Plan and test a client intake workflow with Make Maia

This self-paced workshop is for marketers, designers, consultants, and small teams who repeatedly copy inquiries into a tracker. Use the written agenda on your own or work through it with a teammate. It is not a scheduled live event.

Finish with: one approved process map, a field dictionary, five test results, and a clear decision about live use. This is a proposed teaching exercise, not a tested customer integration.

Before you begin

Bring access to Make and one destination you are authorized to use, such as a test spreadsheet. Choose one inquiry source. Make lists Maia as a public beta on paid plans, with a 30-day Free-plan trial starting at signup. Review the credits and connected-service costs for your setup. Connection setup may take extra time; complete it before starting the timed exercise.

Make announced plan review, memory, image input, and run-error assistance on October 30, 2026. The update is available to Maia users. Read the full guide and source notes.

Your 60-minute agenda

1. 0–10 minutes: define the handoff. Pick one service. Write what the next teammate needs before responding: inquiry ID, contact, deliverable, stated deadline, missing information, owner, and next action.
2. 10–20 minutes: map the decisions. Sketch receive → validate → review queue. Decide what happens to missing contact information, repeated inquiries, and requests outside your service. Keep an internal exception queue.
3. 20–30 minutes: review Maia’s plan. Open a scenario, select Plan mode (Plan first), and use the prompt below. Inspect the proposed connections and assumptions. Revise until the intended destination and exception behavior are clear.
4. 30–45 minutes: build and try sample records. Accept the reviewed plan, build using your test connections, and save. Run the five fictional cases below with scheduling off. Do not enable customer-facing actions.
5. 45–55 minutes: compare results. Check the actual record against its expected outcome. Investigate failures before repeating the full packet. When a run errors, Maia’s error-resolution option can help explain it; inspect suggested changes before applying them.
6. 55–60 minutes: write the operating note. Name the owner, review exceptions, record remaining problems, and choose either more testing or a separately reviewed live pilot.

Reusable planning prompt

Plan an internal client-intake workflow using the apps and sample fields I provide. Show the trigger, required fields, validation rules, duplicate-handling approach, destination, and exception route. Separate customer statements from inferred information. Identify missing decisions and connection requirements. Do not send customer messages or build until I have reviewed the plan.

Five fictional inquiries

Download the sample inquiries and expected outcomes (CSV). These examples use reserved example.com addresses. Adapt the decision rules before applying them to your business.

The completion check

• Each inquiry can be traced to its original source.
• No date, price, scope, or commitment was invented.
• Duplicates and missing fields follow the agreed rules.
• A teammate can explain the output and next action.
• Failures have a named owner and a documented recovery step.
• Scheduling and live use have their own approval decision.

Maia cannot inspect other scenarios. Describe any dependency yourself. Plan review and a successful execution do not establish that the business result is correct.

Want help with your real intake?

Use an AI Teachers working session to resolve field definitions, ownership, exceptions, and the smallest useful pilot. Bring one process and the sample results; agree the implementation scope before the session.