Automation agency · Sales
Automation discovery and proposal
Turn a discovery call into a priced proposal that holds up once the build starts. The prospect describes their process before the call through a shared link, every exception is marked in or out of scope, and no price goes out before the agency director approves it.
- Duration: 1 to 3 weeks
- How often: For every qualified automation lead
- Steps: 9 steps
- AI agents: 1 AI agent
- Approvals: 1 approval
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What changes with this template
Without it
Discovery calls start from a blank page and the facts arrive after the proposal.
Exceptions come up during the build and eat the margin.
Proposals go out with whatever price the sales lead had in mind.
Delivery learns what was sold at the kickoff.
With it
The prospect describes the process, volumes and systems through a shared link before the call.
Every exception is marked in or out of scope before the price is set.
The agency director approves scope and price before anything reaches the prospect.
The approved scope and statement of work move with the deal into the build.
The template, step by step
Each step says who does it: someone on your team, an AI agent, or the client through a shared link. An approval keeps every later step locked until it is given.
- Done by your team
- Done by an AI agent
- Done by the client, through a shared link
Starts when
A qualified lead books a discovery call. The sales lead starts a run with the company name, the process they want automated and the call date.
- 1
Send the pre-discovery questionnaire
Day 1Sales lead · Team
Send the prospect the shared run link, so they can describe their process before the call, and invite the solutions architect.
Checklist
- Shared link sent to the prospect
- Discovery call booked
- Solutions architect invited
Fields to fill in
- Company name (required)
- Prospect contact email (required)
- Discovery call date (required)
- 2
Describe the process to automate
Days 1 to 3Prospect contact · Shared link
Through the shared link, the prospect describes the process step by step, how often it runs, which systems it touches and what goes wrong today.
Checklist
- Every system involved listed
- Example shared without personal data
Fields to fill in
- Current process, step by step (required)
- Times the process runs per month (required)
- Systems the process touches (required)
- Link to an example of the work
- 3
Hold the discovery call
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 1Solutions architect · Team
Walk through the answers with the prospect, ask about exceptions and decision points, and agree how they will measure success.
Checklist
- Exceptions and edge cases discussed
- Decision maker and budget confirmed
- Success measure agreed
Fields to fill in
- Discovery call notes (required)
- Success measure (required)
- Fit for automation (required)
- 4
Draft the scope and estimate
Week 1Scope writer · AI agent
The scope writer turns the answers and call notes into a draft scope: what the automation will do, what is out of scope, assumptions, risks and an estimate per part.
Fields to fill in
- Draft scope (required)
- Draft estimate per part (required)
Checked by: The solutions architect corrects the scope and sets the price in step 5.
- 5
Check the scope and set the price
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 2Solutions architect · Team
Correct the draft scope against the call notes, then set the build hours, the fixed price and the monthly support fee.
Checklist
- Every exception is in or out of scope
- Assumptions match the call notes
- Platform and API costs listed separately
Fields to fill in
- Build hours (required)
- Fixed price (required)
- Monthly support fee
- 6
Approve the proposal
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 2Agency director · Team
Check the scope, price, payment terms and team capacity, and approve the proposal and statement of work.
Checklist
- Margin is acceptable
- Delivery capacity checked
- Payment terms set
Fields to fill in
- Link to the proposal and statement of work (required)
Approval: Nothing goes to the prospect until the agency director approves the scope and the price.
- 7
Present the proposal
Week 2Sales lead · Team
Walk the prospect through the proposal on a call, answer their questions, email them the proposal and statement of work, and agree when they will decide.
Checklist
- Proposal walked through
- Questions answered
- Decision date agreed
Fields to fill in
- Decision expected by (required)
- Questions raised
- 8
Record the decision on the proposal
Weeks 2 to 3Prospect contact · Shared link
After reading the proposal you emailed, the prospect records their decision and preferred start date through the shared link, or what would need to change before they accept.
Fields to fill in
- Decision (required)
- Preferred start date
- What would need to change
- 9
Close the deal and hand over to delivery
Hidden from the shared linkWeek 3Sales lead · Team
Record the outcome. For a won deal, store the signed statement of work and start the build and handover run with the delivery manager; for a lost one, note why.
Checklist
- Signed statement of work stored
- Delivery manager briefed
- Build and handover run started
Fields to fill in
- Outcome (required)
- Reason, if lost
Done when
The prospect has recorded their decision on an approved proposal, and a won deal reaches delivery with its scope and statement of work.
Make it yours. Rename steps, change owners and add checklist items, fields or approvals. The template is a starting point for the way your team works.
The AI agents in this template
An agent only works on its own steps, and a person on your team checks what it did. Anything an agent writes to a connected app waits for approval unless you allow it.
Scope writer
Turns the prospect's answers and the discovery call notes into a draft scope and estimate.
What it does
- Reads the questionnaire answers and the discovery call notes on the run
- Lists what is in scope, out of scope, the assumptions and the risks
- Breaks the build estimate down by part of the automation
- Records the draft in its step and completes it
Checked by: The solutions architect corrects the scope and sets the price in step 5.
Questions this template answers
Get the process, its volumes and the systems it touches in writing before the call, then mark every exception as in or out of scope. Step 2 collects those facts through the shared link, and in step 5 the solutions architect checks that each exception is in or out before setting the price.
Ask how the process runs step by step, how often it runs, which systems it touches and what goes wrong today, plus a link to a real example without personal data. Step 2 asks exactly these questions through the shared link, so the discovery call in step 3 starts from facts instead of a blank page.
Price from a written scope with its assumptions and risks, and keep platform and API costs apart from your build fee. In step 5 the solutions architect sets the build hours, fixed price and support fee against the checked scope, and step 6 is an approval gate where the agency director checks margin and capacity.
Let AI turn the prospect's answers and your call notes into a first scope and estimate, and let a person set the price. In step 4 the scope writer drafts what is in and out of scope, the assumptions, the risks and an estimate per part, and in step 5 the solutions architect corrects it.
Have one person approve scope, price and payment terms before anything reaches the prospect. Step 6 is an approval gate: presenting the proposal stays locked until the agency director approves it.
Pass the approved scope and the signed statement of work to delivery on the day the deal is won. Step 9 records the outcome, confirms the statement of work is stored and starts the build and handover run with the delivery manager.
Run this workflow in OKiDO
Set up the steps, owners and approvals once, then start a run for every new case.