Diagnostic-first.Not brief-first.
Every GRIFFAIN engagement begins with a structured diagnostic. No brief submission. No service menu. Six phases from first call to handoff — here's exactly what each one looks like.
Agencies that lead with a brief are asking you to diagnose yourself.
Brief-first engagements require you to know what service solves your problem before you've had a structured conversation about what the problem actually is. Most operators can't do that accurately. They know something isn't working. They don't always know which specific intervention will fix it.
The operational gap that's costing $47,000 a year in lost leads isn't always obvious from inside the operation. It becomes obvious in 60 minutes of structured diagnostic conversation with someone who asks the right questions.
Diagnostic-first starts from a different premise: the prescription should follow the diagnosis. That inversion produces better outcomes. Operators who are prescribed the right service for their actual problem get a return. Operators who pick from a menu often don't.
the specific, documented breakdown that's costing the most
additional friction points that surface during the structured conversation
quantified where possible. "3-4 jobs/week to voicemail" becomes a number
what you've tried, why it didn't fully close the gap
team size, dispatcher setup, how decisions get made
clear enough during the call to validate before the written document
From first call
to handoff.
A two-way assessment. Not a sales call.
The qualifier call is not a pitch. It's a structured 15-minute conversation to determine whether there's a clear path from diagnosis to prescription for your specific situation.
GRIFFAIN will ask three things: what your operation does, where work is falling through the cracks, and what you've already tried. You should ask: whether GRIFFAIN has worked on situations similar to yours, what the diagnostic will produce, and what happens if there's no fit.
If the qualifier reveals no clear fit — wrong stage, wrong type of gap, wrong expectations — we say so immediately and save both parties the 60-minute diagnostic. We don't proceed to engagements we can't execute well.
- Mutual fit assessment: go/no-go
- Preliminary gap identification
- Diagnostic call scheduled (if go)
- Expectations aligned before the diagnostic
Sixty minutes to make the invisible visible.
The diagnostic call is a structured 60-minute conversation that produces a documented finding. It is not a free consulting session. It is the instrument through which GRIFFAIN maps your operation and identifies the specific gap your situation requires addressing.
The structure: we open with your operation's context (what you do, how you do it, who does it). We move through revenue and lead flow. We document where things break down. We quantify impact where possible — not as an exercise, but because "we lose 3-4 jobs a week to voicemail" becomes "~$47,000/year in recoverable revenue" when you multiply it out. That specificity is what makes the prescription meaningful.
The call is recorded with your permission. The recording becomes the source of truth for the prescription document.
- Primary operational gap — documented specifically
- Secondary gaps — logged and prioritized
- Revenue at risk — estimated where quantifiable
- Prescription direction identified during the call
A specific prescription. Not a proposal with options.
Within 24-48 hours of the diagnostic call, GRIFFAIN produces a written prescription report. This is not a proposal with three package tiers and a "recommended" one highlighted. It is a prescription: the specific combination of services your diagnostic finding requires, the tier, the price, and the timeline.
The prescription report contains: the diagnostic summary (your gap as we documented it), the prescribed service combination, the rationale for each service prescribed, the specific tier and price for your scope, and the engagement terms.
If the prescription requires a service combination that isn't achievable within GRIFFAIN's service lines, we document what is achievable and what would need to come from elsewhere. We don't stretch prescriptions to fit our menu.
- Diagnostic summary — your gap as documented
- Prescribed service combination with rationale
- Specific tier, price, and timeline
- Engagement terms for review before commitment
Written agreement. Cleared payment. Then build.
No work begins without a signed engagement letter and cleared first payment. This is not a formality — it is how GRIFFAIN ensures that scope is locked, expectations are documented, and both parties are committed before a single deliverable is started.
The engagement letter documents: the exact scope of work (referenced from the prescription), the milestones and timeline, the payment schedule (tier-specific: Express is 100% upfront; Standard is 50/50; Build is 50/25/25), the revision policy, and the handoff conditions.
Once the letter is signed and the first payment clears, the build begins. Not before.
- Signed engagement letter — scope locked
- First payment cleared — build authorized
- Milestone schedule confirmed
- Revision policy agreed and documented
Defined scope. Defined milestones. Delivered.
The build phase runs against the exact scope documented in the engagement letter. Express engagements complete in 1-3 days. Standard engagements complete in 1 week. Build engagements complete in 2 weeks. Maximum. Beyond 2 weeks becomes phased or retainer — not an extended single engagement.
GRIFFAIN communicates at milestones, not continuously. You'll know what was delivered at each checkpoint and what's coming next. There are no status meetings, no weekly check-ins, no deliverables subject to real-time revision during the build phase. Feedback happens at defined review points.
If scope change is requested during the build phase — even a reasonable one — it either fits within the defined scope or it doesn't. If it doesn't, it becomes a new engagement after the current one completes.
- Deliverables at each milestone — reviewed and approved
- Build completed within the defined timeline
- QC pass required before handoff begins
- Revision rounds defined in engagement letter
Done means done. Documented means maintainable.
Every GRIFFAIN engagement ends with a structured handoff. For websites and software: full technical documentation, access credentials, deployment instructions, and a walkthrough of what was built and how to maintain it. For brand and content: editable source files, guidelines documentation, and usage instructions. For AI systems: architecture documentation, trigger definitions, output specifications, and a handoff call.
The handoff is not an afterthought. It is the last milestone in the engagement letter and is as non-negotiable as the first payment. Clients who can't maintain or extend what GRIFFAIN builds aren't actually served by the build.
After handoff, optional retainer arrangements can be scoped for ongoing maintenance, iteration, or expansion — but as new engagements, not as a continuation of the original scope.
- Full technical or operational documentation
- Asset and access transfer complete
- Handoff walkthrough (call or async)
- Retainer option presented if applicable
What each phase produces.
Diagnose. Prescribe. Build. Three outputs, three formats, no ambiguity on what you're getting.
We say no. Often. That's the model.
Selectivity is what makes the diagnostic meaningful. An engagement studio that takes every project that walks in isn't running a diagnostic — it's running a pipeline. GRIFFAIN declines engagements when the fit isn't there. That clarity serves everyone.
15-minute qualifier call. Free. No commitment.
The qualifier is where every engagement starts. Two-way. Structured. If there's no fit, we say so and move on. If there is, we schedule the diagnostic.
Schedule the qualifierGood to know going in.
- You don't need to know what service you need. That's what the diagnostic determines.
- You do need to be able to describe your operation and where work is breaking down.
- No brief, no deck, no spec required. Just the conversation.
- The qualifier is a 15-minute calendar block. Email to schedule.