In this presentation, Peter Winick of Thought Leadership Leverage argues that consultants, like doctors or mechanics, should begin engagements with a diagnostic assessment. He outlines three core benefits: (1) a low‑risk, differentiating sales tool that positions the consultant uniquely without disparaging competitors; (2) alignment of client expectations with the consultant’s capabilities, preventing misunderstandings about what can be delivered; and (3) precise identification of the client’s problem areas, enabling a logical treatment plan. Winick notes that diagnostics can range from brief questionnaires to multi‑month processes, ultimately delivering a clear definition of success and measurable benchmarks. He concludes with a call to action for viewers to learn more about building their own diagnostics.
Chapters
Peter Winick here with Thought Leadership Leverage. Thanks to years of education and experience, our doctors know more about our heart than we do. Hopefully our mechanics know more about our transmissions than we do. So then shouldn't our consultants know more about a healthy company than we do? Each of these roles requires a tailored solution to best suit the situation. This starts with a diagnostic. Diagnostics accomplish 3 things. First, it's a small, low-risk sale to a B2B client. Implementing a diagnostic differentiates you in a powerful way and makes your client consider why no one else has ever diagnosed their specific situation. This not only weakens the position of other providers, but allows you to do so without saying anything negative about a competitor. Second, diagnostics align the client's expectations about your platform with your content. Oftentimes, clients will come in contact with your work and assume it can magically fix all their issues. Although there certainly may be places you can help, frequently their issues may be out of your realm of expertise. Running a diagnostic helps ensure that you and your client share an expected outcome and avoid any miscommunications and walk away happy from the experience. Finally, diagnostics identify the target issues that need to be addressed. Just like your car, you have to get under the hood before you can accurately pinpoint the source of a problem. Once the source is diagnosed, you can implement a logical strategy to treat the client's issues. A good diagnostic is not a one-size-fits-all remedy. Depending on the scale and size of your client's organization, a diagnostic could be a few questions over the course of a few minutes or could take months. At the end, that time spent creates a clear definition for success and provides integrated metrics that you can use as benchmark for success. Need help building your own diagnostic? Follow the link for more information. Thank you.
