Three phases, whether it’s a business or a person. Research, then findings, then a direction that says what to do. The slides below are examples drawn from real engagements.
The point is to get to the honest reality of what you offer and ask questions only a third party could.
Everything on this page is an example of what an outcome could be. None of it is a prescription of what gets delivered for every client. The work is tailored to particular people and particular businesses, so yours will look different — different questions, different findings, and a direction that belongs to you.
He starts with a kick off workshop. It’s where he explains the outcomes, asks a few questions, and then does a few creative prompts to get the real answers from you. It’s a sort of therapy. For a business, it will be with the decision makers plus people who know the customers and product well. For an individual, it’s a one-on-one revealing conversation where you will already feel like you’re doing the work on yourself.
After the kickoff, he has interviews (or chats if the word ‘interview’ is scary) with a range of people around the business or the person.
The point is to get to the honest reality of what you offer and ask questions only a third party could.
He presents all that back to you. The reactions are always an enjoyable mix of surprise and comfort. Summed up with phrases like, “Never would have thought this but it makes total sense.”
Clients find it particularly great to hear what people think about them behind their back. It’s usually better than what they think, while also not praising the things people think are praiseworthy. This is because Clinton has a knack of getting people to be fairly honest through framing their critical assessment in a more positive way. E.g.: “They’re not bad at explaining themselves. They just haven’t found the right medium.”
The findings, with Clinton’s analysis, start to make the audience, positioning, and response to competitors pretty obvious. But the next phase spells out what to do.
This is where Clinton explains your position and what you need to do to make it work. It will include the audience to connect with, the approaches or products that you can deliver, and the media to focus on.
It will always involve a brand tweak or a rebrand, as you’ve likely not been presenting yourself accurately (which is OK, you’re not bad at your job, you’re just likely average, statistically speaking). But the rebrand push won’t come as a surprise because the arguments will be clear and almost everyone will be on board (there’s always one dickhead but we can work out ways to manipulate him into thinking it was his idea).
The best part of this is when Clinton gets to share what you don’t have to do. So many consultants will say ‘do everything,’ because then if it doesn’t work, they can say, ‘you didn’t do everything well enough.’ There’s no way to hold them accountable. That’s the point of most consultants. But Clinton is one of those rare people who isn’t an idiot and so while his advice is not always right, it’s mostly right.
You will find ways to present yourself differently. Not because you need to change, but because you’ve been trying to be someone you’re not. We’re in an age of desperation for authenticity, so even if you don’t think you’re good enough (most people don’t), you don’t really have a choice, do you? But what you can do is highlight the best parts of yourself. That’s what Clinton will discover.
A free fifteen minutes, a one-off audit, or the whole thing set out above.