The Principal Podcast

GHA Marketing

The Principal Podcast is where founders, Managing Partners, and CEOs of professional services firms share how they build, grow, and lead businesses that last. Each episode goes deep on the real strategies behind firm growth, from winning clients and building trust, to scaling teams and staying ahead in a competitive market. Hosted by a team of seasoned professionals with backgrounds across consulting, marketing, and business growth, The Principal Podcast brings diverse perspectives to every conversation. Guests come from across the professional services world: management consulting, financial services, investment banking, IT services, marketing, PR, staffing, and accounting. If you run or lead a professional services firm and you're serious about growth, this is your show.

  1. 5h ago

    How to Turn Relationships Into Revenue With Steve “The Hurricane” Weiss

    Look into the "3 Ways to Generate Leads With Your Podcast" E-book for free here on our website! (https://ghapodcast.com) Want to solve Branding and Lead-Gen for good for your B2B Business? Download our Completed Playbook for FREE: https://ghapodcast.com/b2b-podcasting-secrets-pod ********************************************************************** Steve “The Hurricane” Weiss has spent more than two decades in healthcare sales, marketing, networking, and business development. Before starting his own firm, he led marketing, sales, public relations, and referral development for healthcare organizations, giving him firsthand experience with the growth problems his clients now hire him to solve. In 2012, Steve founded Hurricane Marketing Enterprises, specializing in helping private duty, home care, home health, hospice, and other healthcare providers grow. The firm works with clients across referral-source development, strategic partnerships, account qualification, sales conversion, marketing campaigns, operations, caregiver management, and exit planning. Today, Steve has built Hurricane Marketing Enterprises beyond a founder-only practice, with a team delivering training, business development, and client work. His journey offers professional services leaders a practical look at what it takes to turn deep industry expertise into a specialized firm, create a repeatable approach to winning and retaining clients, and build a business capable of growing beyond its founder. Proposed Interview Structure: 1. You spent years on the inside of healthcare sales and marketing before starting Hurricane Marketing Enterprises. What made you decide to take that expertise and build your own professional services firm around it? 2. What specific problem are you helping home care, home health, and hospice providers solve today, and why does solving that problem matter so much to you personally? 3. Who are your ideal clients today, and within those organizations, who typically holds the decision to bring Hurricane Marketing Enterprises in and hire you? 4. Your firm teaches clients how to generate referrals and build strategic relationships, so I’m curious how you apply that to your own business. How do clients typically find Hurricane Marketing Enterprises, and what has worked best for consistently bringing new business into the firm? Current Acquisition Channels: Referral, Content, Google Ads, Meta Ads, Webinars, Podcast (guesting), Speaking engagements Sub Question: You’ve built a visible personal brand through speaking, events, video, and educational content. What do you think about podcasting as a marketing and trust-building tool for professional services firms? 5. Once a potential client enters your world, what does your sales process look like, from that first conversation to getting them comfortable enough to bring your firm in? 6. Once someone becomes a client, how do you make sure they continue seeing value, keep coming back, and ultimately develop into a long-term relationship with Hurricane Marketing Enterprises? 7. At the stage Hurricane Marketing Enterprises is at today, where do you find yourself most challenged right now as a professional services firm owner, if at all? 8. Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity for your work over the next few years? ********************************************************** Know more about Steve “The Hurricane” Weiss Website Link: http://www.homecareevolution.com Connect with Steve “The Hurricane” Weiss on LinkedIn LinkedIn Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-hurricane-weiss-13996b2 Apply to be a guest on The Principal Podcast: https://ghapodcast.com/application-to-be-a-guest-on-consulting-leaders/

    How to Turn Relationships Into Revenue With Steve “The Hurricane” Weiss
  2. 3d ago

    How to Build a Professional Services Firm Through Profitable Client Relationships With John Reed

    Look into the "3 Ways to Generate Leads With Your Podcast" E-book for free here on our website! (https://ghapodcast.com) Want to solve Branding and Lead-Gen for good for your B2B Business? Download our Completed Playbook for FREE: https://ghapodcast.com/b2b-podcasting-secrets-pod ********************************************************************** John Reed has spent more than two decades at the intersection of professional expertise, sales, marketing, and client development. He began his career as a practicing attorney before moving into sales and sales leadership at Thomson Reuters, eventually combining those experiences to build a consulting business focused specifically on the commercial side of the legal profession. In 2010, John founded Rain BDM, where he helps attorneys and law firms strengthen their positioning, win new business, and build deeper relationships with existing clients. His work ranges from business development coaching and client relationship strategy to branding, content, websites, SEO, and broader marketing initiatives. For leaders of professional services firms, John’s experience raises a broader question: being excellent at the work is one thing, but how do you build a firm that consistently turns expertise into growth? We’ll unpack how John has approached client acquisition, sales, retention, team building, and creating the kind of relationships that keep a professional services business growing over the long term. Proposed Interview Structure: 1. You went from practicing law, to sales and sales leadership, and eventually to founding Rain BDM. What led you to build your own consulting firm, and why focus specifically on the business side of the legal profession? 2. What specific problem are you helping attorneys and law firms solve through Rain BDM, and why does solving that problem matter so much to you personally? 3. Who are your ideal clients today, and within those firms, who usually holds the decision to bring Rain BDM in and hire you? 4. How are clients typically finding Rain BDM today, and what has consistently worked best for you when it comes to generating new opportunities for the firm? Current Acquisition Channels: Referral, Content, Podcast (hosting), Reputation and word-of-mouth Sub Question: You also host The Sticky Lawyers Podcast. How does podcasting fit into your own growth and relationship-building strategy, and what potential do you see for podcasts as a marketing tool for professional services firms? 5. Once you have the attention of a prospective client, how do you typically take that relationship from an initial conversation to a signed engagement? 6. Once a client starts working with Rain BDM, what do you do to make sure they continue seeing value, keep coming back, and develop into a long-term relationship with the firm? 7. Where do you find yourself most challenged right now as the founder of Rain BDM, if at all? 8. Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity for your work over the next few years? ********************************************************** Know more about John Reed Website Link: https://rainbdm.com/ Connect with John Reed on LinkedIn LinkedIn Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnreedesq Apply to be a guest on The Principal Podcast: https://ghapodcast.com/application-to-be-a-guest-on-consulting-leaders/

    How to Build a Professional Services Firm Through Profitable Client Relationships With John Reed
  3. 3d ago

    How to Build a Firm Around Problems Clients Actually Need Solved With Phil Ratcliffe

    Look into the "3 Ways to Generate Leads With Your Podcast" E-book for free here on our website! (https://ghapodcast.com) Want to solve Branding and Lead-Gen for good for your B2B Business? Download our Completed Playbook for FREE: https://ghapodcast.com/b2b-podcasting-secrets-pod ********************************************************************** Phil Ratcliffe has spent more than 30 years working across corporate real estate, facilities management, project delivery, and advisory. Before joining Code Advisory as a Director in 2023, he spent more than 20 years at Procore UK, including several years leading the business as Managing Director. Today, Phil works with organisations through Code Advisory on challenges including operating models, technology, transformation, benchmarking, and how CRE and FM teams need to evolve for the future. A recurring principle behind his work is deceptively simple: understand the problem before choosing the solution. In this conversation, we go beyond CRE to unpack the lessons behind building a successful professional services business: how Phil approaches winning clients, establishing credibility, turning engagements into long-term relationships, leading teams, and adapting an advisory firm as AI and technology reshape both client problems and the way professional services are delivered. Proposed Interview Structure: 1. You’ve spent more than 30 years in professional services, including over two decades at Procore and now as a Director at Code Advisory. How did you originally get into the business, and what kept you in it? 2. What specific problem are you helping clients solve through Code Advisory today, and why does solving that problem matter so much to you personally? 3. Who are your ideal clients at Code Advisory, and within those organisations, who usually holds the decision to bring you in and hire the firm? 4. In a specialist advisory business where reputation and trust matter so much, how are clients typically finding Code Advisory today, and what have you found works best for consistently generating new opportunities? Current Acquisition Channels: Referral, Speaking, engagements network Sub Question: What do you think about podcasts as a marketing and trust-building tool for professional services firms like yours? 5. When a potential client comes into your world, how do you take them from an initial conversation to trusting Code Advisory enough to bring you in, particularly when you’re selling expertise rather than a tangible product? 6. Once you’ve won a client, what do you do to make sure they keep coming back, and what have you learned over the years about building client relationships that last? 7. Where do you find yourself most challenged right now as a leader at Code Advisory, if at all? 8. Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity for your work over the next few years? ********************************************************** Know more about Phil Ratcliffe Website Link: https://www.code-advisory.com Connect with Phil Ratcliffe on LinkedIn LinkedIn Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-ratcliffe-5257773 Apply to be a guest on The Principal Podcast: https://ghapodcast.com/application-to-be-a-guest-on-consulting-leaders/

    How to Build a Firm Around Problems Clients Actually Need Solved With Phil Ratcliffe
  4. 4d ago

    How to Grow a Firm by Staying Ahead of Client Demand With Matthias Muehlbauer

    Look into the "3 Ways to Generate Leads With Your Podcast" E-book for free here on our website! (https://ghapodcast.com) Want to solve Branding and Lead-Gen for good for your B2B Business? Download our Completed Playbook for FREE: https://ghapodcast.com/b2b-podcasting-secrets-pod ********************************************************************** Matthias Muehlbauer has spent the last decade working across consulting, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and strategy in Australia, Japan, and the United States. Today, he is Co-Founder and COO/CTO of OnePointFive, where he helps organizations turn complex sustainability challenges into practical strategies and implementation. OnePointFive has built its business across both advisory and education. The firm works with organizations on climate strategy, emissions measurement, decarbonization, climate finance, organizational design, and sustainability training. Its Academy has trained more than 14,000 professionals across 70+ countries, while the business has expanded its reach across the US, Europe, Asia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia. More recently, Matthias and his team have followed client demand into the intersection of sustainability and AI, working on areas such as AI emissions measurement, responsible AI policy, and workforce capability. Proposed Interview Structure: 1. You’ve worked across strategy, investing, entrepreneurship, and climate. What led you to build OnePointFive, and when did you realize there was a real professional services business to build around this problem? 2. What specific problem are you helping clients solve through OnePointFive today, and why does solving that problem matter so much to you personally? 3. Who are your ideal clients today, and within those organizations, who usually holds the decision to bring OnePointFive in and hire you? 4. You’ve built a visible brand around climate, AI, education, events, and thought leadership. What has worked best for getting OnePointFive in front of the right clients and consistently generating new business? Current Acquisition Channels: Referral, Content, Cold outreach Sub Question: Given how much your business already relies on expertise and education, what do you think about podcasting as a marketing and trust-building tool for professional services firms? 5. Your work can involve complex problems, multiple stakeholders, and long buying cycles. Once a potential client is interested, how do you build enough trust and momentum to turn that conversation into an engagement? 6. Once you’ve won a client, what do you do to make sure they keep coming back and that the relationship develops into a long-term partnership rather than a one-off project? 7. Where do you find yourself most challenged right now as a founder and leader of a growing professional services firm, if at all? 8. Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity for your work over the next few years? ********************************************************** Know more about Matthias Muehlbauer Website Link: http://www.opf.degree Connect with Matthias Muehlbauer on LinkedIn LinkedIn Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthiasmuehlbauer/ Apply to be a guest on The Principal Podcast: https://ghapodcast.com/application-to-be-a-guest-on-consulting-leaders/

    How to Grow a Firm by Staying Ahead of Client Demand With Matthias Muehlbauer
  5. 4d ago

    How to Build a Firm That Performs Through Constant Change With Zannah Ryabchuk

    Look into the "3 Ways to Generate Leads With Your Podcast" E-book for free here on our website! (https://ghapodcast.com) Want to solve Branding and Lead-Gen for good for your B2B Business? Download our Completed Playbook for FREE: https://ghapodcast.com/b2b-podcasting-secrets-pod ********************************************************************** Zannah Ryabchuk is CEO of Breakthrough Global, a professional services firm focused on business growth, leadership, and culture transformation. Over the past 14 years, she has worked with executive teams and organisations including Nomad Foods, JDE Peet’s, Coty, and Reckitt. Her journey through Breakthrough gives her an unusual perspective on growing and leading a services business. She has worked across communications, client management, client services, and leadership before becoming CEO in 2023, giving her firsthand experience of both delivering the work and running the firm behind it. In this conversation, we’ll get into the business behind Breakthrough: who they serve, how they win large organisations, what turns an initial engagement into a long-term client relationship, and the challenges of leading and growing the firm. We’ll also explore how Zannah thinks about marketing, sales, thought leadership, and where she sees the biggest opportunities ahead. Proposed Interview Structure: 1. You’ve gone from working across different roles within Breakthrough to becoming CEO. How did you get into this business in the first place, and what made you want to build your career around it? 2. What specific problem does Breakthrough help clients solve today, and why does solving that problem matter so much to you personally? 3. Who are your ideal clients today, and within those organisations, who typically holds the decision to bring Breakthrough in? 4. You’ve built relationships with some very large global organisations. How do those clients typically find Breakthrough, and what has been most effective for generating new business? Current Acquisition Channels: Referral Sub Question: You also co-host 3 Lessons from Breakthrough Leaders. What role has the podcast played in building the Breakthrough brand and relationships with potential clients, and what do you think about podcasting as a marketing tool for professional services firms? 5. When you’re selling transformation work into a large organisation, what does the journey from first conversation to signed engagement typically look like, and what have you learned about building trust during that process? 6. Once you’ve won a client, what do you do to make sure they keep coming back? How have you approached turning individual engagements into long-term client relationships? 7. As CEO of Breakthrough today, where do you find yourself most challenged when it comes to growing and leading the firm, if at all? 8. Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity for your work over the next few years? ********************************************************** Know more about Zannah Ryabchuk Website Link: https://breakthroughglobal.com/us/homepage-us Connect with Zannah Ryabchuk on LinkedIn LinkedIn Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zannah-robinson-ryabchuk/ Apply to be a guest on The Principal Podcast: https://ghapodcast.com/application-to-be-a-guest-on-consulting-leaders/

    How to Build a Firm That Performs Through Constant Change With Zannah Ryabchuk
  6. 5d ago

    How to Build a Professional Services Firm Around AI-Driven Growth With Joy Youell

    Look into the "3 Ways to Generate Leads With Your Podcast" E-book for free here on our website! (https://ghapodcast.com) Want to solve Branding and Lead-Gen for good for your B2B Business? Download our Completed Playbook for FREE: https://ghapodcast.com/b2b-podcasting-secrets-pod ********************************************************************** Joy Youell has spent roughly two decades studying how humans communicate and, more recently, how AI communicates. Her background includes serving as chief content consultant on a large-scale LLM development project, advising on how an early language model interacted with users, and leading an LLM development team. Today, Joy runs Winsome Marketing, where her team helps professional services firms implement AI alongside SEO, content, thought leadership, and growth strategy. Her work has supported more than 200 mid-market and enterprise organizations, giving her a practical view of what it takes to turn emerging technology into something clients and teams can actually use. Joy is also the owner of ACE, an AI reskilling platform for growth professionals, as well as Hire a Writer and Winsome PR. Having built businesses across AI, marketing, training, content, and PR, Joy brings the perspective of both a specialist and a professional services founder: how do you stay ahead of major changes in your market while continuing to win clients, develop your team, and build a firm designed to last? Proposed Interview Structure: 1. You’ve gone from working on large-scale LLM development to building several businesses across AI, marketing, PR, and training. What originally pulled you into professional services, and what made you decide to build your own firm? 2. What specific problem are you helping clients solve today, and why does solving that problem matter so much to you personally? 3. Who are your ideal clients today, and within those organizations, who usually holds the decision to bring you in and hire your firm? 4. You’ve built businesses around SEO, content, thought leadership, PR, and now AI. How are clients typically finding Winsome today, and what has worked best for consistently generating new business for the firm? Current Acquisition Channels: Referral Sub Question: Given your background in content and thought leadership, what do you think about podcasts as a marketing and authority-building tool for professional services firms? 5. When a potential client comes to you knowing they need help with AI or growth but isn’t completely sure what they need yet, how do you take that relationship from an initial conversation to a signed engagement? 6. Once you’ve won a client, what do you do to keep them coming back and build the kind of long-term relationship where Winsome becomes a trusted partner rather than a one-off provider? 7. With Winsome, ACE, Hire a Writer, and Winsome PR all growing in different directions, where do you find yourself most challenged right now as a professional services founder, if at all? 8. Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity for your work over the next few years? ********************************************************** Know more about Joy Youell Website Link: https://winsomemarketing.com Connect with Joy Youell on LinkedIn LinkedIn Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-youell-a3b1279b Apply to be a guest on The Principal Podcast: https://ghapodcast.com/application-to-be-a-guest-on-consulting-leaders/

    How to Build a Professional Services Firm Around AI-Driven Growth With Joy Youell
  7. 5d ago

    How to Build and Grow a Technology Services Firm in the Age of AI With Kelly Waters

    Look into the "3 Ways to Generate Leads With Your Podcast" E-book for free here on our website! (https://ghapodcast.com) Want to solve Branding and Lead-Gen for good for your B2B Business? Download our Completed Playbook for FREE: https://ghapodcast.com/b2b-podcasting-secrets-pod ********************************************************************** Kelly Waters started his career as a developer before moving into senior technology leadership and ultimately founding the business now known as Crosstide in 2013. Since then, he has built the firm around solving complex technology and delivery challenges for mid-market and enterprise clients. Today, Crosstide sits at the intersection of AI and software engineering. The firm helps organisations accelerate product development, introduce AI across the software delivery lifecycle, automate workflows, and modernise legacy technology. Kelly’s perspective is that AI alone doesn't solve the underlying problems that slow businesses down, execution, organisational structure, technical architecture, and human judgement still matter. In this conversation, we’ll go behind the technology and into the business of building a professional services firm: how Kelly attracts and wins major clients, builds long-term relationships, leads the business through changes in the market, and sees AI changing the opportunities ahead for technology services firms. Proposed Interview Structure: 1. You started as a developer, moved into senior technology leadership, and then founded what is now Crosstide. What made you decide to build your own professional services firm, and what did those early years look like? 2. What specific problem is Crosstide helping clients solve today, and why does solving that problem matter so much to you personally? 3. Who are your ideal clients today, and within those organisations, who typically holds the decision to bring Crosstide in and hire you? 4. You’ve built Crosstide over more than a decade and have also developed a strong personal voice around engineering, agile, and now AI. How do clients typically find you today, and what has worked best for generating new business? Current Acquisition Channels: Referral Sub Question: For a firm selling complex expertise where trust matters so much, what do you think about podcasts as a marketing and trust-building tool for professional services firms? 5. You’re selling significant technology and transformation work into mid-market and enterprise organisations. How do you typically take a potential client from that first conversation through to actually winning the engagement? 6. Once you’ve won a client, how do you make sure they keep coming back to Crosstide, and what have you learned about building long-term client relationships? 7. After more than a decade of building and leading Crosstide, where do you find yourself most challenged right now as a professional services firm owner, if at all? 8. Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity for your work over the next few years? ********************************************************** Know more about Kelly Waters Website Link: http://www.crosstideconsulting.com Connect with Kelly Waters on LinkedIn LinkedIn Link: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/kellywaters Apply to be a guest on The Principal Podcast: https://ghapodcast.com/application-to-be-a-guest-on-consulting-leaders/

    How to Build and Grow a Technology Services Firm in the Age of AI With Kelly Waters
  8. 5d ago

    How to Scale a Professional Services Firm Through Stronger Leadership With Rick Snyder

    Look into the "3 Ways to Generate Leads With Your Podcast" E-book for free here on our website! (https://ghapodcast.com) Want to solve Branding and Lead-Gen for good for your B2B Business? Download our Completed Playbook for FREE: https://ghapodcast.com/b2b-podcasting-secrets-pod ********************************************************************** Rick Snyder has spent more than a decade in executive coaching and consulting. In 2019, he founded Invisible Edge, a global boutique firm working with organizations ranging from fast-growth startups to Fortune 500 companies through executive coaching, leadership development, workshops, and scalable training. A core part of Rick’s work is helping leaders recognize what often goes unsaid inside an organization: misalignment, resistance, difficult conversations, and interpersonal dynamics that can quietly limit performance. His approach combines leadership development with what he calls “intuitive intelligence”, becoming better at recognizing the human signals that influence decisions, teams, and business outcomes. For founders and leaders of professional services firms, Rick’s experience raises an important question: how do you build a firm that can grow beyond the capabilities and capacity of its founder? We’ll dig into Rick’s own journey building Invisible Edge, how he attracts and sells to clients, how he creates long-term relationships, and what he has learned about developing leaders and teams as a business scales. Proposed Interview Structure: 1. You’ve spent more than a decade in executive coaching and consulting. What originally got you into this business, and what eventually led you to build Invisible Edge? 2. What specific problem are you helping clients solve through Invisible Edge today, and why does solving that problem matter so much to you personally? 3. Who are your ideal clients today, and within those organizations, who usually holds the decision to bring you in or hire you? 4. How are clients typically finding Invisible Edge today, and what have you found works best for consistently attracting the right opportunities? Current Acquisition Channels: Referral, Webinars, Podcast (guesting), Speaking engagements Sub Question: You’ve also hosted StraightTalk.Live yourself. From that experience, what do you think about podcasting as a way for professional services firms to build trust, relationships, and ultimately generate business? 5. Leadership development can be a high-trust sale with multiple stakeholders involved. What does your sales process look like, and how do you move someone from an initial conversation to becoming a client? 6. Once you’ve won a client, how do you make sure you continue delivering enough value that they keep coming back and the relationship develops into something long term? 7. As you continue growing Invisible Edge and scaling your expertise beyond your own time, where do you find yourself most challenged right now as a professional services firm founder, if at all? 8. Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity for your work over the next few years? ********************************************************** Know more about Rick Snyder Website Link: https://invisible-edgellc.com Connect with Rick Snyder on LinkedIn LinkedIn Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-snyder Apply to be a guest on The Principal Podcast: https://ghapodcast.com/application-to-be-a-guest-on-consulting-leaders/

    How to Scale a Professional Services Firm Through Stronger Leadership With Rick Snyder
5
out of 5
19 Ratings

About

The Principal Podcast is where founders, Managing Partners, and CEOs of professional services firms share how they build, grow, and lead businesses that last. Each episode goes deep on the real strategies behind firm growth, from winning clients and building trust, to scaling teams and staying ahead in a competitive market. Hosted by a team of seasoned professionals with backgrounds across consulting, marketing, and business growth, The Principal Podcast brings diverse perspectives to every conversation. Guests come from across the professional services world: management consulting, financial services, investment banking, IT services, marketing, PR, staffing, and accounting. If you run or lead a professional services firm and you're serious about growth, this is your show.

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