Jon Stojan
Credit: Pexels
A sales lead comes in on Friday night, and another on Sunday morning. The first reply could make or break which company wins the job. That’s the pressure point where many teams stumble, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Many marketing companies reject the use of AI, fearing it will replace them.
Audrey Kerchner, Inkyma’s chief strategist, has a different approach. Her marketing brand is leaning into AI consulting and AI implementation.
The decision stemmed from one looming prediction: “AI won’t take your job. Someone using AI better than you will.”
A Field Test in Roofing, Not Theory
Inkyma’s AI adoption philosophy began with a collaboration with the Colorado-based company, Just Roofs and Gutters. Owner Brian Friend asked Inkyma to automate sales, lead follow-up, and customer engagement across his company by using AI.
After working together, Friend’s system now handles outreach when his team is unavailable, so appointments are set. Updates are sent on time, even when someone is traveling or out sick. This shift, Friend projects, could triple revenue and improve close rates by 20-30%.
Inkyma treats AI adoption as a skill set that encompasses training, measurable outcomes, and a plan for what to do when a rule needs to be adjusted. While Friend thought Kerchner would be upset by the AI request, she was up for the challenge.
Friend praises Kerchner’s willingness to get on board, saying, “She’s becoming an expert because I need an expert.”
He encourages companies to hire similarly minded experts to guide them through AI use, rather than spending more time on the process than on the business itself.
Friend explains, “You know, a little small company like us, if we can have a 300% increase with a lower OpEx, we’re going to have an advantage over the guy who’s still writing paper contracts.”
AI Can Help Small Businesses Compete
According to Friend, AI adoption makes smaller businesses viable against large companies, and the cost of not doing it is steep. Given that businesses could be at risk of going out of business if they don’t adapt to AI, Friend says, “There’s no time to waste. It’s got to be done now. It has to be done yesterday, actually.”
Kerchner is also looking to the future, stating, “We’re excited to do it because of the shift that we’ve made in our company to be more AI forward first versus traditional marketing agency.”
The approach makes sure that leaders have the final say on pricing, exceptions, and partner choices, while the system eliminates busywork around them. That way, when schedules are tight, the work can continue without sacrificing standards.
Libraries That Sharpen Thinking, Not Just Speed
Kerchner believes that AI empowers her and her team to serve better. Her current project involves building prompt libraries and critical thinking frameworks so teams can reach for the correct language, constraints, and review step.
That structure focuses on maintaining a consistent tone across messages, protecting brand standards, and minimizing the need for rewrites. It also helps new hires learn faster because the reasoning is written down, not carried in one person’s head or buried in threads.
Part of Kerchner’s process is injecting critical thinking models. She explains that by doing so, “The person using them doesn’t just get the answer. They also have to go through an exercise to understand why this is the right path or why it’s not with the AI.” Then, the more senior person doesn’t have to constantly look over the shoulders of less experienced employees.
What AI Adoption Could Lead to Next
Friend’s embrace of AI hints at a broader direction for service-based businesses. He describes a near-future where homeowners interact with a visual agent, receive drone-based roof inspections, and receive automated estimates before a crew ever arrives.
That picture requires both technical chops and judgment about when a person should engage. Inkyma’s role, as they frame it, is to help teams learn those habits now, so changes feel cumulative rather than abrupt and gains show up in everyday numbers.
Kerchner’s running line to clients is simple enough to remember without notes: automate yourself out of the old job and into the next one. It’s a challenge and an invitation, aimed at owners who would rather guide the shift than wait for it to happen.