TEAMSolutions Group Sales Enablement & Advisory · Symphony · Automation Expert
The 60-Minute Discovery

Invest an hour with me.

I'll invest several hours of real thinking into your business before I come back with anything.

An hour of your time. Several hours of mine afterwards, looking properly at what's happening in your business. Then a written response you can act on whether you hire me or not.

No pitch deck. No generic recommendations. No product being sold.

Just the kind of thinking you'd normally have to be a top-tier consulting client to receive, delivered for SMBs on the Mornington Peninsula and southeast Melbourne.

Book your Discovery →

Why I'm doing this

This is what prompted me to start offering the Discovery. A news story that confirmed what I'd been watching happen in my own social feed for months.

Why this offer exists

The local market is full of AI providers promising fast results at low prices. Some of them are fine. Most of them are selling packages that don't fit your business, because packages are easy to sell and custom thinking is hard.

I've spent 25+ years working on complex business problems across 15 countries. I've seen what happens when companies buy solutions that look good in a demo but don't fit how the business actually runs. The clean-up costs more than doing it right the first time.

I'm offering a 60-Minute Discovery because the only honest way to know whether I can help your business is to sit down and listen to it. Not for a pitch. For a proper conversation.

What happens in the hour

We meet in person where possible, or on video if that's easier. The conversation is recorded with your permission because I want to focus on listening, not note-taking.

I'll work through three questions with you.

01

What are you currently doing?

How does your business run today. Systems, tools, processes, team, where time and money are going.

02

What's broken or not working?

Where the real pain is. What's costing you time, money, or sleep.

03

What happens if it stays broken?

The consequences of doing nothing. Because if there's no consequence, there's no problem worth solving.

I'll ask follow-up questions. I'll push where I need to. I'll listen more than I talk. At the end of the hour, I'll tell you when to expect my written response.

The real work starts when you leave

This is where most AI providers would send you a proposal the next morning. I don't work that way.

Over the following days, I analyse the conversation properly. I look at what you said, what you didn't say, and what the patterns suggest. I research your industry, your specific challenges, and the real options that would make a difference. I think about what I'd actually recommend if your business was mine.

Several hours of work, behind the scenes, that you'll never see directly. That's deliberate. It's the reason my recommendations are worth more than a next-day proposal.

Within a few days of our meeting, you get a written response. Not a sales document. A considered view of what I heard, what I'd prioritise, and how I'd approach each thing if you decided to go ahead. Ballpark investment. Clear next step if you want it. Clean exit if you don't.

Free, with one condition

The hour is free. The thinking afterwards is free. The written response is free.

The one condition is that you have to be willing to hear the truth. If your business has a problem, I'll tell you. If AI isn't the right answer, I'll tell you that too. If you're looking for someone to confirm what you already want to do, this isn't the right conversation.

I can only do a handful of these each month. The ones I do are with owners who are ready to think honestly about their business.

If we work together

What you can count on

If the Discovery leads somewhere and we end up working together, here's what I commit to.

1

No lock-in contracts

Work with me for three months while we get things stable, then you can walk any time. No long tails. No debt collectors.

2

No hidden margins on software

If I'm reselling you a platform, I show you what it actually costs. I charge a reasonable handling fee on top. You'll know exactly what you're paying for.

3

No templated work dressed up as custom

Every business is different. If I'm not building something specifically for you, I'll tell you.

4

Honest advice, always

Sometimes what you need isn't AI. Sometimes it's better processes. Sometimes it's nothing I offer. I'll tell you, either way.

Who I'm looking to work with

You've built a business that works. Customers pay you. Cash comes in. You've got past the hardest bit, which is existing at all.

Now you've got the problems that come with a real business. Too much admin. Too many things only you can do. Not enough hours. Maybe not enough margin. Maybe plenty of margin but not enough time to enjoy it.

If that sounds like you, we should talk. Doesn't matter whether you're turning over $300K or $3M. Doesn't matter whether your team is two people or twenty. What matters is:

If you don't fit, I'll tell you in the first five minutes and we'll both save the rest of the hour.

Rick van Driel

About me

25+ years in enterprise technology across 15 countries. Implementation, solution design, sales and leadership at IBM, TechnologyOne, IFS, ABB and others. Hundreds of complex projects across industries that couldn't afford to get it wrong.

More than 15 of those years were in solution design and delivery. Working out what a business actually needed, then scoping the solution to fit. Technically aware, but I couldn't build what I could see needed to be built. That gap used to require a development team and a six-figure budget.

AI has changed that. Now I can scope the solution and build it myself. Which means I don't have to sell you a template just because a template is all I can deliver.

Automation Expert is what happens when that depth of experience gets applied to small and medium businesses at a price they can actually afford. AI makes this possible. Experience makes it worth something.

I'm local. I live on the Peninsula. The businesses I want to help are the ones I pass on the way to the beach.

Have a quick question instead? There's a chatbot in the bottom-right corner of this page. Ask it anything and it'll give you a straight answer. Good for one-off questions that don't need a full hour.

Not ready? Try the 7-Minute Check-Up first.

If an hour feels like too much commitment right now, start with the AI Readiness Check-Up instead. Eighteen plain-English questions. Seven minutes. A personalised 30-day action plan at the end.

It's the same thinking, just self-serve. Owners who do the Check-Up often come back for a Discovery once they've had a think about what it surfaced.

Take the 7-Minute Check-Up →

Frequently asked

Is this really free?
Yes. No card required. No hidden upsell. If I can't help, I'll say so and we're done.
Is this a sales call in disguise?
No. The hour is listening. The follow-up is thinking. If what comes out fits, we talk about working together. If it doesn't, you still keep the written response.
What if I'm not ready to buy anything?
Good. The hour is still worth having. Plenty of owners do the Discovery, take the response away, and come back six months later when the timing is right.
Do I need to prepare?
No formal preparation. Come ready to answer the three questions honestly. Bring anything that would help me understand your business if it feels relevant.
Why should I trust you over everyone else pitching me?
You shouldn't, yet. That's what the hour is for. Spend it with me, then decide.

Ready?

An hour of your time. Several hours of my thinking. A written response that tells you the truth.

Book your Discovery →
AE
Your Site Coach
AI for Small Business

Got a question about your business?

Chat with our AI Coach to explore how automation, AI, and a better website could save you time and win you customers.

This is an example of what we build. Your AI coach would be tailored to your business, your brand, and your customers.