If sales feel harder than they should, the cause is usually somewhere between the first enquiry and the sale. A reply that took two days. A quote nobody followed up. A Google rating that put people off before they called.
These are revenue leaks. AI can help you find them, but only if you ask it the right way.
Why most AI answers don't help
Ask ChatGPT “how do I get more sales?” and you'll get a list of general tips. It doesn't know your sector, your numbers or what you've already tried, so it guesses.
The fix isn't a cleverer AI. It's a better prompt: one that gives AI a real decision to make, your own evidence to work from and a way to check itself.
The seven parts of a revenue leak prompt
- Decision. Name the one question you need answered. “Which part of our enquiry-to-sale process is losing us the most revenue?” is a decision. “Help me grow” is not.
- Context. Tell it your sector, team size, monthly enquiries and how customers buy from you. Without this, the advice is generic.
- Evidence. Paste in your own data: reply times, review scores, enquiry numbers, conversion rates, with dates. Tell it to flag anything missing or out of date rather than fill the gap.
- Analysis. Point it at the few measures that matter for your business. A trades business and a finance broker don't leak revenue in the same places.
- Challenge. Ask for the strongest case that the real leak is somewhere else. This stops AI simply agreeing with you.
- Verification. Ask it to re-check every figure that changes the answer against your data. AI can be confidently wrong, so check the key numbers yourself too.
- Output. Ask for one priority, the likely impact as a range, the first action and what to measure next. Not a report.
Copy, fill in and run
Replace the brackets with your own details and paste it into ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude.
Decide: Which part of our enquiry-to-sale process is losing us the most revenue, and what should we fix first?
Context: We are a [SECTOR] business with [TEAM SIZE] staff, around [NUMBER] enquiries a month, selling through [CHANNELS].
Evidence: Use only the data below. Flag anything missing or older than [X] months. [PASTE DATA]
Analyse: Look at reply speed, follow-up, review score and enquiry-to-sale conversion.
Challenge: Then give the strongest case that the real leak is somewhere else.
Verify: Re-check every figure that drives your answer against the data.
Output: One priority, the likely impact as a range, the first action, and what to measure next.
Run it as a loop
One answer is a starting point. Fix the leak it identifies, measure the result for a few weeks, then run the prompt again with the new data. Each round fixes one leak and gives you cleaner numbers for the next.
What to fix before paid ads
Paid advertising sends more people into your process. If that process is leaking, you pay for traffic that never converts. Check these first:
- Reply speed. How long does a new enquiry wait for a real response?
- Follow-up. What happens to quotes and enquiries that don't convert first time?
- Reviews. How many do you have, how recent are they and how do they read?
- Discoverability. Can customers find you when they search on Google or ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude for a recommendation?
Once these are in order, you have a clear baseline to judge whether ads are worth the spend.
Common questions
Which AI tool should I use?
The prompt works in ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. Use whichever you're comfortable with. The structure matters more than the tool.
What data do I need?
Start with what you have: enquiry numbers, how long replies take, your review score and how many enquiries become sales. Gaps are fine, as long as the prompt tells AI to flag them rather than guess.
Can I trust the answer?
Treat it as a well-argued first opinion, not a verdict. That's why the Challenge and Verification steps are there, and why you should check the key figures yourself before acting.
How often should I run it?
After each change you make, once you have a few weeks of new data to compare.
Want it run on your numbers?
If you'd rather have the diagnosis done properly, I'll work through your enquiry-to-sale process with you and show you where the revenue is going.
