The Orion AI Outcomes Pitch

Overview

The Orion AI Outcomes (OAIO) Pitch is a one-hour executive sales conversation designed to reframe AI from a technology problem to a business outcome problem. The goal is to earn commitment to begin Pillar 1.

Key Objectives

1. Establish credibility - Position yourself as a strategic advisor, not a technology vendor
2. Create urgency - Help executives see the cost of inaction
3. Reframe the problem - Move from "AI technology" to "AI adoption and value"
4. Secure commitment - Earn agreement to begin the structured journey

Partner Ecosystem: Making It Easy to Say Yes

Cloud Partner Subsidies

OAIO is eligible for funding through cloud partner programs:

• AWS - Pillar 1 engagements can be funded through AWS Partner programs, reducing or eliminating direct client cost for the initial assessment
• Microsoft - Azure consumption commitments and partner incentives can offset engagement costs

Key talking point: "This engagement is subsidized through our cloud partnerships. Your investment is minimal, and in many cases, the initial assessment is fully funded."

AI Platform Integration

We bring leading AI capabilities without requiring vendor lock-in:

• OpenAI - GPT models for analysis, summarization, and intelligent workflows
• Anthropic - Claude for complex reasoning and safety-conscious applications
• Google - Gemini and Vertex AI for enterprise-grade solutions

Key talking point: "We're platform-agnostic. We'll help you choose the right AI capabilities for your specific use cases, not push a single vendor's solution."

Survey & Analysis Platform

• Superintelligent - AI-powered organizational surveys that capture operational truth at scale with minimal disruption. Unlike traditional surveys, Superintelligent uses AI to conduct dynamic, conversational assessments that surface insights traditional methods miss.

Key talking point: "Our survey platform uses AI to have real conversations with your employees—not just collect checkbox responses. This gives us evidence-based insights in weeks, not months."

Why This Matters for the Pitch

When presenting the engagement:

1. Lead with low risk - "This is subsidized through our cloud partnerships"
2. Emphasize bounded scope - "Pillar 1 is a 4-6 week assessment, not a multi-year commitment"
3. Remove vendor anxiety - "We're platform-agnostic and won't lock you into any single AI provider"
4. Show immediate value - "You'll have prioritized use cases and clear next steps, regardless of whether you continue with us"

The Conversation Flow

Opening (5 minutes)

Start with context, not credentials. The executive already agreed to the meeting, so don't waste time on background.

• Acknowledge their time
• State the purpose clearly
• Set expectations for the conversation

Market Reality (10 minutes)

Help them see the landscape clearly:

• AI is reshaping professional services
• Speed, consistency, and trust are becoming table stakes
• Standing still leads to gradual irrelevance, not dramatic failure

The Hidden Failure Mode (10 minutes)

This is where most AI efforts go wrong:

• Pilots stall without path to production
• Tools go unused after initial excitement
• Shadow AI emerges outside governance
• The issue is not models—it is adoption, trust, and ownership

Why This Is Hard (5 minutes)

Acknowledge the difficulty specific to their context:

• Highly regulated, judgment-heavy work
• Liability-sensitive decisions
• Moving fast increases risk
• Moving slow creates drift

The Orion AI Outcomes Thesis (10 minutes)

Present the core thesis:

AI creates value only when it is adopted into real workflows, under trust and economic control.

Explain the five-pillar decision sequence as a progression, not a menu.

What We Recommend (10 minutes)

Propose Pillar 1 as the starting point:

• Lightweight executive alignment
• Superintelligent survey for evidence
• Decision workshop for prioritization

Emphasize: this is low risk, cloud service provider–subsidized, bounded scope.

Close (10 minutes)

Secure the next step:

• Summarize what they'll get from Pillar 1
• Address any concerns
• Propose specific next steps and timeline

---

Slide-by-Slide Talking Points

Use these notes alongside the OAIO Pitch Deck. Each slide includes key messages, what to emphasize, and transitions.

Slide 1: Title and Context

Key Message: From AI Anxiety to Adopted Outcomes

What to Emphasize:

• This conversation is about business outcomes, not technology
• AI anxiety is universal right now - acknowledge it
• The goal is clarity and control, not just capability

Discovery Question: "What's keeping you up at night about AI?"

Transition: "Let me share what we're seeing in the market..."

---

Slide 2: Market Reality

Key Message: AI is reshaping professional services; standing still leads to gradual irrelevance.

What to Emphasize:

• The threat is not dramatic disruption, it's gradual drift
• Competitors are moving - even if quietly
• Client expectations are shifting

Discovery Question: "What are you hearing from your clients about AI?"

Transition: "The challenge is, most organizations that try to move forward fail quietly..."

---

Slide 3: The Hidden Failure Mode

Key Message: Most AI efforts fail quietly: stalled pilots, unused tools, shadow AI.

What to Emphasize:

• Pilots that never reach production
• Tools that get abandoned after initial excitement
• Shadow AI emerging outside governance
• This is NOT a technology problem

Discovery Question: "Have you seen this pattern in your organization?"

Transition: "There's a reason why this is so hard..."

---

Slide 4: Why This Is Hard

Key Message: Regulated, judgment-heavy work breaks naive AI approaches.

What to Emphasize:

• Generic AI playbooks don't work for professional services
• Liability and compliance add complexity
• Moving fast creates real risk
• Moving slow creates drift

Discovery Question: "Where do you feel the tension between moving fast and maintaining control?"

Transition: "This is why we've developed a different approach..."

---

Slide 5: OAIO Thesis

Key Message: AI creates value only when adopted under trust and economic control.

What to Emphasize:

• Adoption is the metric that matters - not capability
• Trust must be built, not assumed
• Economics must be visible and controlled
• This reframes AI from technology to operating model

Discovery Question: "Does this framing resonate with your experience?"

Transition: "Our philosophy is: slow is smooth, smooth is fast..."

---

Slide 6: Slow Is Smooth; Smooth Is Fast

Key Message: Deliberate sequencing avoids rework and lost confidence.

What to Emphasize:

• Rushing creates rework
• Lost confidence is expensive to rebuild
• Sequential decisions build on stable foundations
• Organizations that move deliberately actually go faster

Discovery Question: "Where have you seen rushing create problems?"

Transition: "This brings us to our five-pillar approach..."

---

Slide 7: Five-Pillar Decision Sequence

Key Message: A progression of decisions, not a menu of services.

What to Emphasize:

• Each pillar answers a specific question
• The sequence matters - you can't skip ahead
• Each pillar produces decisions, not just analysis
• Named accountability at every stage

Walk Through Briefly:

1. Value and Adoption - Where should AI be operationalized?
2. Data Readiness - Is the data accessible and governed?
3. AI Protection - What are the permission boundaries?
4. Experience Design - How will humans and AI work together?
5. FinOps - What will it cost and how will we control it?

Transition: "Let me show you what this looks like in practice..."

---

Slide 8: What We See Working

Key Message: NorthRidge example: unmanaged to governed to measurable.

What to Emphasize:

• Real example of transformation
• Started with anxiety, ended with control
• The journey is structured but not rigid
• Results came from deliberate sequencing

Discovery Question: "What parts of this resonate with your situation?"

Transition: "The question is: where should you start?"

---

Slide 9: Why Start with Pillar 1

Key Message: Without clarity on value, everything downstream is speculative.

What to Emphasize:

• Pillar 1 answers the foundational question first
• No point building governance for undefined use cases
• No point modeling economics for unknown agents
• This creates the decision foundation

Discovery Question: "Do you have clarity on where AI should be operationalized?"

Transition: "Let me be specific about what Pillar 1 actually involves..."

---

Slide 10: What Pillar 1 Actually Is

Key Message: Virtual alignment, Superintelligent survey, and Decision workshop.

What to Emphasize:

• Three distinct activities with clear outputs
• Virtual alignment ensures executive buy-in
• Survey provides organizational-wide signal
• Workshop produces prioritized decisions

Walk Through:

• 2-hour virtual alignment session
• 10-12 minute survey deployed broadly
• 1-1.5 day decision workshop
• Total elapsed time: 4-6 weeks

Transition: "And here's why this is low risk to get started..."

---

Slide 11: Why This Is Low Risk

Key Message: Cloud-subsidized, bounded scope, no lock-in.

What to Emphasize:

• AWS/Microsoft subsidize through partner programs
• Bounded scope: weeks, not months
• You get value regardless of next steps
• Platform agnostic - no vendor lock-in

Key Talking Point: "Your investment is minimal, and in many cases, the initial assessment is fully funded through our cloud partnerships."

Transition: "So here's what I'm recommending..."

---

Slide 12: Call to Action

Key Message: Engage Pillar 1 to answer: where should intelligence be operationalized?

What to Emphasize:

• Specific ask: begin Pillar 1 engagement
• Clear output: prioritized use cases and decision framework
• Named sponsor and timeline
• Next step: schedule virtual alignment session

Close:

• "Based on our conversation, I recommend we begin with Pillar 1."
• "You'll get clarity on where AI should be operationalized, with prioritized use cases and clear next steps."
• "Can we schedule the virtual alignment session for next week?"

---

Common Objections

Success Criteria

A successful pitch results in:

• Clear understanding of the Orion AI Outcomes approach
• Agreement that adoption is the core challenge
• Commitment to begin Pillar 1 engagement
• Identified executive sponsor and timeline

Related Materials

See the Collateral Library for:

• OAIO Introduction Email Template - Email template for requesting the initial meeting
• Orion AI Outcomes Pitch Deck
• Orion AI Outcomes One-Pager
• NorthRidge Case Study (anchor narrative)