The 90-Day AI ROI Guarantee: How It Works, What's Covered & Why It Matters

"We need AI, but we can't afford to spend £50K on a failed experiment."

This is what 8 out of 10 mid-market buyers tell us during discovery calls. They've read the McKinsey reports about AI transformation. They've watched competitors announce AI initiatives. They know they need to move.

But they've also seen the headlines: "70% of AI Projects Fail to Deliver ROI." They've heard the horror stories from peers: £150K spent on a chatbot that nobody uses. Six months of consulting fees with no measurable outcome. A "strategic AI roadmap" that's still sitting in a drawer 18 months later.

The risk feels existential. Spend too little and you get nothing. Spend too much and you bet the department budget on an uncertain outcome. Either way, your job is on the line if it doesn't work.

This is why we offer a 90-Day ROI Guarantee.

Not as a marketing gimmick. Not as a "satisfaction guarantee" with vague terms. A contractual commitment: measurable ROI within 90 days, or we keep working at no cost until you get it — or you get a refund.

This guide explains how the guarantee works, what's covered, your obligations, and why we can offer it when Big 4 firms and most boutique consultancies cannot.

What Is the 90-Day ROI Guarantee?

The 90-Day ROI Guarantee is a contractual clause in every Phoenix AI Solutions implementation agreement for mid-market projects (£35K-£150K). It has three components:

1. The Commitment

We commit that you will achieve measurable, positive ROI within 90 days of system deployment based on pre-agreed metrics and baseline data.

"Measurable ROI" means:

• Time savings: Hours saved × loaded labor cost (agreed multiplier, typically £40-£80/hour depending on role)
• Revenue impact: Increased pipeline, improved conversion, reduced churn (tracked via your existing CRM/reporting)
• Cost reduction: Errors eliminated, manual processes removed, vendor costs avoided

"Positive ROI" means: Total quantified benefit exceeds total implementation cost by a pre-agreed margin (typically 1.5x-2x minimum, project-dependent).

"90 days of deployment" means: 90 calendar days after the AI system is live and available to end users, not 90 days from contract signature. Implementation time (typically 8-12 weeks) is separate.

2. The Measurement Framework

ROI is measured using a methodology established before implementation begins and documented in your Statement of Work:

Baseline establishment (Weeks 1-2 of project):

• Current state metrics: time spent on target tasks, error rates, conversion rates, manual costs
• Baseline validation: we audit a sample of transactions/processes to verify your data
• Metric agreement: both parties sign off on what will be measured and how

Tracking period (Weeks 1-12 post-deployment):

• Weekly data collection using the same methodology as baseline
• Comparison against baseline to calculate time savings, revenue lift, cost reduction
• Monthly ROI reports showing cumulative progress, variance analysis, and optimization recommendations

Final assessment (Day 90):

• Final ROI calculation: (Total quantified benefits - Total implementation cost) / Total implementation cost × 100
• Comparison against guaranteed minimum ROI threshold
• Determination of whether guarantee terms are met, partially met, or unmet

Example from a £45K professional services implementation:

Metric	Baseline	Day 90	Improvement	Value
Lead qualification time	25 min/lead	8 min/lead	-68%	£42K/year
Proposal generation time	4.5 hrs/proposal	1.2 hrs/proposal	-73%	£28K/year
CRM data entry time	12 hrs/week	2 hrs/week	-83%	£18K/year
Total annual benefit				£88K
Implementation cost				£45K
First-year ROI				196%
Payback period				6.1 months

This client achieved 196% ROI by month 3. By month 12, cumulative benefits exceeded £88K against a one-time £45K investment.

3. The Remedy

If the guaranteed ROI threshold is not met at day 90:

Option A: Continued optimization (default) We continue optimization work at no additional cost until ROI threshold is achieved. This includes:

• Root cause analysis of underperformance
• Workflow adjustments, prompt engineering, integration fixes
• Additional training and change management support
• Weekly progress reviews until target is met

This is the default remedy because most clients prefer to achieve the ROI rather than receive a refund. We've never had a project fail to achieve ROI after extended optimization (longest extension: 6 additional weeks).

Option B: Pro-rata refund If you prefer not to continue optimization, or if 8 additional weeks of optimization do not achieve target, you receive a pro-rata refund based on the gap between achieved and target ROI.

Refund calculation:

ROI Gap = (Target ROI % - Achieved ROI %) / Target ROI %
Refund Amount = Implementation Fee × ROI Gap × 0.5

The 0.5 multiplier reflects risk-sharing: we absorb 50% of the gap, you absorb 50%, which is fairer than all-or-nothing approaches.

Example:

• Implementation fee: £50K
• Target ROI: 200% (£100K benefit)
• Achieved ROI: 120% (£60K benefit)
• Gap: 40% of target (80 percentage points)
• Refund: £50K × 40% × 0.5 = £10K

You net £60K benefit, pay £40K (£50K - £10K refund) = 150% ROI on net cost.

What does NOT trigger a refund:

• Project delays caused by client (slow approvals, data access delays, stakeholder availability)
• Scope changes requested mid-project that alter baseline assumptions
• Force majeure (regulatory changes, data breaches, system failures outside our control)
• Poor user adoption despite training and change management support (if client fails to enforce usage)

These exclusions are standard in the industry and documented clearly in the contract. They represent scenarios where ROI failure is attributable to client-side factors, not implementation quality.

How Phoenix AI's Guarantee Works: The 8-Week Implementation Process

Understanding when the 90-day clock starts is critical. It does not start when you sign the contract. It starts when the system is live and users can begin using it.

Here's the typical timeline for a £35K-£65K mid-market implementation:

Weeks 1-2: Discovery and Baseline

• Stakeholder interviews and process mapping
• System audit (CRM, database, existing tools)
• Baseline data collection and validation
• ROI framework agreement and contract documentation

Key deliverable: Signed Statement of Work with baseline metrics and guaranteed ROI threshold

Weeks 3-6: Build and Integration

• AI workflow development and testing
• Integration with CRM, database, or other systems
• Data migration and quality assurance
• Internal testing and refinement

Key deliverable: Fully functional AI system in staging environment

Weeks 7-8: Training and Deployment

• Team training (2-3 sessions, 2-3 hours each)
• Go-live support and troubleshooting
• User onboarding and adoption monitoring
• Initial performance tracking begins

Key deliverable: Production deployment with users actively using the system

Weeks 9-20: 90-Day Measurement Period (12 weeks post-deployment)

• Weekly data collection and ROI tracking
• Monthly progress reports and optimization recommendations
• Continuous support (technical issues, workflow adjustments, adoption challenges)
• Milestone checkpoints at week 4, 8, and 12

Key deliverable: Final ROI report at day 90 with guarantee assessment

Total timeline from contract signature to guarantee assessment: 20-22 weeks (5-5.5 months).

Most projects deploy by week 8-10, meaning the full implementation and measurement period is complete within 6 months of contract signature.

What's Covered by the Guarantee (and What Isn't)

Not all AI projects are suitable for a 90-day ROI guarantee. We only extend the guarantee to projects where:

1. ROI is measurable in 90 days (time savings, conversion lift, cost reduction — not brand value or strategic positioning)
2. We control the implementation (not dependent on third-party vendors, regulatory approvals, or client-side development)
3. Baseline data exists (you have historical data to measure improvement against)

✅ Covered Use Cases

Sales automation:

• Lead generation and qualification
• Outreach automation and follow-up
• CRM enrichment and data hygiene
• Proposal generation
• Pipeline forecasting

Operations automation:

• Document processing (invoices, contracts, forms)
• Data entry and validation
• Workflow orchestration
• Reporting and dashboard automation
• Email triage and routing

Customer service AI:

• Chatbots and virtual assistants
• Email response automation
• Knowledge base search
• Ticket triage and routing
• Customer feedback analysis

Content generation:

• SEO content (blog posts, landing pages, product descriptions)
• Social media content
• Email campaigns
• Internal documentation

Data analysis and reporting:

• Automated reporting dashboards
• Predictive analytics (churn, demand, pricing)
• Anomaly detection
• Business intelligence automation

85% of mid-market AI use cases fall into these categories and are covered by the guarantee.

❌ Not Covered

Experimental AI research: Projects exploring new AI capabilities without proven ROI methodology. Example: "Can AI analyze customer sentiment in unstructured feedback and predict churn?" Maybe, but ROI is uncertain.

Greenfield product development: Building new AI-powered products or features for external customers. Example: "Build an AI-powered risk scoring tool we can sell to clients." ROI depends on sales success, which we don't control.

Projects requiring regulatory approval: Implementations in heavily regulated industries (finance, healthcare, legal) where compliance reviews delay deployment by 3-6 months. Example: AI-powered medical diagnosis tool requiring MHRA approval.

Implementations dependent on third-party vendors we don't control: Projects where delays or failures can be caused by vendors outside our influence. Example: AI integration with a legacy ERP system maintained by a vendor with 6-week change request cycles.

Projects with no baseline data: Startups or new business units without historical data to establish baseline performance. Example: "We're launching a new product line next quarter and want AI to handle customer inquiries." No baseline = no ROI measurement.

Highly seasonal businesses without normalization: Businesses where performance varies 3x+ by season and 90 days doesn't capture a full cycle. Example: Retail with 60% of revenue in Q4. We can still work with you, but guarantee terms are modified (e.g., measured over 6-12 months instead of 90 days).

Organizations undergoing M&A: Companies in active merger, acquisition, or restructuring where team changes, system migrations, or strategy shifts will disrupt measurement. Guarantee can be offered post-transition.

We'll tell you during the discovery call if your use case qualifies for the standard 90-day guarantee, requires modified terms (longer measurement period), or is not suitable for a performance guarantee.

Why Phoenix AI Can Offer This Guarantee (and Big 4 Firms Can't)

Only 4 of 150+ UK AI consultancies offer contractual ROI guarantees with defined remedies. The Big 4 (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) and most boutique firms do not.

Why?

1. We Use Proven Frameworks, Not Experimental R&D

Big 4 firms position AI as "transformation" — multi-month discovery phases, strategic roadmaps, change management programs. This generates £500K-£2M in fees but delivers uncertain ROI.

We position AI as operational efficiency — proven playbooks for common use cases (sales automation, document processing, customer service) with known implementation patterns and predictable timelines.

Every Phoenix AI implementation follows one of 8 core frameworks we've refined over 40+ mid-market projects. We know what works, how long it takes, and what ROI to expect.

This is why we can guarantee ROI. We're not experimenting — we're executing a repeatable methodology.

2. We Focus on Near-Term ROI, Not AI Moonshots

Big 4 firms chase ambitious "AI-powered transformation" projects:

• Predictive maintenance using sensor data and ML models (12-18 month deployment)
• AI-driven pricing optimization across 50,000 SKUs (6-12 month build)
• Generative AI for product design and innovation (open-ended R&D)

These may create value eventually, but ROI is uncertain and far out in time.

Phoenix AI targets near-term ROI use cases:

• Sales team spends 15 hrs/week on manual follow-up → automate it, save £42K/year, deploy in 8 weeks
• Invoices processed manually at £4.50 each → automate for £0.30 each, save £35K/year, deploy in 10 weeks
• Customer service team handles 300 routine inquiries/week → deflect 60% to AI, save £28K/year, deploy in 9 weeks

ROI is immediate, measurable, and predictable because we focus on operational efficiency, not speculative innovation.

3. We Deploy in 8-12 Weeks, Not 6-12 Months

Big 4 timelines:

• Discovery and strategy: 8-12 weeks (£80K-£150K)
• Development and integration: 12-24 weeks (£200K-£500K)
• Testing and optimization: 8-12 weeks (£80K-£150K)
• Change management: Ongoing (£50K-£100K)

Total: 28-48 weeks, £410K-£900K. ROI? "We'll measure that in year 2."

Phoenix AI timelines:

• Discovery and baseline: 2 weeks
• Build and integration: 4 weeks
• Training and deployment: 2 weeks
• Total: 8-12 weeks, £35K-£150K

Fast deployment = less time for scope creep, stakeholder changes, or delays that kill ROI.

4. We Have Skin in the Game

Big 4 firms bill by the hour. Every meeting, every status update, every change request generates revenue. A 12-month project that runs to 18 months is not a failure — it's 50% more billable hours.

Phoenix AI is a boutique consultancy. Our revenue depends on client success and repeat business, not duration. If a project fails, we lose the client, the referral, and the case study. Our reputation is tied to every single engagement.

This is why we can afford to offer a guarantee. We only profit if you succeed.

5. We Measure ROI Objectively, Not with "Value Realization" Theater

Big 4 firms produce "Value Realization Reports" at the end of projects:

• "AI initiative improved decision quality" (unmeasured)
• "Strategic positioning for future AI adoption" (no near-term ROI)
• "Enhanced organizational AI maturity" (consulting speak for "we trained some people")

These reports exist to justify the spend, not measure real ROI.

Phoenix AI measures ROI using your data, your metrics, your P&L impact:

• Hours saved (tracked via time logs or process sampling)
• Revenue lift (tracked via CRM pipeline and conversion data)
• Cost reduction (tracked via vendor invoices or operational cost accounting)

If we can't measure it objectively, we don't claim it as ROI.

Real Examples: Phoenix AI Guarantee in Action

Case Study 1: Professional Services Firm (£45K Implementation)

Client: 35-person consulting firm, £8M revenue, manual proposal generation and CRM management

Problem: Partners and senior consultants spent 12+ hours/week on non-billable admin (proposals, CRM updates, reporting). This represented £96K annually in lost billable capacity.

Solution: AI-powered proposal generation (3 hours → 45 minutes), CRM auto-enrichment, and automated reporting dashboards. Implementation: 9 weeks, £45K.

Guarantee terms: 150% ROI in 90 days (£67.5K benefit) or continued optimization

Results at day 90:

• Proposal generation time: -73% (4.5 hrs → 1.2 hrs per proposal)
• CRM data entry time: -83% (12 hrs/week → 2 hrs/week)
• Senior consultant capacity reclaimed: 8.5 hrs/week × 6 people = 51 hrs/week
• Value (at £85/hr blended rate): £51 × 52 weeks = £265K annually, £66K in first 90 days
• First 90 days ROI: 147% (just below target)
• Extended optimization (4 weeks): Additional workflow improvements pushed ROI to 168%

Outcome: Guarantee met after 4-week extension. Client renewed for phase 2 (customer service AI).

Case Study 2: Accounting Firm (£38K Implementation)

Client: 18-person accounting practice, £3.5M revenue, manual invoice processing and client onboarding

Problem: Admin team spent 25 hrs/week processing invoices, chasing missing data, and onboarding new clients. Error rate: 4.2% (requiring rework).

Solution: AI document processing for invoices (OCR + validation), automated client onboarding workflows, email triage. Implementation: 8 weeks, £38K.

Guarantee terms: 180% ROI in 90 days (£68.4K benefit) or pro-rata refund

Results at day 90:

• Invoice processing time: -78% (25 hrs/week → 5.5 hrs/week)
• Error rate: -89% (4.2% → 0.46%)
• Admin capacity reclaimed: 19.5 hrs/week
• Value: £19.5/week × £32/hr × 52 weeks = £32.4K annually, £8.1K in first 90 days
• Additional value: Rework elimination (4.2% error rate cost £18K/year in writeoffs and redo time) = £4.5K in 90 days
• Total 90-day value: £12.6K
• First 90 days ROI: 33% (well below target)

What went wrong: User adoption was only 45% due to insufficient training and resistance from senior accountant who preferred manual review.

Remedy invoked: Continued optimization at no cost

• Additional 1:1 training for senior accountant
• Modified workflow to preserve manual review step (with AI pre-check reducing review time by 60%)
• Change management support from managing partner

Results after 6-week extension:

• Adoption increased to 82%
• Time savings: 19.5 hrs/week → 16 hrs/week (reduced but still significant)
• ROI recalculated: £16 hrs/week × £32/hr × 52 weeks = £26.6K annually, £19.9K over 19 weeks
• Extended period ROI: 202% (guarantee met)

Outcome: Guarantee met after addressing adoption issues. Client lesson: change management is critical, even with strong tech.

Case Study 3: SaaS Company (£52K Implementation)

Client: 45-person B2B SaaS company, £6M ARR, manual lead qualification and customer onboarding

Problem: SDR team spent 18 hrs/week manually qualifying inbound leads (60% unqualified). Onboarding required 8 hrs per customer (CSM capacity constraint limiting growth).

Solution: AI lead scoring and auto-qualification (integrated with HubSpot), automated onboarding workflows (document collection, training scheduling, setup tasks). Implementation: 11 weeks, £52K.

Guarantee terms: 200% ROI in 90 days (£104K benefit) or pro-rata refund

Results at day 90:

• Lead qualification time: -71% (18 hrs/week → 5.2 hrs/week)
• Lead quality (SQLs/MQLs): +34% (better scoring reduced wasted sales time)
• Onboarding time: -63% (8 hrs/customer → 3 hrs/customer)
• CSM capacity unlocked: 5 hrs/week × 3 CSMs = 15 hrs/week
• Pipeline impact: 34% improvement in SQL quality = 12% increase in win rate (tracked over 90 days)
• Revenue impact: 12% win rate improvement × £180K avg deal size × 8 deals in period = £172K additional pipeline (weighted at 50% confidence for 90-day ROI = £86K)
• Time savings value: (12.8 hrs SDR + 15 hrs CSM) × £45/hr × 13 weeks = £16.3K
• Total 90-day value: £102.3K
• First 90 days ROI: 197% (just below target)

Remedy: Client chose to accept 197% ROI (within 3% of target) rather than extend optimization. Guarantee technically unmet but client satisfied.

Outcome: Client proceeded to phase 2 (customer churn prediction). Quote from VP Revenue: "We're not going to haggle over 3% when you've delivered £102K in value and we're just getting started."

Comparison: Phoenix AI vs Other UK AI Firms

How does our guarantee compare to other UK AI consultancies?

Feature	Phoenix AI	Big 4 (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG)	Boutique AI Firms	Off-the-Shelf AI Tools
Performance guarantee	Yes (contractual ROI)	No	Rare (2-3 firms)	No
Timeline to ROI	90 days post-deployment	12-24 months	Varies (6-18 months)	Immediate (if it works)
Typical project cost	£35K-£150K	£250K-£2M+	£50K-£300K	£500-£5K/month + setup
Refund if ROI not met	Yes (pro-rata)	No	No	Subscription cancellation
Mid-market focus	Yes (£10M-£250M revenue)	No (£500M+)	Sometimes	Yes
Custom implementation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Limited customization
Proven frameworks	Yes (8 core playbooks)	Custom strategy each time	Varies	Pre-built (limited flexibility)
Deployment speed	8-12 weeks	24-48 weeks	12-24 weeks	Days (if no integration needed)

For risk-averse mid-market buyers, Phoenix AI offers the best balance: custom implementation, proven methodology, fast deployment, and contractual guarantee — at a fraction of Big 4 cost.

For buyers willing to accept subscription risk, off-the-shelf tools (Intercom AI, HubSpot AI, Zendesk AI) can work for simple use cases. But they lack customization and often fail to integrate with your existing systems and workflows.

Your Obligations: What You Must Do to Maintain the Guarantee

The 90-Day ROI Guarantee is a partnership, not a magic button. We cannot deliver ROI if you don't meet basic collaboration obligations.

1. Provide Accurate Baseline Data (Weeks 1-2)

You must provide historical data to establish baseline performance:

• Time logs, process samples, or manager estimates of time spent on target tasks
• Historical conversion rates, pipeline data, or cost data (depending on use case)
• Access to systems for data validation (CRM, database, reporting tools)

What we don't require: Perfect data. We can work with estimates and sampling. But data must be representative and verifiable.

What voids the guarantee: Refusal to provide any baseline data, or knowingly providing false data to inflate expected ROI.

2. Grant Necessary System Access (Weeks 1-8)

You must provide access to systems needed for integration:

• CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, etc.)
• Databases (Postgres, MySQL, Airtable, etc.)
• Communication tools (Slack, email, Teams)
• Business systems (ERP, accounting, project management)

Access should be provided within 1 week of request. We follow security best practices (least-privilege access, API keys instead of passwords, audit logging).

What we don't require: Admin-level access to your entire infrastructure. We only request access needed for the implementation.

What voids the guarantee: Refusal to grant access, or delays exceeding 2 weeks that push deployment timeline out.

3. Designate an Internal Champion (Throughout Project)

You must assign one internal champion (typically a department head, operations manager, or project owner) with:

• 4-6 hours/week availability during implementation (weeks 1-8)
• 2-3 hours/week availability during measurement period (weeks 9-20)
• Authority to make decisions, approve workflows, and coordinate internal resources

This person is your internal advocate, our primary point of contact, and the bridge between our team and your organization.

What we don't require: Full-time internal project manager. 4-6 hrs/week is sufficient.

What voids the guarantee: Champion unavailable for 3+ consecutive weeks, or no designated champion at all.

4. Complete User Training and Onboarding (Weeks 7-8)

You must ensure target users complete training and onboarding:

• Attend training sessions (typically 2-3 sessions, 2-3 hours each)
• Complete onboarding tasks (install tools, review documentation, test workflows)
• Begin using the system during the 90-day measurement period

What we don't require: 100% attendance. 70%+ of target users is sufficient.

What voids the guarantee: Leadership refuses to enforce usage, or tells team "this is optional" undermining adoption.

5. Maintain Minimum Adoption During Measurement Period (Weeks 9-20)

You must maintain at least 70% user adoption during the 90-day measurement period:

• 70%+ of target users actively using the system weekly
• Tracked via system logs, CRM activity, or process audits
• Adoption measured as "users who used the system at least once per week" (not daily usage requirement)

We provide adoption dashboards and weekly reports to track this. If adoption drops below 70%, we'll flag it immediately and work with your leadership to address it.

What we don't require: 100% adoption or daily usage by every user.

What voids the guarantee: Adoption falls below 50% for 3+ consecutive weeks despite our intervention and recommendations.

6. Respond to Technical Queries Promptly (Throughout Project)

You must respond to our technical or process questions within 48 business hours:

• Clarifications on workflows or business logic
• Approval requests for integration changes
• Troubleshooting support (error logs, screenshots, reproduction steps)

What we don't require: Instant responses. 48 hours is reasonable for most mid-market teams.

What voids the guarantee: Radio silence for 1+ week on critical blockers, or pattern of non-responsiveness that delays the project.

7. Avoid Material Scope Changes After Baseline (Post-Week 2)

You must avoid material scope changes after the baseline is established:

• Adding new use cases or departments
• Changing success metrics or ROI measurement methodology
• Altering core business processes in ways that invalidate baseline

Minor adjustments (workflow tweaks, UI changes, additional training) are fine and expected. Material changes require renegotiating the guarantee.

What we don't require: That you freeze all business decisions for 6 months.

What voids the guarantee: Major scope creep (e.g., "Can we also automate customer service?" when original scope was sales automation) without amending contract terms.

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These obligations are reasonable, documented in the Statement of Work, and represent standard collaboration expectations for any consulting engagement.

92% of clients maintain all obligations throughout the 90-day period. The 8% who don't are typically distracted by M&A activity, leadership changes, or competing priorities — situations where any consulting project would struggle regardless of guarantee.

Common Questions We Get During Sales Calls

"How do I know this isn't just a marketing gimmick?"

Request our standard contract during the proposal phase. The guarantee clause is on page 3-4 of every implementation agreement. It's not buried in fine print — it's a primary contract term.

You can also speak with existing clients who've been through the guarantee process. We provide 2-3 references during evaluation who can share their experience with ROI measurement and guarantee enforcement.

Finally, check our client verification guide which includes the 7-point checklist for evaluating any firm's ROI guarantee. Apply it to our contract and see for yourself.

"What if we don't have good baseline data?"

We can work with limited data. Options:

1. Sampling approach: We sample 10-20 transactions/processes during week 1-2 to establish estimated baseline (e.g., time 10 proposal generations to estimate average time per proposal).

2. Manager estimates: If no time tracking exists, we interview process owners to estimate time spent (triangulated across multiple people to reduce bias).

3. Industry benchmarks: For some use cases, we can use industry benchmark data as baseline (e.g., average invoice processing cost in accounting industry is £4.20/invoice).

If absolutely no baseline data can be established (e.g., brand new business process with no historical data), we may not be able to offer the standard 90-day guarantee. In that case, we can propose modified terms (longer measurement period, milestone-based guarantees, or no guarantee with lower upfront cost).

"Can we negotiate better guarantee terms?"

Guarantee terms are project-specific and negotiable within reason:

• ROI threshold: Typical range is 150-250% ROI in 90 days depending on use case complexity and risk. We can discuss custom thresholds based on your cost of capital and risk tolerance.

• Measurement period: 90 days is standard but can be extended for seasonal businesses, longer sales cycles, or use cases where ROI ramps slowly. We've done 6-month guarantees for clients with long sales cycles.

• Remedy preference: Some clients prefer "continued optimization until target met" over refunds. Others want defined refund terms. We can structure the remedy to match your preference.

• Exclusions: Standard exclusions (client delays, scope changes, force majeure) are non-negotiable, but we can clarify specific scenarios during contracting.

We want the guarantee to feel like genuine risk reduction, not legal theater. If terms don't feel fair to you, let's discuss modifications during the proposal phase.

"What happens if we want to expand scope mid-project?"

Scope changes are common and manageable:

Minor changes (no guarantee impact):

• Workflow adjustments (e.g., adding an approval step)
• UI/UX improvements
• Additional training sessions
• Integration tweaks

These don't affect the guarantee and are handled as standard project adjustments.

Material changes (guarantee renegotiation required):

• Adding new use cases or departments
• Changing core success metrics
• Altering business processes in ways that invalidate baseline

If you want to expand scope materially mid-project, we'll:

1. Assess impact on ROI baseline and timeline
2. Propose revised guarantee terms (new baseline, extended timeline, or modified ROI threshold)
3. Document changes in contract amendment

Most clients who want to expand scope prefer to complete phase 1 (with original guarantee intact), validate ROI, then proceed to phase 2 with a separate guarantee.

How to Get Started

If you're evaluating Phoenix AI and want to understand how the 90-Day ROI Guarantee would apply to your use case:

Step 1: Discovery Call (30 minutes)

Book a discovery call to discuss:

• Your use case and business problem
• Current process (time, cost, pain points)
• Preliminary ROI estimate
• Whether your use case qualifies for the guarantee

No sales pressure. If we're not a fit, we'll tell you and recommend alternatives.

Step 2: ROI Scoping Workshop (90 minutes)

If there's a fit, we'll conduct a 90-minute ROI scoping workshop (free) to:

• Map your current process in detail
• Establish baseline metrics and data availability
• Define success criteria and ROI methodology
• Outline implementation approach and timeline
• Provide detailed ROI projection with conservative, baseline, and optimistic scenarios

This workshop is valuable even if you don't hire us — you'll have a clear ROI framework to use for evaluating any vendor.

Step 3: Proposal and Contract Review (1 week)

We'll provide:

• Detailed proposal (scope, approach, timeline, team, cost)
• Implementation agreement with guarantee clause
• Statement of Work with ROI framework and baseline metrics
• Reference clients for validation calls

Take 1-2 weeks to review, compare alternatives, and speak with references. No pressure to decide immediately.

Step 4: Contracting and Kickoff (1 week)

Once you're ready to proceed:

• Contract signature
• Kickoff call (meet the team, review project plan)
• Baseline data collection begins (week 1)

From kickoff to deployment: 8-12 weeks. From deployment to ROI assessment: 90 days. Total timeline: 20-22 weeks (5-5.5 months).

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Why the 90-Day ROI Guarantee Matters

The guarantee isn't about reducing risk to zero (impossible for any consulting engagement). It's about aligning incentives.

When we guarantee ROI, we're saying:

• We've done this before and know it works
• We're willing to bet our revenue on your success
• We'll do whatever it takes to ensure you achieve measurable value
• Our profit depends on delivering results, not billing hours

For mid-market buyers, this changes the decision calculus. Instead of "How much will we spend?" the question becomes "How much will we gain?" Instead of "What if this fails?" the question becomes "What if this works?"

AI implementation is not a research project. It's an investment that should pay for itself in months, not years.

If a vendor won't guarantee ROI, ask why. The answer will tell you whether they have a proven methodology (and confidence in it), or whether they're experimenting on your dime.

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Next Steps

Ready to explore whether the 90-Day ROI Guarantee applies to your use case?

Book a discovery call to discuss your AI implementation needs.

For additional context:

• How to verify any AI ROI guarantee — checklist for evaluating guarantee legitimacy from any vendor
• Revenue Engine solution — our proven sales automation framework (most common guarantee use case)
• AI Strategy services — for companies not yet ready for implementation but needing roadmap and business case development
• How we work — detailed overview of our implementation methodology and engagement process

Or if you prefer to calculate potential ROI first, try our AI ROI Calculator to model expected returns for your specific use case.