Wednesday, November 04, 2026

Riding a feast-or-famine sales cycle with no idea who to chase? The CLV/CAC method turns a quiet month into a plan, not a panic.

You can pay a few hundred dollars for an AI workshop in New Zealand, or several thousand. The price tells you very little. What matters is whether you walk out on Monday with one task handed to a tool, or with a folder of notes and a faint sense of guilt.

Disclosure: Simple-Growth publishes this guide and runs AI sessions for owners, so we have an interest. We have not claimed any option is better. Prices below are the public ones we could open, checked 6 November 2026. Confirm with each provider before you book.

What the public prices show

Two published examples show how wide the range is.

  • A four-hour, hands-on session in Auckland: NZ$194.99 + GST per person, seating limited to 10, listed on Humanitix. That particular date (28 June 2025) has passed, so treat it as an example of how a short workshop is priced, not a live offer. (Humanitix listing)
  • A residential programme: The Icehouse lists AI Foundations for Business Leaders at $6,995 + GST for 2.5 days. (The Icehouse programmes)

That is roughly a 36 times difference. Neither is right or wrong. A short session suits an owner who wants to try the tools. A longer programme suits a leadership team that needs to change how work is done.

The cost you are not counting

The ticket price is the small number. The large one is the tool you pay for every month and never use. Before you compare workshops, ask what you want to stop doing by the end of the month. If you cannot name a task, any workshop will feel interesting and change nothing.

Seven questions to ask before you book

  • Which task will I hand over by Friday? Good providers name tasks (quoting, follow-up, invoicing chasers), not "AI literacy".
  • Is it hands-on with my own business, or a demonstration? You learn faster with your own emails and spreadsheets on screen.
  • Who is in the room? Ten owners in a room is a different day from sixty.
  • What happens with my data? Ask about privacy, what gets pasted into which tool, and what to keep out.
  • What proof can I see? Look for a named business, what changed and what is still unknown. Our own example is how Insinc Products connected its systems to AI, with the limits stated.
  • What is the refund and follow-up policy? The Humanitix listing above states no refunds. Others offer follow-up calls.
  • Could co-funding apply? See below.

Could government co-funding apply?

Two public schemes are worth asking your Regional Business Partner about.

  • Management Capability Development Fund: up to 50% of one-to-one training costs or up to 75% of group training costs, capped at $5,000 per business each year, for established NZ businesses with fewer than 50 full-time employees, using approved providers. Register with the Regional Business Partner Network first. (business.govt.nz)
  • AI Advisory Pilot: announced in January 2026 for existing Regional Business Partner Network customers, with co-funding of up to 50%, capped at $15,000, towards an AI plan. It was set to run to at least 30 June 2026, so ask your advisor whether it is still open. (Scoop, January 2026)

Funding rules change, and a workshop is not automatically eligible. Ask before you pay, not after.

A 30-day way to test any workshop

  • Week 1: list the three tasks that eat your week. Pick one.
  • Week 2: hand that one task to a tool. Time it before and after.
  • Week 3: write down what went wrong and what the tool needs to be told.
  • Week 4: keep it, change it or drop it. Then choose the next task.

If you want to start before you spend anything, the free two-minute ME4SME AI audit at me4sme.com shows where an AI tool is most likely to save you time. If you would rather talk it through, book a free 30-minute call with Kevin.

Prices and funding rules were taken from the pages linked above on 6 November 2026. We have not independently verified provider claims.

Monday, September 21, 2026

You paid for a website and a rebrand — but your Google Business Profile is what's actually deciding who gets the call. Here's how to fix it this week.

Monday, September 21, 2026

The order you say things in a sales call matters more than the words. Here's the pricing sequence mistake quietly costing SME owners their margin.

Monday, September 21, 2026

Working longer feels responsible heading into Q4 — but the data says your output actually falls past a point. Here's how to find your real ceiling.

Monday, September 21, 2026

Time who talks in your next coaching session. If it's mostly your coach, you're getting a lecture — not the accountability that actually changes behaviour.

Monday, September 21, 2026

Chasing wholesale and DTC at once usually means neither gets funded properly. Here's the Channel Mix Audit to pick a primary channel and actually grow.

Monday, September 21, 2026

26% of small business owners plan to spend $0 on marketing this month — and it's capping their growth more than they realize. Here's the Marketing Floor framework to fix it.

Monday, September 21, 2026

Most strategic plans are built on what founders assume customers buy — not what they actually say. Here's the one-week audit that closes the gap.

Monday, September 21, 2026

Most SME marketing still targets a customer persona sketched out years ago. Here's how to find out who's actually buying — and fix the mismatch.

Monday, September 21, 2026

Most SME sales proposals are built to impress, not to close. Here's the one-page format that gets buyers to yes faster.

Monday, September 21, 2026

If Sunday afternoon has become the least relaxing part of your weekend, it's a design problem, not a discipline one. Here's the fix.

Monday, September 21, 2026

Most owners choose a coaching format by budget, not by stage. Here's the test that shows which format actually fits your business right now.

Monday, September 21, 2026

Private label deals look like free growth — until they quietly cost you margin, capacity, and control. Here's how to protect your brand before signing.

Monday, September 21, 2026

New global research says 68% of small business owners now choose stability over speed — and that's the smarter growth strategy. Here's the 3-step Depth Audit to grow without breaking what you've built.

Thursday, September 17, 2026

Most growth strategies don't fail because the market changed — they fail because nobody tested the assumptions underneath them. Here's the four-question audit that catches the weak spot before it costs you a year.

Thursday, September 17, 2026

Your website, socials, and sales team may all be telling a slightly different story. Consistent brands see up to 33% more revenue — here's the one-page Message Map that fixes the drift.