In this note
- The short version
- Day one: kick-off
- Days two to five: the evidence
- Days six to eight: the scoring
- Day nine: the workshop
- Day ten: the plan
- What it needs from you
- Who it's for, and who it isn't
- What happens after
- Do this this week
- Questions people ask
A diagnostic can be the most useful piece of work a business buys, or the most frustrating. The frustrating ones share a pattern: vague scope, long timelines, and an 80-page report that sits in a shared drive because nobody knows what to do first.
We designed the Fitness Test to be the opposite. It's two weeks, fixed price, and it ends with a plan you can act on. It's the first thing we do with almost every client, because every other piece of work goes better from evidence. This note walks through exactly what happens and what you leave with.
The short version
The Fitness Test costs $2,900 ex GST and takes two weeks. It scores all 42 selection moments, six buyer types across seven stages, against the rivals your buyers actually compare you with. It asks 200 or more of your buyers' real questions of ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google. It ends with a findings workshop, a 12-month implementation plan for you to review, and your RocMode baseline.
If you go on to start Niche, an Adaptation or Generations with us within 90 days, the full $2,900 comes off that next step.
A score you can read, evidence you can check, and a plan you can act on.
Day one: kick-off
The test starts with a 60-minute call. We want to know who buys from you, who you lose to, and what you think the problem is. Who are your champion, your money, your sceptic? Which rivals turn up in deals? What does "do nothing" look like in your market?
We write down your view of the problem, because we'll check it later. Sometimes the evidence confirms it, which helps you win budget internally. Sometimes it points somewhere else entirely. Both are worth knowing before you spend.
Days two to five: the evidence
This is where the questions get asked. For every one of the 42 moments, we write five or more questions a real buyer would ask, in their words, without your name in them. That's how the total reaches 200 or more. Each one goes to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google, and we record who gets named, in what order, and what is said.
At the same time, we look at your real rivals, up to five that your buyers actually shortlist, plus "do nothing". We go through their websites, their sales stories and their reviews, and we read every review of yours we can find.
AI does a lot of the gathering here, which is why the test takes two weeks rather than eight. People do the thinking.
Days six to eight: the scoring
Every one of the 42 moments gets scored for whether you're chosen, cut or invisible at that point, with the evidence linked so you can check it yourself. Senior strategists check every score. The machines gather; they don't decide.
This is where patterns appear. Often a brand is strong with the champion and nearly absent for the money and the sceptic. Often the weakest stage isn't the one the team expected. The scoring makes the weakest moment obvious, and the weakest moment is where the plan starts.
Day nine: the workshop
We spend 90 minutes with your team. Findings first: where you're chosen, where you're cut, who's winning instead and why. Then the useful part, which is the argument. Your team knows things the evidence can't show, and the evidence shows things your team didn't expect. The workshop is where those meet and the priorities get agreed.
Day ten: the plan
The test ends with three things handed over.
A 12-month implementation plan for review. Month by month, in priority order: the biggest gap first, what to change, and a written prediction of what each step should move. It's yours to review with us and to keep.
Your report. The front page fits on a screen: your fitness by stage, your weakest link and the prediction we're putting our name to. The full evidence sits behind it for anyone who wants to check.
Your RocMode baseline. Your starting position, recorded in RocMode, so anything you change afterwards is measured against it.
What it needs from you
About three hours across the two weeks: the 60-minute kick-off, a list of the rivals you lose to, and the 90-minute workshop. We do the rest.
Who it's for, and who it isn't
It suits business-to-business and considered-purchase brands with a sales process, a shortlist to win and a website that should be doing more. In practice, that's usually organisations with 10 to 500 people.
It's less useful if you sell low-cost products that people buy on impulse, or if you're not yet sure what you sell or who to. In those cases the free RocMode Score is a better first step, and we'll say so.
What happens after
You keep the plan whether or not you work with us. Many clients fix the first gap with us as an Adaptation, sometimes a focused change from $4,900, sometimes a new website as the hero adaptation. Others go to Niche first if the evidence says buyers can't tell them apart from rivals. Then Generations keeps the loop running every month, with the plan as its backlog.
Whatever comes next, it starts from evidence rather than opinion. That's the point of the test.
Do this this week
Whether or not you book a Fitness Test, these four steps give you a head start on the thinking.
- Name your six buyers. Write who the champion, money, user, sceptic, boss and adviser usually are in your deals.
- List the rivals you lose to. Up to five, plus "do nothing". Be honest about which ones actually win.
- Write down your theory. One sentence: where do you think buyers are cutting you, and why? Date it.
- Run the free score. Get your RocMode Score and compare it with your theory. Note where they agree and where they don't.
Questions people ask
What does a Fitness Test include?
All 42 selection moments scored, six buyer types across seven stages; a head-to-head comparison with up to five real rivals plus "do nothing"; 200+ buyer questions asked of ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google; a 90-minute findings workshop; a 12-month implementation plan for review; and your RocMode baseline.
How much time does a Fitness Test take from our team?
About three hours across two weeks: a 60-minute kick-off call, a list of the rivals you lose to, and a 90-minute findings workshop. The studio does the research, scoring and planning.
How does the $2,900 credit work?
If you start Niche, an Adaptation or Generations with Evolut within 90 days of your Fitness Test, the full $2,900 comes off that next step. You keep the plan either way.