How it works
Most AI consulting starts with a big proposal and a bigger invoice. We start with a phone call. The entire process is designed so you can stop at any point, take what you've learned, and owe nothing more.
Step 1: Discovery Call
Free. 30 minutes. No commitment.
We talk about your business — what's working, what isn't, where you think AI might help and where you're skeptical. This isn't a demo or a capabilities presentation. It's a diagnostic conversation.
By the end of the call, you'll know two things: whether there's a real opportunity for AI in your operations, and whether we're the right people to help you find it.
What you get
An honest read on whether AI can address what you described. If the answer is yes, we'll explain the assessment process and what it would cost. If the answer is no — or not yet — we'll tell you that too.
Your out
The call is free. If you hang up and never call back, that's fine. No follow-up sequence, no "just checking in" emails from a sales team.
Step 2: AI Readiness Assessment
Paid engagement. Cost discussed on discovery call.
If the discovery call surfaces real opportunities, the next step is an assessment. We spend time with your team — the people who actually do the work — interviewing different roles, mapping workflows, and identifying where AI adds genuine value versus where it adds noise.
This isn't a survey or a checklist. It's structured conversations with the people closest to your operations: the ones who know which tasks eat their day, which handoffs break down, and which tools they've already tried to fix the problem.
What you get
An assessment report that identifies specific, prioritized areas where AI can improve your operations — along with a proposal to produce a full AI Implementation Plan. The proposal states the cost and scope of the implementation plan before you commit to it.
Your out
You can take the assessment report and stop. You'll have a clear picture of where AI fits in your business, written in language your team can act on — with or without us.
Step 3: AI Implementation Plan
Paid engagement. Cost stated in assessment proposal.
The implementation plan is the deliverable. It's a modular, detailed blueprint for bringing AI into your operations — not one monolithic project, but a set of independent initiatives you can pursue in any order, at any pace.
What's in the plan
Modular initiatives — Each opportunity from the assessment becomes a self-contained project with its own scope, cost range, and expected impact. You can implement one, some, or all of them.
Options at every level — For each initiative, the plan includes low-cost and high-performance options. Some use existing tools. Some require new ones. Some replace systems you're already paying for. The plan lays out the trade-offs so you can choose.
Technology recommendations — What to integrate with, what to replace, and what to stop paying for. Specific products and platforms, not generic advice.
Recommended path — A suggested sequence based on impact, dependencies, and your team's capacity. You don't have to follow it, but it's there if you want a starting point.
Implementation costs — Internal effort estimates for your team, plus external costs if you bring in help — including what it would cost for Lab 317 to implement specific pieces.
Your out
The plan is yours. Use it internally, hand it to another vendor, or put it in a drawer. There is no obligation to hire us to implement any of it.
What comes after the plan
That's up to you. The implementation plan includes costs for several paths forward:
You implement it yourself. The plan is detailed enough for your team or another vendor to execute. We're not in the business of creating vendor lock-in.
We implement some of it. If specific initiatives are a good fit for Lab 317, the plan will include our pricing for those pieces. You pick what makes sense.
We implement all of it. If you want a single partner to own the whole rollout, we can do that too.
You want a guide, not a builder. We offer ongoing consulting to support your team during implementation — answering questions, reviewing decisions, keeping things on track. Think of it as a sounding board with context.
Ready to start?
The first step is a free 30-minute phone call. No proposal, no SOW, no commitment — just a conversation about your business and whether AI can help.
Schedule a discovery call with Sterling →
— Sterling, Lab 317 Sales