I can tell within our first conversation which consultants are operating with a mental model that will keep them stuck. If you've built your practice through referrals and now feel uncomfortable "selling," you're carrying beliefs about sales that will cap your growth far below your potential. After working inside 1,000+ B2B consulting businesses, I've identified the exact pattern that separates consultants who scale past $500K from those who stay trapped in referral-dependency. In this episode, I'm breaking down the four-pillar ethical selling framework that the top performers use—the ones who don't struggle with sales because they've reframed it as professional responsibility, not self-promotion. This isn't about tactics or scripts. It's about rewiring how you think about the entire sales process so closing deals feels like doing your clients a favor, not imposing on them.
SHOW NOTES
You just wrapped what felt like a perfect sales call—great chemistry, all questions answered, prospect seemed ready to move forward. Then they say "we'll discuss internally and get back to you," and suddenly you're second-guessing everything. Here's what most consultants don't realize: your deal isn't won or lost during your presentation. It's decided in the room you're NOT invited to—when the buying committee sits down without you and asks three specific questions about whether to hire you. Miss addressing these questions during your conversation, and you're gambling on hope. But when you understand exactly what they're discussing after you leave, you can structure your entire sales process to make those questions easy to answer. I'm breaking down the three questions that determine every consulting deal, and more importantly, how to address them before you ever leave the room.Show Notes- Discover the three questions every buying committee asks after you leave—and why most consultants never address them during the actual sales conversation- Learn why "booking a meeting" and "getting budget approved" are completely different decisions (and the urgency gap that kills deals in the committee room)- Understand why clients want to feel "common" not "unique" when hiring consultants, and how this psychology shapes their decision-making process- Explore the assumption of prior attempts: why every prospect has already tried to solve their problem internally (and what that means for how you position your approach)- Uncover the critical difference between Consultant A who says "I can solve your problem" and Consultant B who explains "here's why you haven't solved it yet"- Master the specific questions top consultants ask during discovery to surface real urgency and consequences—without manufactured pressure tactics- Get the exact positioning strategy that pre-answers the buying committee's questions before they even gather to discuss your proposal
Starting a consulting business feels like you need everything perfect before you begin—the website, the positioning, the delivery system, the tech stack. So you spend months "getting ready to get ready" while your bank account stays at zero. The real problem? You're doing everything except the one thing that actually matters: talking to prospective clients. I've worked with consultants at every stage, and I've never met one who got their first clients by perfecting their website or running ads to strangers. Every successful consultant started the exact same way—and in this episode, I'll walk you through the exact sequence I'd follow if I had to start from scratch today. No theory, just the proven path that actually works.
Show Notes:
I'm going to tell you something controversial: the most successful consultants I work with aren't the smartest ones. They're not the most credentialed, most experienced, or most technically brilliant. Yet they're the ones building thriving seven-figure practices while their more qualified peers struggle to hit six figures. The difference? They have an extreme bias toward action while everyone else is trapped in analysis paralysis, waiting for perfect conditions that never arrive. Every day you delay publishing that post, making that call, or testing that offer is another day your less-qualified competitor is building the business you want. In this episode, I reveal the exact traits that separate action-takers from over-thinkers, why your intelligence might actually be sabotaging your success, and the specific practices you can implement today to break free from the planning trap and start building real momentum.
Show Notes:
Most consultants struggle to win clients because they focus on showcasing their expertise rather than understanding what prospects actually need. The real breakthrough in positioning comes from identifying unmet needs—specific problems buyers desperately want solved but can't find solutions for in the current market. In this episode, Ahmad Munawar and Ana Laskey explain how to conduct customer research that uncovers these positioning goldmines, differentiate from competitors, and build offers that command premium prices while requiring less work.
Show Notes:
Cold outreach fails for most consultants because they skip steps. In this episode, Ahmed and Karie break down the 100-year-old AIDA model—Attention, Interest, Desire, Action—and show how to apply it directly to consulting sales. Learn how to grab attention, spark genuine curiosity, build desire, and finally get prospects to take action—without sounding desperate.
I used to think that working harder and being smarter was enough to scale my consulting business – but I was dead wrong. After watching countless brilliant consultants hit the same revenue ceiling around $500K-$1M, I discovered the brutal truth: most consulting businesses will never scale to the level their founders dream of, and it has nothing to do with intelligence or effort. The real problem? We're trying to scale chaos – doing different work for different clients with no clear focus, making it nearly impossible to hire talent or attract new clients beyond our warm network. But here's the solution that's helping consultants break through to $2M+ revenue: scale requires simplification, and growth means removing things before you add them.
Show Notes:
I discovered something shocking after 12 years of coaching consultants - we're facing the most brutal economic environment for independent consultants that I've ever witnessed. Even seasoned pros with 30 years under their belt are telling me they've never seen anything this challenging. The perfect storm has hit: your warm network has frozen budgets, there's a massive influx of desperate consultants flooding the market, and AI is eating away at the bottom tier. While most consultants are drowning, a select few are absolutely thriving and growing faster than ever. The difference? They've cracked the code on selling to strangers instead of relying on their cozy network of friends who used to throw them work.
Show Notes:
- Why a 30-year consulting veteran said this is the most challenging economic environment he's ever faced - and what happened to his $200K+ anchor client overnight
- The "network of 20" trap that's killing consultant businesses (and how expanding to 300+ connections changes everything)
- How AI and mass layoffs created a perfect storm that's flooding the market with desperate consultants
- The truth about why your warm network can't save you anymore - even when they love your work
- Why the consultants who are thriving right now have one thing in common: they've mastered selling to complete strangers
- The new "burden of proof" reality - why prospects assume you're just another generic consultant until you prove otherwise
- Real example: How one well-positioned consultant got a client to say "pricing is just a side note" in September 2025
- The stark choice every consultant faces: master cold market sales or polish up your resume
I've been exactly where you are right now - staring at two divergent paths, paralyzed by the decision between building a consulting practice and taking the "safe" job route. The problem is brutal: you're hemorrhaging cash, questioning every move, and that voice in your head keeps whispering "just take whatever job comes first." But here's what's eating you alive - you're hedging your bets, giving half-hearted effort to both paths, and excelling at neither. The truth nobody wants to tell you? In today's job market, that "stable" employment isn't the safety net you think it is, and while you're chasing corporate security, you're missing the fastest path to real financial freedom and control over your destiny.Show Notes:
I almost made a huge mistake last week that could have killed my consulting business before it even got off the ground. I was so in love with a specific market – one that felt perfectly aligned with my passion and identity – that I was willing to ignore every red flag screaming at me that it wasn't ready yet. The problem? When you're emotionally invested in making something work, you become dangerously good at rationalizing why obvious warning signs don't matter. You'll emphasize every tiny positive signal while minimizing the glaring negatives, all because you want it to work so badly. But here's what I learned from my mentor that changed everything: sometimes the market you love most is the one that will bankrupt you fastest. In this episode, I'll share the counterintuitive advice that saved my business and show you how to pursue your passion market without letting bias destroy your judgment.
Show Notes:
I've been watching consultants panic as seasoned C-suite executives flood the market, convinced they can't compete with decades of boardroom experience. But here's the truth: you're playing the wrong game entirely. While you're busy comparing resumes like you're applying for a corporate job, these "superior" competitors are making a fatal mistake that's about to hand you every deal on a silver platter. In this episode, I reveal why the best product rarely wins in any market, and exactly how to position yourself so that all that executive experience becomes completely irrelevant to your prospects.
Show Notes:
I used to guard my expertise like Fort Knox – terrified that sharing my best ideas would make me worthless and let competitors steal my secret sauce. But here's the truth: while I was playing it safe and staying invisible, my prospects were already 57% through their buying journey before they'd even consider talking to me. They were desperately searching for the very insights I was hoarding, and when they couldn't find me, they found someone else who wasn't afraid to show up. I discovered that in today's AI-saturated world where ideas are literally free, the real money isn't in gatekeeping information – it's in being the expert who can actually apply those ideas in context, and the only way prospects will trust you with that expensive work is if you first prove your value through generous, strategic sharing.
Show Notes:
I used to think my age was holding me back from charging premium consulting fees – until I discovered the real truth about what drives pricing in our industry. If you're tired of being commoditized, shopped against dozens of other consultants, and forced to compete on price alone, you're focusing on the wrong factors entirely. The problem isn't your age, technical skills, or the "competitive market" – it's that you don't understand the four mechanical drivers that actually determine what clients will pay. Once I learned these principles, everything changed: I stopped being a wandering generality and became a meaningful specific, moved from implementation to strategy, and transformed from a commodity into the obvious choice for high-value problems.
Show Notes:
I used to think replacing my corporate income was a "smart" consulting goal—until I discovered this mindset was sabotaging my success before I even started. Here's the brutal truth: if you're leaving corporate to become a consultant with the goal of just matching your old salary, you're thinking like an employee, not an entrepreneur. This scarcity-based approach will trap you in bad pricing decisions, wrong client choices, and a business model that keeps you stuck at your income ceiling. In this episode, I reveal why "income replacement" is a poverty mindset in disguise and share the powerful reframe that transforms struggling consultants into six-figure success stories.
Show Notes:
I was crushing it in my consulting business—tons of traction, busy schedule, opportunities everywhere—but then something weird happened that caught me completely off guard. My motivation started tanking right when things were going well. If you've ever felt less pumped up just when you should be celebrating, you're not alone. This motivation dip in the "messy middle" is actually more common than struggling when things are hard, and it can derail everything you've worked for. In this episode, my co-host and I break down exactly why this happens and give you the specific strategies to reignite your drive when success starts feeling like a slog.
Show Notes:
I used to think playing it safe in my consulting business was smart – until I realized I was actually putting myself at greater risk by not taking any risks at all. The problem is that most of us consultants never learned how to think about risk strategically, so we either avoid it completely (which kills growth) or take reckless gambles that could destroy everything we've built. This creates a paralyzing cycle where we're too scared to make the moves that could transform our business, while simultaneously putting our survival at stake by staying stagnant. In this episode, Ahmad and I break down our three-stage framework for taking calculated risks at every phase of your consulting business – from the foundational stage where survival is key, to the growth stage where strategic bets can 10x your revenue, to the stability stage where protection becomes priority.
Show notes:
Why consultants are entrepreneurs but don't think like them – and how this mindset gap is costing you opportunities
The "survival stage" trap – why trying to build the perfect business too early will kill your momentum (and what to focus on instead)
Three distinct business stages that require completely different risk strategies – and how to identify which stage you're actually in
The "don't bet the farm" rule – how to take growth-stage risks without jeopardizing your core business foundation
Why your first scaling offer probably won't work – and why that's actually a good thing if you're managing risk correctly
The counterintuitive shift from growth to protection – when successful consultants stop taking big risks and start defending their position
How to build risk tolerance – the uncomfortable truth about why there's no shortcut to becoming comfortable with uncertainty
The altitude analogy for risk – why you need to adjust at each level before ascending to bigger bets
I've been wrestling with the same dilemma that's plagued me for years - should I stick to solving one problem for my clients, or expand into other areas once I'm in the door? Last week, this question came up twice in client calls, and I realized most consultants are making this choice blindly without understanding the real trade-offs. You're either building a focused, premium practice that commands higher fees, or you're creating a comfortable but risky dependency on a handful of clients who start treating you like an employee. The brutal truth is that most consultants accidentally choose the wrong path and wonder why they're stuck in a cycle of feast or famine. In this episode, I break down both the "land and expand" approach versus the "specialize and replicate" strategy, showing you exactly how to make this decision strategically rather than letting it happen by default.
Show Notes:
The two paths every consultant faces: Land and expand with fewer clients vs. specialize and replicate with more clients - most consultants stumble into one without realizing the consequences
Why "land and expand" feels safer but creates dangerous concentration risk: How working with 3-4 deep clients instead of 15-20 specialized clients can leave you vulnerable and undervalued
The pricing power of specialization: Why consultant B (specialized) can charge higher fees and reduce delivery costs while consultant A (generalist) struggles with pricing justification
The hidden trap of becoming "one of the team": How deep client relationships can turn you from a trusted advisor into just another employee who reports to meetings
The pipeline reality check: Why the specialized path requires serious investment in marketing and business development - you can't get lazy about filling your funnel
How to avoid the "whatever work is in front of you" trap: Making strategic decisions about your consulting path instead of letting circumstances decide for you
I've been watching consultants panic about AI supposedly destroying our industry—and honestly, I was skeptical too until I started actually using it in my business. The problem isn't just the breathless headlines about "disruption"—it's that most consultants are either running scared or burying their heads in the sand instead of adapting strategically. This paralysis is dangerous because while you're frozen, your clients are already using AI to replace the low-value work you used to charge premium rates for, and they're questioning whether bringing in any consultant is worth the disruption. But here's what I've discovered after integrating AI into my operations: it's not your replacement—it's your competitive advantage, and I'll show you exactly how to leverage it to deliver higher-value services that no algorithm can replicate.
Show Notes:
Why the "AI will replace all consultants" narrative is both wrong and dangerously misleading—and what's actually happening in the market
The brutal truth about which consulting services are already dead (spoiler: if you're still doing SWOT analyses for clients, you're in trouble)
How government agencies like the GSA are slashing consulting budgets and what this signals about the future of traditional consulting models
The two deadly paths consultants are taking in response to AI—and why both lead to business failure
Real examples of how AI has transformed our operations without replacing our core value proposition
Why your clients' needs are evolving faster than ever—and how to stay ahead of their changing requirements
The mindset shift that transforms AI from existential threat to powerful ally in your consulting practice
How the "bar for value creation" has permanently risen for consultants—and what you must do to clear it
Why the pace of change means resting on your consulting laurels is now a recipe for disaster
Actionable strategies for incorporating AI into your workflows while maintaining your unique human advantage
I used to think consulting was all about logic and data – until I discovered the uncomfortable truth that's costing consultants millions in lost deals. Every consulting purchase is ultimately a leap of faith, no matter how rational your proposal seems. You can have perfect case studies, flawless logic, and obvious ROI, yet prospects still won't pull the trigger. The problem? You're trying to eliminate risk when you should be building confidence. I've cracked the code on what really makes clients say yes, and it has nothing to do with more data or better objection handling. In this episode, I reveal the invisible force that transforms skeptical prospects into committed clients – and how to authentically project the kind of unshakeable confidence that makes the sale inevitable.
Show Notes:
I was scrolling through industry reports when I hit a wall of doom and gloom—biotech is supposedly crashing, consolidation is coming, and firms are going under left and right. Sound familiar? Here's the problem: one scary research report had me (and my client) questioning everything we thought we knew about our target market. But here's what's worse—most consultants let these third-party predictions completely derail their strategy, abandon profitable niches, and chase the next "hot" industry based on headlines designed to grab clicks, not guide business decisions. The solution? I'll show you exactly how to read market research like a seasoned strategist, separate signal from noise, and actually use "bad news" data to sharpen your positioning and create more opportunities than your competitors who are running scared.
The one-study trap: Why smart consultants are making million-dollar pivots based on single data points (and how to avoid this costly mistake)
The bias breakdown: How to spot hidden agendas in third-party research and why your firsthand client conversations trump any industry report
Recession-proof thinking: Why disruption and market contraction might actually be the best thing for your consulting business (real example included)
The confirmation bias spiral: How to intentionally research opposing viewpoints before your brain tricks you into finding only doom-and-gloom evidence