Imagine this; you're a cloud consultant trying to grow your business. You look around and see your peers seemingly thriving while you're struggling to find your footing.

In this solo episode, I discuss the fundamental mistake many struggling cloud consultants make when trying to grow their businesses. While factors like leads, partnerships, hiring, and pricing can contribute to growth challenges, they are not the root cause. The number one mistake is positioning oneself solely as a SaaS partner, rather than as a consultant who understands and solves clients' business problems.

Key actions from today

1. Assess your marketing assets and be honest with yourself
2. Learn the “category of one” positioning
3. Speed up your results with focus, the right mentoring, and accountability

Resources and Links

• 479 - Show Notes
• Power Positioning Action Guide
• Cloud Consultants Collective
• Scaling Blueprint 
• Join our newsletter
• The Cloud Consultants Show
• Paul Higgins Mentoring

Connect With Paul

• On LinkedIn

Episode Overview

Is your hiring process a nightmare? Are finding it hard to find the perfect candidate?

In this episode,  let’s delve into companies' common mistakes regarding their hiring process and how to avoid them. Josh also shares insights into their approach to attracting and screening top candidates for clients and explores the topic of biases in the hiring process.

In this interview, he emphasizes these topics:

1. The one question you should ask in an interview 
2. What candidates are looking for in their next leader 
3. How to avoid 'pink flags' in an interview

About Josh Matthews

Josh Matthews is the President of Salesforce Staffing, LLC and TheSalesforceRecruiter.com. He helps Salesforce partners to unlock the code to attract, hire, onboard and retain the top 10% of Salesforce professionals in the United States.

In his 20 years as a Recruiter and Leader in staffing, he has interviewed over 7,000 candidates for all levels, from Salesforce Administrator up through the C-Suite.

Resources and Links

• 478 - Show Notes
• Thesalesforcerecruiter.com
• Expandexchange.com
• Josh's LinkedIn profile
• Josh on Twitter: @thejoshforce
• Salesforce Professionals Twitter community
• Youtube Channel: joshforce
• Email Josh at: [email protected]
• Podcast: The Salesforce Career Show
• Glassdoor
• Cloud Consultants Collective
• Scaling Blueprint 
• Join our newsletter
• The Cloud Consultants Show
• Paul Higgins Mentoring

Connect With Paul

• On LinkedIn

Episode Overview

What are you doing to be recession ready?

In this episode, Ryan guides service-based businesses, specifically agencies, to navigate tough economic times. He delves into managing human capital, maintaining cash reserves, and implementing effective contingency plans. He also gives practical insights and tips for surviving a recession and achieving long-term success.

About Ryan Watson

Ryan is an experienced operations and finance leader for creative agencies and venture-funded startups. As a partner at Upsourced, he helps scaling agencies build better plans, see the future and drive profits. Before Upsourced, Ryan led operations and finance for a large influencer marketing and ad agency, Ahalogy, where they built the team to over 50 people and $10M in annual AGI before selling to Quotient Technology (NYSE: QUOT) in June 2018.

Resources and Links

• 477 - Show Notes
• Upsourcedaccounting.com
• Ryan’s LinkedIn profile
• Youtube Channel: Upsourced
• Ryan on Twitter: @ryankwatson
• Cloud Consultants Collective
• Scaling Blueprint 
• Join our newsletter
• The Cloud Consultants Show
• Paul Higgins Mentoring

Connect With Paul

• On LinkedIn

Episode Overview

Are you short-changing yourself?

In this solo episode, I share the importance of not undervaluing oneself and provide practical advice and a case study to inspire cloud consultants to reassess their pricing and overall business strategies to avoid shortchanging themselves.

Key actions from today

1. Look at what a commercial rate would be for you
2. Speak to your accountant
3. Get a financial advisor or speak to them

Resources and Links

• 475 - Show Notes
• Cloud Consultants Collective
• Scaling Blueprint 
• Join our newsletter
• The Cloud Consultants Show
• Paul Higgins Mentoring

Connect With Paul

• On LinkedIn

Episode Overview

Do you believe data plays a crucial role in today's digital era?

In this episode, Aron from Data Clymer delves into the fascinating world of data and how you can leverage it to gain a competitive edge, enhance operational efficiency, and drive innovation. 

With his extensive experience in the industry, including his time at Salesforce, where he established a product intelligence team, you will gain a deeper understanding of the power of data and its crucial role in shaping businesses' success.

In this interview, he also talks about:

1. What data are key stakeholders looking for 
2. How you, as a Cloud Consultant can, partner to provide that data 
3. How AI and machine learning can be leveraged by having the right data

About Aron Clymer

Aron Clymer is the Founder & CEO of Data Clymer, a next-gen data & analytics consulting firm that empowers every client’s success by unlocking the value of data. The Data Clymer team implements modern cloud data solutions that drive positive results through data accessibility and actionable insights.

He previously established and built the Product Intelligence team at Salesforce for 7 years to support all data and analytics needs of 400+ product managers. Subsequently, Aron headed up Data at PopSugar, where his team democratized data and supported analytics/data science across the company.

He has grown Data Clymer over the past 6 years into a nationwide team of deeply experienced cloud data professionals.

Resources and Links

• 475 - Show Notes
• Dataclymer.com
• Aron’s LinkedIn profile
• Collective 54
• Cloud Consultants Collective
• Scaling Blueprint 
• Join our newsletter
• The Cloud Consultants Show
• Paul Higgins Mentoring

Connect With Paul

• On LinkedIn

Episode Overview

Do you struggle with marketing and sales? Are you heavily relying on referrals? 

In this episode, David shares a fresh perspective on sales, and proven sales strategies, especially for cloud consultants with small teams and revenue ranging from 750k to 4 million. If this is you, this is an episode you wouldn’t want to miss!

David also covers:

1. How to research 
2. 5-sentence email and add value 
3. Top 3 actions from 77 in his book do it selling

About David Newman

David Newman is known as one of the top revenue growth mentors for consultants, executive coaches, and B2B experts who want to get better clients, bigger deals, and higher fees. His Do It! MBA mentoring program has more than 800 successful graduates. He is the author of the #1 business bestseller Do It! Marketing and Do It! Speaking. His latest book, Do It! Selling was released last April 2023.

Resources and Links

• 474 - Show Notes
• Doitmarketing.com
• David’s Book: Do It! Selling
• David’s LinkedIn profile
• Cloud Consultants Collective
• Scaling Blueprint 
• Join our newsletter
• The Cloud Consultants Show
• Paul Higgins Mentoring

Connect With Paul

• On LinkedIn

Episode Overview

Do you ever feel like you're the bottleneck for delivering results in your business? Don’t worry. You are not alone. This is a common challenge faced by business owners. And in this solo episode, I will share the 1:3:1 rule - a simple and effective approach to problem-solving. It involves identifying one problem, developing three potential solutions, and giving one recommendation. By adopting this rule, team members are empowered to solve problems independently, fostering growth and learning. 

Key actions from today

1. Stop doing what you can and focus on what you should 
2. Train your team on the 1:3:1 rule
3. Stick to it (60 days) 
4. Send me how you used it

Resources and Links

• 473 - Show Notes
• Cloud Consultants Collective
• Scaling Blueprint 
• Join our newsletter
• The Cloud Consultants Show
• Paul Higgins Mentoring

Connect With Paul

• On LinkedIn

Episode Overview

Cold email is dead - Listen as Alex debunks this myth and talks about the effectiveness of cold email outreach. He also shared his experiences of successful cold email campaigns and emphasized the importance of tailoring emails to specific individuals and targeting the right decision-makers.

About Alex Berman

Alex is the Founder of Omni and X27marketing. He has been in the digital marketing space for over 15 years and went from 0 SaaS to 5 SaaS Exits in 2023 and generated over $100m for clients in revenue.

Along with being an entrepreneur, he also creates weekly YouTube videos that educate agency owners on how to expand their businesses and generate more income by showing them ways to enhance their B2B sales cycles and implement inbound marketing techniques.

Links

• 472 - Show Notes
• Omni.us
• X27marketing.com
• Alex’s LinkedIn profile
• Alex’s Youtube Channel
• Alex on Twitter: @alxberman
• Paulhigginsmentoring.com
• Scaling Blueprint
• The Workflow Academy
• Cloud Consultants Collective
• The Cloud Consultants Show
• SendSpark
• Join our newsletter

Connect With Paul

• On LinkedIn

Episode Overview

If you have thought about launching an app on the Salesforce App exchange or are in the process, this podcast is for you. 

Andi covers:

1. Why use an outsourced dev team  for app development
2. Different types of apps  - hybrid and native 
3. How to get the best out of Indian developers 
4. How Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning will develop and how to get ahead of the curve

About Andi Giri

Andi Giri is an IT entrepreneur with about 35 years of experience. He completed his BE degree at the College of Engineering, Guindy, Chennai, India, and an MS in Computer Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. He launched Softsquare in 1998 as an IT staff augmentation firm and pivoted the company towards managed services in 2008. In 2021, Andi drove the product practice toward delivering several commercial products, strengthening recurring revenue for Softsquare.

He served as the President of Greater Washington Tamil Sangam in 1998 and as the Founder-President of AIMS India Foundation from 2000-2003. Andi has mentored and invested in startups since 2020 via Native Angel Network in Madurai, India, and Guindy Alumni Angel Network in San Francisco, CA, USA.

Links

• 471 - Show Notes
• softsquare.biz
• Andi’s LinkedIn profile
• Reach Andi through email at [email protected]
• Paulhigginsmentoring.com
• Scaling Blueprint
• The Workflow Academy
• Cloud Consultants Collective
• The Cloud Consultants Show
• SendSpark
• Join our newsletter

Connect With Paul

• On LinkedIn

Episode Overview

It is not your fault if you have so much going on in your business and nothing seems to be working. And it is not because you don't have the time to change it. It is because you are working on the wrong things. How do I know? Because I was you.

In this solo episode, I share my experience of working on the wrong things in my cloud consulting business and the result of not heeding my mentor’s advice. This experience motivates me to do what I do and prevent others from making the same mistakes I did.

Key actions from today

1. Don't buy into the myth you don't have enough time 
2. Work on what matters most 
3. Get some help

Links

• 470 - Show Notes
• Paulhigginsmentoring.com
• Scaling Blueprint
• The Workflow Academy
• Cloud Consultants Collective
• The Cloud Consultants Show
• SendSpark
• Join our newsletter

Connect With Paul

• On LinkedIn