HKR · our own sales · since 2026
Ari, our AI sales agent: Cristina makes the calls
This is one sales role at HKR, and the client is us. An AI agent named Ari has worked on our deals since March 2026. Today Cristina Bufnea, our Head of Partnerships & Accounts, tells Ari in Slack what happened on a deal. After her yes, Ari writes the note, the stage and the next task.
Ari’s standing rule: nothing reaches the CRM without a person’s instruction or yes.
At a glance.
289
Old CRM tasks cleared in one pass, at Cristina’s request
37 of 49
Chats asking Ari to update the CRM, started by Cristina
- Company
- HKR.TEAM
- Role
- Sales: deal updates, pipeline checks, the Friday review
- The person
- Cristina Bufnea, Head of Partnerships & Accounts
- AI agent
- Ari, since March 2026
The Challenge
Every deal update typed by hand
Cristina runs HKR’s client accounts and partnerships, and she sets the standard for clean deals. Before Ari, she typed each deal update into HubSpot herself, wrote each follow-up from scratch and sorted tasks by hand.
The real work on a deal happens in conversation, with the client and in Slack. The record of it waited for whoever had time to type it.
A meeting-notes tool also created tasks in the CRM on its own, and they piled up next to the real ones.
Say it in Slack. Say yes. The CRM is updated.
Ok, so for
Pierce Global Media +1 SDR (August 2026) - We sent 3 candidates. …
Here's the exact batch I'll write on your go. Two quick questions flagged inline.
1. Pierce Global Media +1 SDR
- Rename → Pierce Global Media +1 SDR (September 2026)
- Note: 3 candidates sent. Karl interviewed Colin — didn't love him enough for an immediate start. …
- ❓ Candidates out and interviewing = active delivery. Move stage Opportunity → Sourcing? (Say yes and I'll include it.)
Cristina tells Ari what happened, the way she would tell a colleague. Ari finds the deal, drafts the note, the stage and the next task, and asks. After her yes, it writes them to the CRM.
Around that, Ari does four more jobs:
- A morning deal check on weekdays. It finds deals with no update for 14 days, deals past their date and deals with no notes. A flag comes back every 7 days until someone acts. When there is nothing to act on, the check stays silent.
- A Friday pipeline review at 5 PM, with the deals per stage, the days in each stage, the 30-day win rate and the deals at risk.
- Follow-up drafts, on request. Ari reads the last email with the client and drafts the next one, and a person sends it.
- Task cleanup, on request. Ari separates the real tasks from the ones a meeting-notes tool created on its own, and clears those after one yes.
Ari keeps the standards Cristina set: a deal closes on the day the person starts work, and every follow-up gives the client something new.
Ari’s first run on HKR’s deals was on 19 March 2026. Five weeks later, on 23 April, the first deal update by chat on record reached the CRM.
The Results
A CRM kept current by conversation
yes, leave notes to all 4 actually
Done. Notes added to all 4:
- Waystar RoyCo +1 Release Manager — interviewing, 3 by end of week, pace note logged
- GoJo +1 Account Exec — candidates sent, Gerri unresponsive, daily follow-ups
- Pierce Global Media +1 SDR — Karl OOO, no reply, continuing follow-ups
- Maesbury Capital GD P+AI — waiting for brandbook, onboarding gate
Counted from Ari’s run logs, HKR’s Slack records and the CRM on 23 October 2026:
- Half of the open deals got a new note in the 14 days before 23 October 2026.
- 49 chats asked Ari to write to the CRM between 5 August and 23 October. Cristina started 37 of them.
- Deal notes, stage moves and new tasks were written after a person’s instruction or yes.
- 289 old tasks cleared in one pass on 14 August 2026, after Cristina asked for a clean slate. A meeting-notes tool had created about 90% of them.
- 27 Friday pipeline reviews since 20 March 2026.
“My day with Ari starts with one message: give me my open deals. I tell it what happened on each one, and it drafts the note, the stage and the next task. HubSpot stays current, and the time I save goes to clients.”
Cristina BufneaHead of Partnerships & Accounts, HKRThe Outcome
Cristina keeps the clients and the calls. Ari keeps the record.
Her time goes to the clients and the long relationships HKR is known for, and an AI agent keeps the record current.
We ran this split on HKR’s own sales first. On your team: a full-time HKR employee for the sales role you want to fill. By day 90, AI keeps the record true and they own the pipeline.
Ask to meet Cristina when you get in touch. She will show you how she runs it.
Who does what.
AriAI agent
- Deal updates: the note, the stage and the next task, after a person’s yes
- Morning check: stuck deals flagged on weekdays
- Friday review: the pipeline at 5 PM
- Follow-ups: drafted from the last email
- Task cleanup: meeting-notes tasks cleared after one yes
Cristina BufneaHead of Partnerships & Accounts
- Tells Ari what happened on her deals
- Says yes before her updates are saved
- Decides what happens to each flagged deal
- Sends every follow-up Ari drafts for her deals
- Sets the standards Ari keeps
One open role in support, sales, ops, finance or recruiting is enough to start.
Book a 30-minute scoping call. We map the job and agree what success looks like.
You pay for the Forward Deployed Operator. We build the AI at no cost to you. Then you pay per outcome.