<![CDATA[Consulting Rainmakers Podcast]]>https://consultingrainmakers.com/Riverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Thu, 10 Sep 2026 22:44:14 GMTSat, 05 Sep 2026 22:55:40 GMT60Agentee DigitalFeaturing successful B2B consulting and advisory firms. Every episode is their story and what they picked up building it. Guests come from across the advisory world: strategy and operations consulting, sales and leadership development, finance and accounting, fractional CFO and tax advisory, IT and security, HR and people. My hope is that a founder a few years behind listens and takes something from it. Not so they avoid the same mistakes. Mistakes are fine if you learn from them. So they get there faster. If you run a firm like that, this show is for you.episodicAgentee Digitalmikulasek.ai@gmail.comno<![CDATA[The Client Type That Quietly Kills Small Consultancies (Tina Louise Thompson)]]>Tina Louise Thompson is the founder of Sweet Spot.

The consumer insight sitting in most brand decks is years old before anyone acts on it. Tina walked into an agency strategy room, asked where the insights papered across the wall came from, and was handed a six year old Mintel report. She spent the next fourteen years building the alternative out of the biggest data source in the world that almost nobody treats as quantifiable: the comments. She called matcha as a shift four years before it was everywhere, and found the real reason milk sales were sliding was never veganism.

Expect to learn what to actually read in social listening and what to ignore, how to tell a fad from a shift from a trend, what changes when the agency name is gone and only yours is left, how she builds a pipeline instead of waiting on referrals, why she now hands clients an AI system instead of a deck, where the eighty twenty line sits with AI, and why the smallest clients end up costing the most and much more…

-

0:00 Who Tina is and what Sweet Spot does
1:31 The six year old report that started this
5:11 What to actually read in social listening, and calling matcha early
7:01 The agency seat versus the founder seat
12:14 Building a pipeline when referrals go quiet
15:36 Where AI fits, and the eighty twenty rule
20:51 Her process from first call to proposal
25:12 What she would tell her younger self
26:18 Why small clients cost the most
28:44 Where Sweet Spot goes next
30:53 Where to find Tina

-

🔗 Guest & Resources
Connect with Tina Louise Thompson:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinalouisethompson/
Website: https://discoverthesweetspot.com

-

Get in touch in the comments below or head to...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/
Apply to be a guest: https://consultingrainmakers.com/
Email: mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com

]]>60a29fe7-cb3a-45d1-8ec1-2cc804b855f8Tue, 08 Sep 2026 20:00:00 GMT<p>Tina Louise Thompson is the founder of Sweet Spot.<br /><br />The consumer insight sitting in most brand decks is years old before anyone acts on it. Tina walked into an agency strategy room, asked where the insights papered across the wall came from, and was handed a six year old Mintel report. She spent the next fourteen years building the alternative out of the biggest data source in the world that almost nobody treats as quantifiable: the comments. She called matcha as a shift four years before it was everywhere, and found the real reason milk sales were sliding was never veganism.<br /><br />Expect to learn what to actually read in social listening and what to ignore, how to tell a fad from a shift from a trend, what changes when the agency name is gone and only yours is left, how she builds a pipeline instead of waiting on referrals, why she now hands clients an AI system instead of a deck, where the eighty twenty line sits with AI, and why the smallest clients end up costing the most and much more…<br /><br />-<br /><br />0:00 Who Tina is and what Sweet Spot does<br />1:31 The six year old report that started this<br />5:11 What to actually read in social listening, and calling matcha early<br />7:01 The agency seat versus the founder seat<br />12:14 Building a pipeline when referrals go quiet<br />15:36 Where AI fits, and the eighty twenty rule<br />20:51 Her process from first call to proposal<br />25:12 What she would tell her younger self<br />26:18 Why small clients cost the most<br />28:44 Where Sweet Spot goes next<br />30:53 Where to find Tina<br /><br />-<br /><br />🔗 Guest &amp; Resources<br />Connect with Tina Louise Thompson:<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinalouisethompson/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinalouisethompson/</a><br />Website: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://discoverthesweetspot.com" target="_blank">https://discoverthesweetspot.com</a><br /><br />-<br /><br />Get in touch in the comments below or head to...<br />LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/</a><br />Apply to be a guest: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://consultingrainmakers.com/" target="_blank">https://consultingrainmakers.com/</a><br />Email: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com" target="_blank">mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com</a></p>no00:31:24The Client Type That Quietly Kills Small Consultancies (Tina Louise Thompson)full<![CDATA[The AI Setup That Replaced His Inbox And His CRM (Bennett Maxwell)]]>Bennett Maxwell is the CEO of Franchise Key.

Bennett has not opened his email app in over a month and has not logged into his CRM in two or three. He dropped out of college after making a quarter of a million dollars knocking doors in five months, sold his solar company, then sold four hundred and fifty cookie franchises in two and a half years before exiting that too. Now he builds agent systems that do the parts of his job he used to do by hand, including booking this interview. His argument is that anything you know how to do on a computer is now a text file you can sell, in any language, at almost no marginal cost.

Expect to learn what an agent actually is next to a chatbot, how to stop a model lying to you using deterministic hooks and a cross model audit, what door knocking taught him about closing, the eighty twenty of sales, why detaching from the outcome is the real CEO skill, why he is not worried about what AI usage will cost, and the exact email system you can build today in about three minutes and much more…

-

0:00 Pest control, solar, cookies, and two exits
3:13 What an AI agent actually is
7:21 Killing hallucinations with hooks and cross model audits
10:20 What door knocking taught him about selling
13:27 The eighty twenty of sales, and detaching from the outcome
16:44 Turning his own knowledge work into a product
18:55 Why he is not worried about AI costs
23:50 The one thing you can build today
26:44 Where to find Bennett

-

🔗 Guest & Resources
Connect with Bennett Maxwell:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennett-maxwell-703717126/
Website: https://bennett-maxwell.com

-

Get in touch in the comments below or head to...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/
Apply to be a guest: https://consultingrainmakers.com/
Email: mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com

]]>344783eb-c4b9-4b89-a801-54124fda9b4fMon, 07 Sep 2026 20:00:00 GMT<p>Bennett Maxwell is the CEO of Franchise Key.<br /><br />Bennett has not opened his email app in over a month and has not logged into his CRM in two or three. He dropped out of college after making a quarter of a million dollars knocking doors in five months, sold his solar company, then sold four hundred and fifty cookie franchises in two and a half years before exiting that too. Now he builds agent systems that do the parts of his job he used to do by hand, including booking this interview. His argument is that anything you know how to do on a computer is now a text file you can sell, in any language, at almost no marginal cost.<br /><br />Expect to learn what an agent actually is next to a chatbot, how to stop a model lying to you using deterministic hooks and a cross model audit, what door knocking taught him about closing, the eighty twenty of sales, why detaching from the outcome is the real CEO skill, why he is not worried about what AI usage will cost, and the exact email system you can build today in about three minutes and much more…<br /><br />-<br /><br />0:00 Pest control, solar, cookies, and two exits<br />3:13 What an AI agent actually is<br />7:21 Killing hallucinations with hooks and cross model audits<br />10:20 What door knocking taught him about selling<br />13:27 The eighty twenty of sales, and detaching from the outcome<br />16:44 Turning his own knowledge work into a product<br />18:55 Why he is not worried about AI costs<br />23:50 The one thing you can build today<br />26:44 Where to find Bennett<br /><br />-<br /><br />🔗 Guest &amp; Resources<br />Connect with Bennett Maxwell:<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennett-maxwell-703717126/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennett-maxwell-703717126/</a><br />Website: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://bennett-maxwell.com" target="_blank">https://bennett-maxwell.com</a><br /><br />-<br /><br />Get in touch in the comments below or head to...<br />LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/</a><br />Apply to be a guest: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://consultingrainmakers.com/" target="_blank">https://consultingrainmakers.com/</a><br />Email: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com" target="_blank">mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com</a></p>no00:27:41The AI Setup That Replaced His Inbox And His CRM (Bennett Maxwell)full<![CDATA[Why the leaders chasing a legacy are the hardest to work with (Camron King)]]>Camron King is the president and owner of the Association Resource Center.

After 20 years as an ARC client, he joined as a senior executive in 2019 and bought the company during the pandemic. Previously, he ran the Western Hemisphere’s largest caviar company. Expect to learn how a shared services model reduces overhead, AI's pros and cons, why volunteer-turned-leaders are challenging, and his advice to his younger self.

0:00 Intro
0:22 How he ended up running the Association Resource Center
1:41 Buying the company during the pandemic
2:31 The boutique consultancy in wine and caviar
5:35 Running the largest caviar company in the Western Hemisphere
6:28 The shared services model and the team approach
9:19 Where AI helps an association, and where it does not
13:44 "Legacy should not be tied to an individual's ego"
16:42 The magic wand question
19:06 What he would tell himself ten years ago
22:34 What is next
24:13 Where to find Cam

🔗 Guest & Resources
Connect with Camron King: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camronrking/
Association Resource Center: https://4arc.com
Oakwood Strategic: https://www.oakwoodstrategic.net

Get in touch in the comments below or head to...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/
Come on the show: https://consultingrainmakers.com/
Email: mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com

]]>080085c1-acda-403d-8409-a43e6da81963Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:35:04 GMT<p>Camron King is the president and owner of the Association Resource Center.<br /><br />After 20 years as an ARC client, he joined as a senior executive in 2019 and bought the company during the pandemic. Previously, he ran the Western Hemisphere’s largest caviar company. Expect to learn how a shared services model reduces overhead, AI's pros and cons, why volunteer-turned-leaders are challenging, and his advice to his younger self.<br /></p><p>0:00 Intro<br />0:22 How he ended up running the Association Resource Center<br />1:41 Buying the company during the pandemic<br />2:31 The boutique consultancy in wine and caviar<br />5:35 Running the largest caviar company in the Western Hemisphere<br />6:28 The shared services model and the team approach<br />9:19 Where AI helps an association, and where it does not<br />13:44 "Legacy should not be tied to an individual's ego"<br />16:42 The magic wand question<br />19:06 What he would tell himself ten years ago<br />22:34 What is next<br />24:13 Where to find Cam<br /></p><p>🔗 Guest &amp; Resources<br />Connect with Camron King: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/camronrking/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/camronrking/</a><br />Association Resource Center: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://4arc.com" target="_blank">https://4arc.com</a><br />Oakwood Strategic: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.oakwoodstrategic.net" target="_blank">https://www.oakwoodstrategic.net</a><br /></p><p>Get in touch in the comments below or head to...<br />LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/</a><br />Come on the show: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://consultingrainmakers.com/" target="_blank">https://consultingrainmakers.com/</a><br />Email: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com" target="_blank">mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com</a></p><hr />no00:25:08Why the leaders chasing a legacy are the hardest to work with (Camron King)full<![CDATA[The qualification question everyone teaches is the wrong one (Will Fuentes)]]>Will Fuentes is the founder of Maestro Group, a Washington DC firm that teaches B2B teams the science of selling.

He was fired 35 days into a VP of Sales job, started his own firm the same afternoon, and had sold a million dollars of contracts nine months later. Ten years on, this is what he has learned about the part of selling that happens before the call.

Expect to learn why "do you have budget" is a poor question, why 80% of selling is process rather than charisma, the difference between speed and velocity in a sales cycle, and why sending references early costs you the deal and much more…

-

0:00 Intro

0:36 What Maestro Group does

1:24 Law school, the bar exam, and falling into retail

3:36 Fired 35 days into the job

4:46 Is sales a skill or something you are born with

6:19 "Do you have budget?" is a poor question

8:17 Speed versus velocity in a sales cycle

11:46 What he would tell himself ten years ago

13:30 Staying valuable when AI gives expert answers

17:57 Where to find Will

-

🔗 Guest & Resources
Connect with Will Fuentes:
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-fuentes-drivefastersales/
Maestro Group: https://maestrogroup.co

-

Get in touch in the comments below or head to...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/
Come on the show: https://consultingrainmakers.com/
Email: mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com

]]>6a9b1955-dc63-4c6b-833c-6afdc8a399efMon, 07 Sep 2026 09:20:17 GMT<p>Will Fuentes is the founder of Maestro Group, a Washington DC firm that teaches B2B teams the science of selling.<br /><br />He was fired 35 days into a VP of Sales job, started his own firm the same afternoon, and had sold a million dollars of contracts nine months later. Ten years on, this is what he has learned about the part of selling that happens before the call.<br /><br />Expect to learn why "do you have budget" is a poor question, why 80% of selling is process rather than charisma, the difference between speed and velocity in a sales cycle, and why sending references early costs you the deal and much more…<br /><br />-<br /><br />0:00 Intro</p><p>0:36 What Maestro Group does</p><p>1:24 Law school, the bar exam, and falling into retail</p><p>3:36 Fired 35 days into the job</p><p>4:46 Is sales a skill or something you are born with</p><p>6:19 "Do you have budget?" is a poor question</p><p>8:17 Speed versus velocity in a sales cycle</p><p>11:46 What he would tell himself ten years ago</p><p>13:30 Staying valuable when AI gives expert answers</p><p>17:57 Where to find Will<br /><br />-<br /><br />🔗 Guest &amp; Resources<br />Connect with Will Fuentes:<br /> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-fuentes-drivefastersales/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-fuentes-drivefastersales/</a><br />Maestro Group: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://maestrogroup.co" target="_blank">https://maestrogroup.co</a><br /><br />-<br /><br />Get in touch in the comments below or head to...<br />LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-fuentes-drivefastersales/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/</a><br />Come on the show: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://consultingrainmakers.com/" target="_blank">https://consultingrainmakers.com/</a><br />Email: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com" target="_blank">mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com</a></p>no00:19:04The qualification question everyone teaches is the wrong one (Will Fuentes)full<![CDATA[Consultants Never Have A Sales Problem, They Have This One (Amanda Northcutt)]]>Amanda Northcutt is the founder and CEO of Level Up.

Nearly every boutique consultant who calls Amanda opens with the same line: I need more clients. She has worked with hundreds of professional services firms and says almost none of them have a sales problem. They have a positioning problem.

Expect to learn why grit beats talent and why you cannot think your way into a go to market strategy, what a model problem looks like next to a sales problem, how to pick a niche without boiling the ocean, why generalists get picked off the shelf and specialists get paid, her highest leverage AI use case inside a client business, why she is killing a hundred and seventy five thousand dollar product on purpose, and what AI still cannot replace and much more…

-

0:00 Who Amanda is and who Level Up serves

1:57 What actually separates the firms that make it

4:45 Sales problem versus model problem

7:57 Picking a niche without boiling the ocean

9:58 Why being in the room still wins

12:53 Her highest leverage AI use case

16:12 Sunsetting the hundred and seventy five thousand dollar product

17:46 What AI cannot replace

20:26 Where Level Up goes next

22:31 Where to find Amanda

-

🔗 Guest & Resources
Connect with Amanda Northcutt:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/northcuttamanda/
Newsletter: https://meetlevelup.com/newsletter

-

Get in touch in the comments below or head to...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/
Apply to be a guest: https://consultingrainmakers.com/
Email: mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com

]]>182e4397-cf20-4fef-978e-cec8268c7647Sun, 06 Sep 2026 22:29:01 GMT<p>Amanda Northcutt is the founder and CEO of Level Up.<br /><br />Nearly every boutique consultant who calls Amanda opens with the same line: I need more clients. She has worked with hundreds of professional services firms and says almost none of them have a sales problem. They have a positioning problem.<br /><br />Expect to learn why grit beats talent and why you cannot think your way into a go to market strategy, what a model problem looks like next to a sales problem, how to pick a niche without boiling the ocean, why generalists get picked off the shelf and specialists get paid, her highest leverage AI use case inside a client business, why she is killing a hundred and seventy five thousand dollar product on purpose, and what AI still cannot replace and much more…<br /><br />-<br /></p><p>0:00 Who Amanda is and who Level Up serves</p><p>1:57 What actually separates the firms that make it</p><p>4:45 Sales problem versus model problem</p><p>7:57 Picking a niche without boiling the ocean</p><p>9:58 Why being in the room still wins</p><p>12:53 Her highest leverage AI use case</p><p>16:12 Sunsetting the hundred and seventy five thousand dollar product</p><p>17:46 What AI cannot replace</p><p>20:26 Where Level Up goes next</p><p>22:31 Where to find Amanda<br /><br />-<br /><br />🔗 Guest &amp; Resources<br />Connect with Amanda Northcutt:<br /><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/northcuttamanda/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/northcuttamanda/</a><br />Newsletter: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://meetlevelup.com/newsletter" target="_blank">https://meetlevelup.com/newsletter</a><br /><br />-<br /><br />Get in touch in the comments below or head to...<br />LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/</a><br />Apply to be a guest: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://consultingrainmakers.com/" target="_blank">https://consultingrainmakers.com/</a><br />Email: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com" target="_blank">mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com</a></p>no00:23:08Consultants Never Have A Sales Problem, They Have This One (Amanda Northcutt)full<![CDATA[The Outbound Rebuild That Got Him 15X More Replies (Sam Mezei)]]>Sam Mezei is the CEO of Slash Staffing.

Most outbound advice tells you to send more. Sam spent years dropping 2,000 leads at a time into a sequencer and watching almost nobody reply. Then he stopped buying lists. He built a system that finds companies with an open role he can actually fill, reads the news on them, and offers two free sample candidates before it ever asks for a call. Reply and conversion rates went up fifteen times in the first week.Expect to learn why a five dollar an hour hire beat the eighty dollar an hour designer he was paying locally, how to manage a team you will never meet in person, why healthcare was the only niche worth keeping, where AI actually sits inside recruiting, why the biggest mistake healthcare firms make is hiring too late, how to build systems that do not break at a hundred employees, and exactly what the fifteen times outbound rebuild does step by step and much more…

-0:00 Who Sam is and how Slash Staffing started

2:29 Managing a team you will never meet

4:45 Why healthcare and not everyone

5:47 Where AI actually fits in recruiting

8:41 The real time accent correction tool

10:09 The mistake that costs healthcare firms most

11:53 Systems that do not break at a hundred employees

13:22 Rebuilding outbound from scratch

19:35 The fifteen times number

21:34 Where to find Sam

-

🔗 Guest & Resources

Connect with Sam Mezei: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammezei/

Email: sam@slashstaffing.com

Get in touch in the comments below or head to...

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/

Apply to be a guest: https://consultingrainmakers.com/

Email: mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com

]]>https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/consultingrainmakers/episodes/The-Outbound-Rebuild-That-Got-Him-15X-More-Replies-Sam-Mezei-e3od2pu16d6f4ce-0e68-4bdc-97cb-3a8547c00f69Sat, 05 Sep 2026 22:34:01 GMT<p>Sam Mezei is the CEO of Slash Staffing.</p><p></p><p>Most outbound advice tells you to send more. Sam spent years dropping 2,000 leads at a time into a sequencer and watching almost nobody reply. Then he stopped buying lists. He built a system that finds companies with an open role he can actually fill, reads the news on them, and offers two free sample candidates before it ever asks for a call. Reply and conversion rates went up fifteen times in the first week.Expect to learn why a five dollar an hour hire beat the eighty dollar an hour designer he was paying locally, how to manage a team you will never meet in person, why healthcare was the only niche worth keeping, where AI actually sits inside recruiting, why the biggest mistake healthcare firms make is hiring too late, how to build systems that do not break at a hundred employees, and exactly what the fifteen times outbound rebuild does step by step and much more…</p><p></p><p>-0:00 Who Sam is and how Slash Staffing started</p><p>2:29 Managing a team you will never meet</p><p>4:45 Why healthcare and not everyone</p><p>5:47 Where AI actually fits in recruiting</p><p>8:41 The real time accent correction tool</p><p>10:09 The mistake that costs healthcare firms most</p><p>11:53 Systems that do not break at a hundred employees</p><p>13:22 Rebuilding outbound from scratch</p><p>19:35 The fifteen times number</p><p>21:34 Where to find Sam</p><p></p><p>-</p><p></p><p>🔗 Guest &amp; Resources</p><p>Connect with Sam Mezei: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammezei/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammezei/</a></p><p>Email: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:sam@slashstaffing.com" target="_blank">sam@slashstaffing.com</a></p><p></p><p>Get in touch in the comments below or head to...</p><p>LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikulaszach/</a></p><p>Apply to be a guest: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://consultingrainmakers.com/" target="_blank">https://consultingrainmakers.com/</a></p><p>Email: mikulas.zach@agenteedigital.com</p>no00:22:43The Outbound Rebuild That Got Him 15X More Replies (Sam Mezei)full