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StagewiseConsult

The method

Seven stages, one continuous line of evidence.

Each stage has a clear purpose, a defined role for the consultant and for the AI, and a deliverable the client keeps. Findings pass forward without re-keying. Review loops back to Prioritise.

01Prepare

Arrive at the first conversation already knowing the business.

What the consultant does

  • Enters the company name or Companies House number.
  • Reviews and edits the brief, hypotheses and stakeholder map.
  • Chooses which questions to take into the call.

What the AI does

  • Assembles a research brief from Companies House, the client's website, reviews and the local market.
  • Drafts three to five starting hypotheses, each linked to its source.
  • Proposes a stakeholder map and a tailored question set.

The client receives

A short pre-meeting note setting out the agenda and what will be covered.

Hands over

Hypotheses and questions pass to Discover, ready to be tested on the call.

Harbour & Vale Plumbing Ltd / Engagement

Engagement

Harbour & Vale Plumbing Ltd

Stage 1 of 7

Evidence items

46

Hypotheses supported

3 of 4

Awaiting your approval

2

02Discover

Replace opinion with captured, attributable fact.

What the consultant does

  • Leads the call with a structured question guide.
  • Runs a missed-enquiry test, with the client's consent.
  • Agrees a confirmed problem statement with the client.

What the AI does

  • Captures facts as the client talks and files them against the right area.
  • Turns the consented transcript into tagged evidence.
  • Flags which hypotheses are supported, challenged or still open.

The client receives

A confirmed problem statement, in their own words.

Hands over

Every captured fact becomes evidence available to Diagnose.

Diagnose / Customer journey

Finding

Out-of-hours enquiries are not answered until the next working day.

Call log, 14 daysDiscovery call, 12:40

Suggested score 2 of 5 · Awaiting consultant

03Diagnose

Establish an honest, benchmarked view of where the business stands.

What the consultant does

  • Confirms or adjusts each score across the eight areas.
  • Compares the client's own view with the evidence.
  • Writes the headline findings.

What the AI does

  • Suggests a score from 1 (Ad hoc) to 5 (Optimised) with linked evidence.
  • Benchmarks each area against sector peers.
  • Drafts the diagnostic narrative for review.

The client receives

A diagnostic report with a readiness radar and sector benchmark.

Hands over

Low-scoring areas and their evidence become candidate moves for Prioritise.

Diagnose / Readiness assessment
StrategyCustomerMarketingSalesOperationsDataPeopleGovernance
ClientSector benchmark

Scores, 1 to 5

  • Strategy and leadership3.0
  • Customer journey and lead handling2.0
  • Marketing and visibility2.5
  • Sales process2.0
  • Operations and process3.0
  • Data and systems1.5
  • People and skills3.0
  • Governance and risk2.5

04Prioritise

Focus effort where it will make the most difference.

What the consultant does

  • Validates the current-state process map with the client.
  • Places candidate moves on an impact versus ease matrix.
  • Commits to a forced top three.

What the AI does

  • Draws the current-state map with a heat map of leakage.
  • Estimates impact and ease for each candidate move, with reasoning.
  • Highlights dependencies between moves.

The client receives

A one-page priorities summary with the top three moves.

Hands over

The top three moves pass to Justify for costing.

Prioritise / Impact and ease
Quick winsImpactEase123

Forced top three

  1. 1Out-of-hours call answering
  2. 2Job booking and dispatch
  3. 3Quote follow-up sequence

Three moves only. Everything else waits for the next review.

05Justify

Show, in figures the client can check, why each move is worth making.

What the consultant does

  • Reviews every assumption and its label.
  • Sets the conservative, expected and stretch scenarios.
  • Decides what goes in front of the client.

What the AI does

  • Builds costs, benefits, payback and return for each scenario.
  • Labels every assumption: client stated, measured, benchmark or estimate.
  • Runs sensitivity on the assumptions that matter most.

The client receives

A business case they can interrogate, with every figure sourced.

Hands over

The approved case becomes the commercial core of the Proposal.

Justify / Business case

Business case

Out-of-hours call answering

Illustrative figures

Conservative

11months

Payback, est. return 1.4x

Expected

7months

Payback, est. return 2.2x

Stretch

5months

Payback, est. return 3.1x

Cumulative cash, £k, months 0 to 14

Missed calls per week · MeasuredAverage job value · Client statedConversion rate · BenchmarkSet-up time · Estimate

06Propose

Make it easy for the client to say yes to a well-founded plan.

What the consultant does

  • Chooses the options to present and the phasing.
  • Sets roles and responsibilities.
  • Approves the proposal before it is sent.

What the AI does

  • Drafts the proposal from the diagnosis, priorities and business case.
  • Builds a phased roadmap.
  • Keeps every claim linked to its evidence.

The client receives

An interactive web proposal with options, roadmap, e-signature and deposit.

Hands over

Signature hands straight into delivery, with the baseline preserved for Review.

07Review

Show what has changed, honestly, and decide what comes next.

What the consultant does

  • Re-scores the assessment with the client.
  • Compares results with the business case estimates.
  • Agrees the next three priorities.

What the AI does

  • Assembles the baseline, current measures and variance.
  • Drafts the quarterly review narrative.
  • Suggests the next candidate moves.

The client receives

A quarterly review that shows progress against the original baseline.

Hands over

The next three priorities loop back into Prioritise.

Harbour & Vale Plumbing Ltd / Engagement

Engagement

Harbour & Vale Plumbing Ltd

Stage 7 of 7

Evidence items

46

Hypotheses supported

3 of 4

Awaiting your approval

2

Private walkthrough

See StagewiseConsult in a private walkthrough.

A focused session on your practice, your clients and how the seven stages would fit the way you work.

Only available to Ready Made Digital Platinum Franchise Partners.

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