis page. Click Analyse to start an analysis, which takes a few minutes to prepare. The Analysis will display first, followed a short time later by Recommendations.

Previous analyses are listed below the current analysis, so you can look back at how the opportunity has developed over time. Select the Situation Summary tab to view the Situation Appraisal that corresponds to the analysis you are viewing.

Three confidence figures

The AI Coach gives you three figures.

• Completeness of the appraisal, for example 85%. How much of the picture you have provided.
• Confidence in the assessment, for example 62%. How sure the AI Coach is of its analysis, given what you told it.
• Confidence in the recommendations, for example 78%.

Low figures are not a failure. They point to where more information would help.

Overall assessment

The AI Coach compares its assessment with your gut feel.

Example. The opportunity is winnable because of incumbent advantage, but it is more at risk than your gut feel of 59% indicates. The Economic Buyer is under-engaged, and an unknown external consultant has emerged.

Observations

The AI Coach also points out things you may have missed.

Example. User Buyer Mary Able is reluctant to share information about the competitors in the mix. That tells you something about the level of trust and about where your relationship stands.

Critical gaps and recommended actions

For each critical gap, the AI Coach recommends an action with three parts.

• Objective: what the action is meant to achieve.
• Rationale: why it matters.
• Conversation outcome: how the other person should feel and what should be different when the conversation ends.

Example. The recommended action is to meet John Boyle, the influential consultant. The outcome you want is that John feels he is treated as a serious professional, not as a gatekeeper, and leaves your meeting curious about how you might be of value and keen to engage further with you.

Strategy is a process of moving in deliberate steps to better positions. Don't go for a knockout with each move. Pushing for your own advantage costs you trust. To use a tennis analogy, play for each next point, not the match.

Clarifying questions

The AI Coach also suggests questions to ask, which help you close the gaps in your knowledge.

TIP: Use PatrickAI to practise the conversation as a Seller, or you can act as the Buyer and have PatrickAI demonstrate how to run the call.

What to do next

The AI analysis of a situation is, of course, based on information that you provide (and any errors therein). It is a third-party summary and assessment of your thoughts on the opportunity. The AI Coach essentially plays those back to you and it may well be that you disagree with its conclusions. If that's so, review the information in your Situation Appraisal, modify as necessary, and run another analysis.

If on the other hand, you're satisfied with what you originally entered, reflect on why the AI's interpretation is different to your own. Here's a good way to do that: switch to the Situation Summary tab and click the Export SA and AI Analysis button to produce a hard copy, then share that with a colleague.

A benefit of the hard copy is it avoids the rambling unfocused conversation that opportunity discussions typically become. The hard copy is a perfect discussion document that any colleague can understand and query and/or comment on to foster a focused discussion. For example, they can help you clarify your Value Driver ratings and other assumptions/conclusions you have made, you can jointly refine the recommendations and so on.

It is important to appreciate that the AI Coach is not an all-knowing Oracle so much as a sidekick bringing insights that complement your own thinking.

Then act, update and repeat

Take the recommended actions, or your own modified version of them. Then update your Situation Appraisal and Buyers with what you learned, and analyse again. It is not a home run. It is a series of better positions. For the thinking behind this, see Planning your strategy.