How to estimate the value of an automation before you buy it

Value comes from three places: hours returned to your team, mistakes avoided, and revenue that would otherwise be lost to slow responses. Estimate each separately, then be conservative about all three.

For hours, use the fully loaded cost of the person doing the work, not their salary. For errors, use what a single mistake typically costs you to fix. For speed, look at what share of enquiries go cold while waiting.

Then discount your estimate. A realistic model assumes the automation handles most, not all, of the volume, and that a person still reviews the exceptions. Any provider that shows you a number without that discount is selling, not estimating.