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About The Consultant's Way Podcast
The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to:
• Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams
• Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth
• Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes

Brought to you by:
• McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/
• The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/

Connect with us:
• LinkedIn:
○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/
○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b
• Email: podcast@consultantsway.com

Interested in being a guest?
We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In this episode of The Consultant’s Way Podcast, hosts Dean McMann and Anthony Paluska welcome Bob Wright, founder of Firebrick, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in B2B tech positioning. Bob shares how SaaS companies must evolve beyond the initial land grab phase and focus on sustainable growth through expansion and renewals. The discussion highlights how professional services teams are becoming central to this shift, moving from basic implementation roles to key drivers of customer lifetime value (CLV).

Bob explains that many SaaS firms still operate under outdated acquisition-focused models, failing to see they are running three distinct businesses—customer acquisition, upsell and expansion, and renewals. Companies that master all three are thriving in today’s tighter buying climate. This shift demands a new mindset, new talent, and a stronger emphasis on consultative selling over pure tech deployment.

A major theme is positioning. Bob stresses that companies must shift from feature-driven messaging to problem-driven storytelling. Buyers are overwhelmed with tech options and need a compelling reason to act. The most successful firms sell a big, high-stakes problem rather than just a product, carving out a unique and defensible position—what he calls “owning a corner of the room.”

The conversation also touches on AI as both a disruptor and opportunity. While AI is transforming businesses, Bob argues that simply adding “AI” to a product won’t drive real differentiation. Instead, companies need a clear, specialized AI narrative tied to solving critical business problems.

The episode closes with a call for professional services leaders to take charge of this transformation. Those who embrace a consultative, problem-solving approach will become the key differentiators in their markets.