The AI consulting market grew faster than the supply of people who can do the work. That gap gets filled by marketers with new titles.

The nine red flags

  1. They lead with the technology instead of your problem.
  2. No named references at your revenue size.
  3. Every outcome is described as "efficiency" with no number.
  4. The proposal has no dates.
  5. Pricing is a monthly retainer with an undefined scope.
  6. They cannot name a project they turned down.
  7. The deck is mostly slides about AI generally.
  8. They want access to systems before defining a deliverable.
  9. Urgency pressure: the price expires Friday.

The three questions that filter most of them

What have you shipped, by name. What were the numbers. Who can I phone. Nothing else discriminates as well, and all three are answerable in a week by anyone real.

What a legitimate small engagement looks like

"Over four weeks I will rebuild your quoting process, deliver the template and the SOP, train two staff, and the success measure is quote turnaround under 24 hours. Fixed fee $6,500, review at week two." That is a proposal you can evaluate. Anything you cannot evaluate, you cannot buy safely.

The cheaper first step

Before you buy any engagement, spend sixty days running your decisions through an advisor and writing down what stays broken. You will either solve half the list for a hundred dollars a month, or you will walk into the consultant conversation with a scope, which is the single biggest factor in whether these projects work.

Try it on the decision in front of you

Bring the thing you are actually stuck on. You will get a grounded answer with real numbers and a next step, not a discovery call. Start a 7-day free trial or see pricing.