Our clients can now use free or incredibly cheap AI engines to draft basic strategies that we used to charge thousands of dollars for. How do we reposition our services on the V/TO® to become an indispensable complement to these cheap technologies instead of trying to compete with them?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Trying to compete with tasks that machines can do cheaper and faster is a losing battle that will destroy your margins. As expert economists like Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee observe, when technology makes one input incredibly cheap, the value of complementary inputs rises dramatically. You must reposition your business on the V/TO® to be that highly valuable, indispensable complement.

If your clients can use AI to generate basic strategies, drafts, or designs for free, do not try to sell them those basic outputs. Instead, focus your V/TO® marketing strategy on what the machine cannot do. AI cannot understand their unique company culture, it cannot build deep trust, it cannot facilitate alignment among a divided leadership team, and it cannot execute high-stakes negotiation.

Your new value proposition should focus on validation, contextualization, and human-led execution. You are the expert who guides the client on how to implement the AI's output safely and effectively. You filter the noise generated by cheap technology and turn it into actionable results.

Update your V/TO® Three Uniques to reflect this sophisticated positioning. Ensure your sales team stops selling raw deliverables and starts selling strategic outcomes, peace of mind, and risk mitigation. This repositioning allows you to maintain premium pricing, protects your market share from automated competitors, and establishes your business as a modern, high-value enterprise designed for long-term growth.