Proprietary Methodology
DiaDoc™
The examination before the treatment
DiaDoc™ stands for Diagnosis and Documentation. It is the paid, fixed-scope examination that begins every Herbst Group partnership: confidential sessions with your senior stakeholders, a structured executive workshop, and evidence taken from your own commercial data, documented in writing before anyone proposes what to do about it. It is sold separately, delivered first, and it can conclude that no further engagement is warranted.
Key Benefits
Separate the diagnosis from the prescription, so the recommendation never sells itself
Hear what your senior stakeholders actually think, through confidential one-to-one sessions
Ground every finding in your own commercial data, not industry averages
Receive a written diagnostic report with findings ranked by commercial consequence
Leave with an implementation roadmap you can act on, with or without us
The scope is fixed and the fee is stated in the first serious conversation
Applications
Commercial strategy examination before a restructure
Field force effectiveness diagnosis
Executive alignment on what the real problem is
Data foundation examination before anything is built
What problem does DiaDoc™ solve?
Most commercial leaders I meet suspect the same thing: the problem they have been told about is not the problem they have. The deck said targeting. The numbers say coverage. The corridor says morale. And in the cases I have examined, the supplier who diagnosed the situation for free arrived at a diagnosis that happened to match what they sell.
DiaDoc™ exists to end that. Diagnosis and Documentation: a paid, fixed-scope examination that stands on its own commercial feet, owes nothing to any treatment, and puts what is actually wrong in writing. It is how every partnership with Herbst Group begins.
Data done well is data done safely: governed, provenanced, auditable.
What does the examination involve?
One-to-one diagnostic sessions with your senior stakeholders, conducted confidentially. What people say in private is evidence; what they say in meetings is positioning. A structured executive workshop puts the leadership team in one room with its own contradictions. Evidence from your own commercial data: not benchmarks, not industry averages, your transactions, your territories, your numbers.
What do you receive?
A written diagnostic report. Findings ranked by commercial consequence. An implementation roadmap you can execute with us or without us. Confidential per-stakeholder debriefs, delivered one-to-one. The scope is fixed, and the examination ends with documentation.
Who runs it?
I do, with my partners. Dieter Herbst, CEO. Wimpie du Toit, CTO & Founder. Tiaan Keyser, Chief Analytics Officer. Malan Munnik, Customer Success & Revenue. Wayne Gray, Head of Data. The partners who run the examination stay if a partnership follows.
What happens at the end?
One of three things. The diagnosis concludes that you need nothing from us, and I say so. You choose to run the roadmap yourselves, and the report and roadmap are yours. Or the findings call for work, and we agree a partnership for the year ahead: a standing engagement with senior Herbst people alongside your team, plus the specific work the diagnosis called for.
Why diagnosis before prescription?
DiaDoc™ is priced and paid as its own engagement, separate from and prior to any implementation work. That separation is the point. A free diagnosis is marketing. A paid diagnosis is accountable. Where work follows, DiaDoc™ is the front door to Herbst Conductor™ and the instruments behind it. The findings translate directly into daily discipline: call frequencies, working day calculations, quarterly focus areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a DiaDoc™ engagement include?
One-to-one diagnostic sessions with senior stakeholders, a structured executive workshop, and evidence taken from your own commercial data. You receive a written diagnostic report with findings ranked by commercial consequence, an implementation roadmap, and confidential per-stakeholder debriefs.
Why is the diagnosis paid, and when do I learn the fee?
Because diagnosis is the work: a paid, fixed-scope examination owes nothing to any treatment. I state the fee and scope in the first serious conversation, once I have heard what is happening. I do not publish either, because each examination is scoped to the problem in front of us.
Can DiaDoc™ conclude that we need nothing from Herbst Group?
Yes. The diagnosis may find that the problem is smaller than feared, sits somewhere we do not work, or is already in hand. If so, I say so, and the report and the roadmap are yours to act on without us.
Do we have to continue with Herbst Group after DiaDoc™?
No. DiaDoc™ is sold separately from and prior to any implementation work. The report and the roadmap are yours either way.
What does a partnership cost, if one follows?
Where the findings call for work, a partnership generally starts at R86,250 a month including VAT at 15%, and I take a relationship on when the year ahead is worth at least R1,955,000 to it, including VAT. ZAR, reviewed annually. I price on the value the partnership creates, not on time, and once-off jobs are not a fit. The diagnosis has its own fee, stated in the first serious conversation.
Explore Other Methodologies
SNIPER™
Precision targeting for maximum commercial impact
Herbst Conductor™
Precision beats volume. Every time.
Range Archetype
Strategic product portfolio optimization
ASSPAC™
Strategic account planning that drives results
Her-Zone™
Geographic intelligence for territory excellence
Data Fusion Intelligence
Where your data meets geographic truth
Start with the examination.
Tell me what is happening. If we are a fit, Malan or I will reply within three business days with a time for the diagnostic conversation. The conversation is free. The diagnosis is paid.
Start the diagnostic conversation