A customer sends a showroom an email, a few inspiration photos, and a request to talk about a kitchen. The salesperson needs to prepare without turning those fragments into a design the customer never requested.

Datum recommends using AI to draft a consultation brief: what the customer actually said, where that information came from, and what the salesperson needs to ask. Keep suggested interpretations visible as questions until the customer confirms them.

Give the assistant the inquiry and the appointment purpose

Start with the customer’s supplied messages and attachments, any relevant earlier conversation, and the purpose of the appointment. A first visit to explore materials calls for different preparation than a visit to compare a short list of products. If the purpose is unclear, put that question at the top.

Anthropic’s context-engineering guidance recommends selecting relevant information for a task. Datum’s application here is a small appointment packet that staff can inspect. Use an AI environment approved for customer records, and leave unrelated contacts and private details out of the packet.

Include the date and author of each message. Keep the original wording beside the summary when it changes how the salesperson should prepare. “We hope to host Thanksgiving” expresses a preference; it does not establish an agreed completion date.

Separate customer statements from sales questions

  • Stated need: the customer’s description of the room, problem, or desired change, with its source.
  • Stated preference: materials, appearance, maintenance, or timing the customer explicitly mentioned.
  • Open question: information needed before the salesperson can recommend a suitable next step.
  • Staff preparation: samples or reference material worth having available, labeled as suggestions.

Ask for the source passage behind every claimed preference. Anthropic’s Citations documentation describes links to specific locations in supplied documents. That can help staff check the text behind a summary. A valid source link still needs a reader to decide whether the summary preserves the customer’s meaning.

Photos need separate treatment. The same documentation says image citations are not supported. Keep each inspiration image attached to its original message, and ask what the customer likes about it. An assistant’s description of a picture is an interpretation, not a customer-approved selection.

An inspiration photo does not specify a countertop

Consider a hypothetical inquiry: a homeowner sends a kitchen photo and writes, “We like how bright this feels, but we want something easier to look after.” An overconfident brief might say the customer wants the pale stone shown in the image.

The message supports a preference for brightness and easier care. It does not identify a material, finish, brand, or acceptable maintenance routine. A better brief preserves the message and proposes questions: Is the appeal the color, lighting, cabinet style, or room layout? What upkeep feels burdensome today?

The salesperson can prepare a few contrasting samples to make those answers easier to discuss. Mark that as staff preparation. Do not place a product on the customer’s selection list merely because it resembles the image.

Keep the brief useful during the conversation

Have the salesperson check the draft before the visit. Remove repeated questions already answered in the messages. Put questions that affect the appointment first, such as which room is involved and what the customer wants to leave knowing.

Missing information should stay missing. An address, photograph, or writing style is not evidence of a spending limit or willingness to buy. If a budget or decision process has not been discussed, record it as unknown and let staff ask when appropriate.

After the visit, add dated customer answers and staff notes without silently replacing the original inquiry. Keep a suggestion, a preference, and an approved selection distinct. The related Field Note on selection logs explains how to preserve that distinction as the project progresses.

Try it against a past consultation

Choose a completed consultation whose outcome the salesperson remembers. Give the assistant only the records available before the visit. Compare its brief with the actual conversation: Did it preserve stated preferences? Did it invent a requirement? Did its questions help reveal something the salesperson needed to know?

Record preparation and correction time together. A neat brief that requires staff to undo assumptions has not demonstrated a saving. Revise the instructions around the mistakes you find before trying the process on a new inquiry.

Bring a redacted inquiry and the brief your team wishes it had to a conversation with Adam. Datum’s Training work helps your staff learn to build and run tools around tasks like this.

Sources Read

Next step, if this note maps to a problem on your desk: book a conversation with Adam. Thirty minutes, weekday evenings, Eastern time.

Related Field Notes