Discovery & diagnosis

Editorial essay · 2026

A workshop can clarify options and still fail to produce a decision if the relevant authority is absent. Participants generate useful discussion, then discover that the real choice must be made elsewhere under different criteria.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2026

Adapting a message to the audience is sensible. Changing the substance to please each audience creates a problem. Finance hears cost reduction, staff hear no change to roles, and leadership hears rapid transformation. Those promises may not fit together.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2026

A proposal can make the benefit attractive while leaving the route to that benefit vague. Buyers then have to imagine the disruption, internal workload and possibility of failure themselves. Their hesitation may concern implementation more than the value of the idea.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2026

A reference call can become a ritual in which a happy client says positive things and the buyer thanks everyone. It is more useful when the prospective buyer has a specific uncertainty that a former client is well placed to address.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2026

When a service involves access to systems or information, the buyer's security questions are part of assessing whether the relationship is responsible. Treating them as administrative friction can create doubt about the supplier's judgment.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2026

A sponsor may believe in your work but struggle to explain it internally. Their colleagues do not share the hours of discussion that produced the recommendation. They need a compact account of the problem, the options and the reasons for the proposed choice.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2026

A lost opportunity does not always go to a competitor. Sometimes the buyer continues with the current arrangement. Sellers may interpret this as irrational inertia, but remaining still can have understandable advantages: no transition cost, no new accountability and no immediate disruption.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2026

A group of buyers can agree that a problem matters while disagreeing about the safest response. Finance worries about return, operations about disruption, users about workload and leadership about strategic fit. More persuasion directed at one sponsor may not resolve those differences.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2026

A prospect may reach a first meeting having read articles, compared providers and discussed the problem internally. They may have a strong view of the solution before the adviser hears the question. Beginning with a standard educational pitch can therefore feel repetitive or dismissive.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2025

Asking why you lost can produce a polite answer rather than a complete one. Buyers may prefer to say "price" instead of discussing confidence, internal politics or an uncomfortable meeting. The answer is useful, but it needs context.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2025

A professional service is delivered through a commercial arrangement. Purchasing questions about scope, responsibility, information handling and payment are therefore part of the offer, not an irritating obstacle after the real selling is done.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2025

Your sponsor may have to explain the purchase to people you will never meet. A proposal designed for a live presentation can fail in that setting because the reasoning depends on your narration.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2025

Teaching can be an effective part of selling when it helps the buyer understand a problem. It can also become a way for the adviser to avoid asking for business. The meeting fills with useful explanation, but no one knows what decision follows.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2025

A demonstration can impress a room while leaving the purchase unresolved. The audience sees many capabilities but has no agreed way to judge whether those capabilities solve the problem that matters.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2025

A business case written only for the enthusiastic sponsor can fail when finance asks basic questions. Which benefits are incremental? When do they arrive? What investment is required? What happens if adoption is slower than expected?

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2025

When a prospect says the team is "drowning in exceptions", an adviser may translate the phrase into a polished category such as process optimisation. The translation can be useful internally, but it may erase the experience that makes the problem important.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2025

A long discovery questionnaire can feel thorough while collecting little that changes the recommendation. The buyer spends an hour answering, and the seller presents the same service they intended to sell at the beginning.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min

Editorial essay · 2025

A buyer often arrives with a visible symptom: slow sales, poor adoption, late projects or rising costs. The adviser is tempted to recognise a familiar pattern and move quickly to a solution. Speed can be useful, but premature certainty makes the engagement vulnerable.

Discovery & diagnosis · 2 min