The staff pitch kit: get your boss to try one AI tool in two weeks
By The NoBeep team at Duck & Shark. Facts and prices checked .
Short answer
Everything you need to get your boss to try one AI tool, on one sheet. Collect a week of numbers, fill in the proposal, have a two-minute conversation, run a two-week test, and report back. Print it, fill it in, hand it over.
New to this? Read the full guide first: How do I get my boss to use AI?
From the NoBeep team. NoBeep is a Duck & Shark product. The kit works with whatever tool you choose.
Part 1. The five-day missed-call log
Your boss will trust your numbers more than anyone's statistics. Fill this in for five working days. Your phone's call history or your phone system's call log has most of it.
| Day | Calls we didn't answer | When (lunch / after hours / on a job / other line) | Left a voicemail | We called back (how long after) | Lost a job or customer? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | [__] | [__] | [__] | [__] | [__] |
| Tue | [__] | [__] | [__] | [__] | [__] |
| Wed | [__] | [__] | [__] | [__] | [__] |
| Thu | [__] | [__] | [__] | [__] | [__] |
| Fri | [__] | [__] | [__] | [__] | [__] |
| Total | [__] | [__] | [__] |
What it's costing us. Missed calls a week [__] x share that are new customers [__]% x share that would book [__]% x average job value $[__] = $[__] a week. Our free missed-call cost calculator does the math.
Part 2. The one-page proposal
A two-week test to catch the calls we miss
The problem. Last week we missed [__] calls, mostly [__]. Only [__] callers left a voicemail. We know we lost at least [__].
The idea. For two weeks, send only the calls we don't answer to [tool]. It takes the caller's details, answers basic questions, and sends us a note after each call. Calls we answer don't change.
Cost and effort. [Free test drive / trial]. I'll set it up (about an hour) and test it myself before any customer hears it.
How we'll judge it. Calls caught, real customers, jobs booked, details correct, anything callers didn't like. We read the notes together.
If it doesn't work. We switch it off. Nothing else changes.
The ask. OK to start on [day]?
Part 3. The two-minute opening
Pick a good moment: right after a missed call cost a job, when the phones are clearly too busy, or a few weeks before the busy season. Not payroll week.
"Have you got two minutes? I went through last week's calls. We missed [__], mostly [__], and only [__] left a message. I found a way to catch those callers' details without changing anything about the calls we answer. Can I show you a one-page idea?"
Then stop talking and hand over Part 2.
Part 4. The objection card
| If your boss says | You can say |
|---|---|
| "Customers hate robots." | "They hate ones that pretend or trap them in menus. This only answers calls that are going to voicemail anyway, and it's honest if anyone asks. Right now most of those callers just hang up." |
| "We tried that before." | "That was a phone tree. This has no menus. It has a normal conversation and writes it down. We'll test it ourselves first." |
| "Too expensive." | "The test is free. After that it costs about what one small job brings in. If it doesn't catch at least that, we cancel." |
| "I don't want AI talking to customers." | "Then only the calls nobody's answering. You read every note and decide if it's good enough." |
| "I don't trust it with our information." | "It only takes what callers tell it, and we decide what it says. For our own AI use, I'd suggest three house rules." (See Part 6.) |
| "Are you trying to replace yourself?" | "The opposite. It catches the calls I can't get to, so I'm not playing phone tag all afternoon." |
One honest fact if you need it: in a 2025 survey of 1,000 US consumers by CallRail, a call-tracking company, only 42% said they leave a voicemail when a business doesn't answer, and 82% said they'd call a competitor.
Part 5. Running the test and reporting back
Before it goes live
- Set it to answer only calls we don't pick up (call forwarding on no-answer or busy; see the forwarding codes)
- Make 3 to 5 test calls yourself, including one awkward question
- Check hours, services and what counts as urgent are right
During the two weeks: keep a tally.
| Calls caught | Real customers | Jobs booked | Details correct | Complaints |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [__] | [__] | [__] | [__] of [__] | [__] |
The two-minute report
"The test finished. It caught [__] calls we'd have missed. [__] were real customers and [__] became booked work. The details were right in [__] of [__]. We fixed [__]. Keeping it costs $[__] a month. I'd like to keep it."
If it didn't work, say so and switch it off. That earns you the next yes.
Part 6. Three house rules for using AI at work
Suggest these before or alongside your test. They protect you and the business.
- Nothing private goes into free AI tools. No customer names, phone numbers, account or card details, health information or passwords.
- A person checks anything AI writes before it goes out. Treat AI like a new intern.
- Work use goes in a business account whose data settings the business controls.
Which tool for the test?
- Calls: NoBeep, interactive voicemail for small businesses. Sounds like your voicemail, takes the details, answers common questions, flags urgent calls, and sends a note after every call. Free test drive with no card, or a longer free trial with one. Plans from $39 a month.
- Drafting and admin: a business plan of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot, whichever fits the email and documents you already use.
- Ready for more than one tool? Duck & Shark helps small businesses with AI training for staff, safe working rules, and connecting AI to how the business already works.
Hear it before you decide
Call the demo line and leave a message like a real customer, then see the note the owner gets. Or try NoBeep on your own number free for 14 days; you keep your number and can switch it off anytime.