How to AI

We hire people to do Jobs — these are bundles of work.

A Job SDR Sales Development Rep
One hire — one bundle of work

We bundle work because a) it makes the person effective — everything they need lives in one head, and b) it’s the only way to justify hiring someone for a role.

SDR
  • Research accounts
  • Find contacts
  • Write outreach
  • Handle replies
  • Book meetings
  • Update CRM
One role. Six different outcomes to own — every day.

AI isn’t effective at completing all of these task outcomes at once.

You

Research these 200 accounts, find the right contacts at each one, write personalised outreach, send three follow-ups, book meetings for next week, and keep the CRM updated as you go.

AI

Great question! Here's a 2,000-word overview of CRM hygiene best practices…

1 of 6 addressed Research accountsFind contactsWrite outreachHandle repliesBook meetings
Six outcomes in one prompt — the model picks its own favourite.

This means understanding what to achieve — and how — is hard.

Write outreach
  • Context — ICP, tone, real examples
  • Instructions — what good looks like
  • Tools — email, CRM access
  • Checks — review + feedback loop
Handle replies
  • Context — objections, pricing, FAQs
  • Instructions — when to escalate
  • Tools — inbox, calendar
  • Checks — human sign-off
Book meetings
  • Context — territories, routing rules
  • Instructions — qualification bar
  • Tools — calendar, CRM write
  • Checks — no-show follow-up
× every other task in the job
Each branch needs its own context, instructions, tools and checks before AI can own it.

AI systems are successful when you compound the creation instead of trying to get a tool to complete everything at once.

So don’t start with the job. Start with one task — the smallest one with a clear outcome.

SDR
  • Research accounts
  • Find contacts
  • Write outreach start here
  • Handle replies
  • Book meetings
  • Update CRM
Ignore the job. Pick one branch with a clear, checkable outcome.

Give that one task everything a good hire would get. Now it’s not a prompt — it’s a system.

Write outreach
  • Context — ICP, tone, ten real emails that worked
  • Instructions — one outcome: a sendable first draft
  • Tools — CRM read, email templates
  • Checks — a human approves every send
a system — not a prompt
Everything a good hire would get on day one, scoped to a single outcome.

Then keep going. Every system you ship makes the next one cheaper to build — and they start feeding each other.

Month 1
Write outreach
built from scratch
Month 2
Handle replies
Write outreach
reuses the tone, the CRM, the checks
Month 3
Research accounts
Handle replies
Write outreach
feeds the two below it
Each new system is cheaper than the last — the context, tools and trust carry over.

Until the branches reconnect — and the job re-emerges. Built, not hired.

  • Research accounts
  • Find contacts
  • Write outreach
  • Handle replies
  • Book meetings
  • Update CRM
SDR a system, not a seat
The same six branches — flowing back together, one solved task at a time.

You don’t hire AI to do a job. You grow it into one — one task at a time.

That’s how to AI.