You’ve given your briefing. Lots of nods. Lots of questions. It’s going great.

Then come those magical words: "This looks fantastic. So... what do we do next?"

This is the moment that separates successful AI advisors from the rest. The executive has opened the door—they're ready to move forward. But to where? With what? How quickly?

The worst answer is "Let's schedule another meeting to discuss possibilities..."

Don’t you dare!

This is the moment to be crystal clear about next steps. You've got their attention and interest—now you need to convert that into committed action. Remember that these are busy people. Do not waste their time.

You’ve got to be ready for when you get your shot.

Let’s get started

Interest to Action

The end of your briefing is the most critical moment. Executives are busy people with countless priorities competing for their attention. If you don't secure a clear commitment to next steps before the meeting ends, your momentum will likely evaporate.

That said…after your initial executive briefing, you should not be diving straight into implementation. That's premature and likely to fail. Implementation comes much later, after you've built trust, demonstrated value, and proven your approach works.

I recommend you make the journey look more like this

1. Executive briefing (5, 15, or 30 minutes)

2. Workshop with staff (1-3 hours)

3. Small pilot projects based on workshop findings

4. Only then, once you've proven value: larger implementation

Your approach should differ significantly depending on whether you're an internal employee or an external consultant. Let’s cover them quickly.

For Internal Employees

As an internal employee, you have certain advantages: you know the organisation, have existing relationships, and are already on the payroll. But you may lack formal authority and face skepticism about your expertise.

Your optimal next step is typically some sort of exploratory project with executive sponsorship:

"Based on today's discussion, I'd recommend a four-week discovery phase where I work with the finance team to implement the document processing automation we discussed, aiming for a 30% reduction in processing time. I'd need 25% of my time allocated to this, plus two hours per week from the finance team. I'll report progress weekly and present final results to this group after four weeks. Would you be comfortable authorising this project, with you as the executive sponsor?"

Notice several elements here

1. Time-bounded: Four weeks, not an open-ended commitment

2. Specific outcome: 30% reduction in processing time

3. Clear resource requirements: 25% of your time, 2 hours from finance

4. Accountability mechanisms: Weekly updates and final presentation

5. Direct ask for sponsorship: Creating executive ownership

By asking for sponsorship rather than just permission, you're inviting the executive to share in both the risk and the success of the initiative. They now have skin in the game. Obviously adapt this format for your specific circumstances.

For External Consultants

As an external consultant, you need to secure paid engagement. The goal is to convert initial interest into a client relationship.

Again, don’t go straight for the big money implementation projects unless you have a solid track record. Instead I’d recommend stepping up to that.

After your initial briefing (whether 5, 15, or 30 minutes), the ideal next step is a workshop with key staff members. This creates the perfect bridge between executive buy-in and identifying potential pilot projects.

Why workshops work

1. Low commitment, high value: A 1-3 hour workshop requires minimal investment but delivers immediate insights

2. Staff involvement: Gets the actual users engaged early, building enthusiasm rather than resistance

3. Opportunity identification: Uncovers specific use cases from the people who know the processes best

4. Skill assessment: Helps determine current AI literacy and identifies potential champions

5. Practical focus: Produces tangible outputs that can lead directly to pilot projects

Workshop Structure and Content

I personally deliver workshops (and have licensed my materials to several hundred workshop facilitators) with a clear three-hour structure. Very roughly it’s along these lines:

Hour 1: What is AI & Breaking Down Barriers

• Demystifying AI in practical terms

• Addressing common misconceptions and fears

• Establishing a shared vocabulary

• Interactive exercises to build comfort with AI tools

Hour 2: What AI Can and Can't Do

• Realistic capabilities and limitations

• Industry-specific examples and applications

• Hands-on demonstrations with real tools

• Opportunity areas vs. inappropriate use cases

Hour 3: Identifying Best Tasks for AI + Capstone Exercise

• Framework for evaluating AI-suitable tasks

• Team-based identification of potential use cases

• Prioritisation matrix (impact vs. risk)

• Capstone exercise: Teams present their top AI opportunities

It’s very practical with about 50% of it being exercises. You don’t want to just be droning on for 3 hours about AI believe me!

My students regularly charge ~£1,000/hour for these workshops, meaning a standard half-day workshop brings in £3,000. I personally charge ~£3000-4000/hour, depending on the size of the audience.

This pricing reflects the value you're delivering—identifying opportunities that could save or generate hundreds of thousands in value…and as such even though it may seem like a lot for you to earn it’s small compared to the value to the client business.

If you want to learn more about licensing my materials there are details here: AI Workshop Kit.

From Workshops to Pilot Projects

Structure your workshops so that by the end your participants have identified tasks they can apply AI to.

Now, they could go off and do that themselves. But you’ve put in place another next step: you’re going to facilitate those sessions, helping staff members to refine and build their AI automations and workflows.

Here's how it works

1. The workshop identifies 3-5 potential AI use cases prioritised by impact and feasibility

2. Select 1-2 highest potential opportunities for pilot projects

3. Define small, focused pilot scopes with clear success metrics

4. Assemble small teams (2-3 people from the affected department plus you)

5. Set a short timeframe (2-4 weeks) for initial results

These pilots are deliberately small and focused. We want something to show in a few weeks not a few months. Because remember we proving the concept works before asking for larger commitments.

For internal employees: Position yourself as the pilot project lead, with partial time allocation (ie. 10-20% of your time). Document everything meticulously.

For external consultants: Propose a separate engagement for the pilot phase, typically at a day rate or fixed project fee. £5,000-£10,000 is common for a 2-4 week pilot, depending on scale and industry obviously.

For Those Currently Employed

If you're currently employed, here's a powerful dual approach

1. Internal leadership: Run workshops within your current company, building your skills and creating documented case studies (with permission)

2. External opportunity: Assuming your contract permits it, begin offering workshops to companies in non-competing industries during evenings or weekends

This combination approach builds your expertise rapidly while creating an external income stream that could potentially replace your salary. I've seen numerous professionals transition from employee to consultant using exactly this method, with several now earning multiples of their previous salary. Sound crazy but not too difficult when you can charge £1000+/hour really!

The key is delivering exceptional value in your internal workshops first. This builds your confidence, refines your approach, and gives you concrete results to reference when pitching external clients. Use the existing set up as a jumping off board basically. Cheeky? Yup! Effective? You betcha.

What We've Learned

We’re at the end of our Executive AI briefing playbook. Let's recap what we've covered

Part 1: The Massive Opportunity in AI Leadership We explored the leadership gap in AI and why you—with your combination of business knowledge and AI awareness—are perfectly positioned to fill it.

Part 2: Crafting Your Executive Briefing We built the three-act structure that forms the foundation of an effective briefing, with variations for different time constraints.

Part 3: Making the Business Case for AI Adoption We learned how to create a compelling case for AI that balances opportunities and threats while addressing industry-specific needs.

Part 4: Your Killer Example We developed approaches for selecting and presenting concrete examples that make AI's potential tangible and relatable.

Part 5: Closing the Deal We've just explored how to convert initial interest into committed action, with specific strategies for internal and external scenarios.

This is your moment to step forward as an AI leader. The executives you brief today will remember you as the person who helped them navigate this transformative technology. And whether that leads to internal advancement or lucrative consulting opportunities, it represents a significant career advantage in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Go for it. The executives are waiting for someone just like you to help them make sense of this AI revolution. Take your shot.

Keep Prompting,

Kyle