Paul Higgins Podcast

Why you should listen Doug Pelletier has spent 35 years winning enterprise accounts (Disney, Pfizer, Xerox) as a small Salesforce partner, proving that company size is irrelevant when your positioning and sales approach are right. Learn why Doug hired a General Manager at just six employees, and how that single WHO decision helped him scale to 130 people without burning out on tasks outside his st...

You've landed a foothold in a big company, delivered a great project, the client loved it, so why are you still stuck in the same corner six months later winning the same small deals? In this episode, I break down why most consultants stay trapped in one department and how to turn a single project into an enterprise-wide engagement. I share how one Airtable consultant turned a $20,000 clinical tri...

Stuck at 50% of your revenue target because your pipeline depends on someone else's priorities? In this episode, I break down the partner program trap and why so many platform consultants stay dependent on AE referrals even when they know it's holding them back. I walk through the exact 12-month transition sequence I use with clients: pick your niche, build pain-point messaging, start direct outre...

Why you should listen Ferny reveals how Sherpaneer uses AI across operations, from capacity planning models to proposal development, giving you a practical blueprint for integrating AI into your own consulting workflows. Learn how Ferny and her partner built a fully self-sourced pipeline through reciprocal partnerships with adjacent vendors like Gong, Clari, and FinancialForce, without relying on...

Still relying on referrals and hoping the next one brings a decent project? In this episode, I break down why your referral strategy is actually killing your margins, not growing them. I share the pattern I see with over 200 tech consultants who are great at delivery but trapped in legacy business development, constantly auditioning for clients who see them as a vendor instead of a strategic partn...

Ever finish a 60-hour week and realize you didn't do a single thing to find better clients? In this episode, I break down why most tech consultants stay trapped in work that feels productive but actually keeps them stuck. I share the story of a client who was exhausted, in debt, and over-delivering on every project until we made two critical decisions together: the WHO (estate attorneys only) and...

Why you should listen Christine Duque, former Big Four consultant and CEO of Alonsera, shares why only 10% of global companies are seeing real impact from AI, and what separates the successful ones from the rest. Learn Christine's "Three A's" framework for making AI consumable: Automated, Anticipatory, and Augmented intelligence, plus how to progress toward autonomous operations. Get practical gui...

Stuck three months into a niche and wondering if you picked wrong? In this episode, I share the story of a client who spent 14 months doubting his industrial automation niche before everything clicked. His first outreach response took 14 months to close. A newsletter reader opened the same email 25 times before becoming a client. I break down why most consultants quit at the exact moment their pla...

Why you should listen Scott Stafford shares his human-centric AI framework, explaining why major tech companies are now hiring salespeople again despite investing heavily in agentic solutions. Learn how to shift 20% of your workload to voice mode and natural language, with practical examples of completing real work while away from your desk. Discover where vibe coding tools like Bolt.new hit their...

Why you should listen Dennis Knodt grew Valuent from freelancing in 2019 to a 25-person Salesforce consultancy by narrowing focus to one product line (quote-to-cash) and one geography (Germany), offering a blueprint for partners drowning in "we do everything" positioning. Learn how to structure your Salesforce AE relationships so successful projects create internal bragging that generates referral...

Spending 60+ hours a week on client work and wondering why your pipeline is empty? In this episode, I break down why being brilliant at delivery is actually keeping you stuck. You'll learn the four-step framework I use to help consultants escape the delivery trap and start tracking the metric that actually matters: growth hours. If you've built a job instead of a business, this episode shows you h...

Heading into the new year without a clear focus for your consulting business? In this quick episode, I reflect on 2025 and encourage you to use any downtime to dig into the podcast archives. Whether you're looking for episodes on AI, positioning, partnerships, pricing, or escaping delivery, there's something here for you. I'd also love to hear from you directly. What's your resolution for 2026? Wh...

Did you hit your targets in 2025? Or are you still stuck chasing clients and trying to figure it out alone? In this solo episode, I get brutally honest about my own struggles, including when I couldn't see what needed to change from inside my own business and had to bring back my mentor to push me. I share how one client, Jack, made the WHO and WHAT decisions he'd been avoiding and increased his r...

Stuck waiting for your platform's marketplace to send you your next lead? In this episode, I break down the three traps that keep SaaS partners grinding on low-margin implementations, and what happened when a Monday.com partner finally made the WHO and WHAT decisions he'd been avoiding. We dig into how he went from competing on price with thousands of other partners to closing his biggest deal eve...

Why you should listen Learn the specific signals that indicate a client is ready for automation support, including the "cusp of scale" indicators Jared uses to identify businesses where systems work can deliver immediate ROI. Get the scoping questions Jared asks before every automation project, from "Is this always going to be assigned to this person?" to the scale and maintenance questions that p...

Tired of hearing "let me think about it" after every proposal? In this episode, I break down why most tech consultants are stuck grinding on $3K projects while plumbers are one of the highest paid trades. I share the story of David, a CRM consultant who was targeting the right companies but solving the wrong problem, and how one shift took him from $5K projects to his first $250K contract in six m...

Why you should listen Gemma shares how she turned a £7 million stack of paper inquiries into a thriving HubSpot consultancy—proof that seeing inefficiency others ignore can become your biggest opportunity. Understand why narrowing your focus during uncertainty can accelerate growth faster than diversifying. Discover how building a culture focused on psychological safety helped HubGem become one of...

Why you should listen Discover the simple formula for calculating ROI on AI tools before you implement them, so you stop wasting money on platforms you'll never use. Leandra reveals how she helps burnt-out business owners fall back in love with their companies while scaling revenue—without adding more to their plate. Learn why the most effective automations aren't the flashy AI agents everyone's t...

You've got a database of hundreds, maybe thousands of leads sitting there not converting, and you're stuck wondering if you should keep chasing new leads or finally fix your positioning. I recently worked with a business owner who had this exact problem—thousands of people in their database, strong team, solid systems, but fuzzy messaging. In this episode, I walk through the three-step process we...

Why you should listen Kelly Fifield shares her practical approach to using AI for productivity without getting lost in complicated automations that waste weeks of your time. Discover the critical difference between using AI as a task-focused executive assistant versus a strategic business coach—and why you need both to avoid getting trapped in research while missing revenue goals. Learn why starti...

Why you should listen Mark Emond shares his strategic pivot from traditional marketing automation to AI transformation services, offering a proven roadmap for consultants looking to evolve their positioning before the market forces them to. Discover how to identify and attract visionary clients who are ready to invest strategically rather than just experiment—learn the signals that separate early...

Ever feel like you're burning through tactics (LinkedIn, conferences, outbound) with nothing sticking while your spouse picks up the financial slack? You're smart enough to execute anything, but you're making million-dollar decisions about equity, offshore teams, and pipeline strategy completely alone. Your peer group can't help because they're still solopreneurs. Your casual mentors give generic...

Why you should listen Discover why targeting companies posting job ads on LinkedIn crushes cold outreach, and how Andy positions himself to connect directly with decision-makers actively looking for his expertise (no complex funnels required). Learn how podcasting opens doors. Andy shares how it  gets him in front of impossible-to-reach prospects, plus the truth about why most consultants qui...

Why you should listen Jason Alberti reveals his complete end-to-end automation system built on N8N that transforms website leads into qualified prospects with research reports, generates customized proposals from call transcripts, and eliminates the hours you're wasting on repetitive client work. Discover why strategically keeping humans in the loop at specific checkpoints prevents AI disasters an...

You're spending thousands on outreach agencies, cold email tools, and marketing tactics—but your revenue is stuck. You keep trying new strategies, but nothing seems to move the needle. Here's the hard truth: the problem isn't your tactics. It's your business model. And you can't see it because you're inside the jar. In this episode, I share two real client examples who transformed their revenue—no...