
Hosted by Paul Higgins · EN

A client called you last week. The report used to take an hour. Now it takes five minutes. They want to know why they're still paying for the hour, and the honest answer is you don't have one. In this episode, I break down why AI didn't break your pricing model, it just exposed what was already broken the day you started selling time instead of outcomes. I walk through what's happening across Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Monday, NetSuite, and Acumatica partners right now, why the hour collapse means you never had pricing power, and the four moves that protect your revenue before that phone call lands. If you're still quoting in hours and hoping clients don't notice, this one's for you.Resources and LinksNeed help with your WHO and WHAT decisions? Apply for a FREE Multiplier CallBook a Decision Session herePrevious episode: 684 - 73 Minutes to Stop Running Two Businesses at OnceCheck out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resources

Working hard on the wrong thing and you can feel it, but you can't see it from inside the jar. In this episode, I break down the Decision Call format, what it is, why it works, and the pattern showing up across four very different SaaS partner businesses I ran calls with recently. One was a Microsoft partner at $800K running two business models pretending to be one. One was a Salesforce solopreneur serving nonprofits who couldn't pay her real rate. One was a NetSuite partner whose revenue had dropped from $75K a month to under $15K. One was a Zoho partner building bespoke AI with no packaged offer. Different platforms, different countries, same problem. If you're stuck on your number one challenge and need clarity to act on it, this one is for you.Resources and LinksNeed help with your WHO and WHAT decisions? Apply for a FREE Multiplier CallBook a Decision Session herePrevious episode: 683 - Get Specific, Get Rich, or Get Out with Jay McBainCheck out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resources

Why you should listenJay McBain breaks down the data behind why 51% of partners are in double-digit profit decline while the industry grows at 10.2%, and what separates the partners winning from the ones quietly falling behind.Learn the specific positioning shift that gets you found by large language models, buyers, and vendors, including why "I sell to midsize banks in Perth and do compliance" beats every generic services page on the internet.Walk away with the new partner economics: the 6.3 partners surrounding every SaaS deal, the 28 measurable moments in a buyer's journey, and where partner revenue actually sits inside the next 20 years of AI.Half the channel is in double-digit profit decline in an industry growing 10% a year, and most SaaS partners can't work out why their pipeline is drying up. In this episode, I talk with Jay McBain, Chief Analyst at Omdia, the world's leading voice on channels, partnerships, and ecosystems, with 32 years entirely in the channel. We get into why digital sameness is killing smaller partners, why large language models can't find you when you do all things to all people, and where the real money sits inside the 20-year AI era. Jay shares the data behind the 1,000 partners doing two-thirds of all tech services globally, and the niche play that puts you on the right side of that line. If you're tired of competing in a sea of identical websites and watching better-positioned partners win deals you should have been in, this one's for youAbout Jay McBainJay McBain is Chief Analyst for Channels, Partnerships, and Ecosystems at Omdia, with more than 30 years analyzing the global channel landscape. He has held executive channel roles at IBM, Lenovo, Autotask, ChannelEyes, and Forrester, and was named Global Channel Influencer of the Year by Channel Futures Magazine. His research on the 28 measurable buyer moments, the 6.3 partners surrounding every SaaS deal, and the shift from resell to ecosystem-driven revenue has made him the analyst vendors and partners turn to when they need to understand where the channel is heading next.Resources and Linksomdia.comJay's LinkedIn profileJay McBain on The Paul Higgins Podcast: Episode 435Need help with your WHO and WHAT decisions? Apply for a FREE Multiplier CallBook a Decision Session herePrevious episode: 682 - 82% of Tech Partners Are Not AI Ready Are YouCheck out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resources

Your clients keep asking you about AI, and you keep talking about tools. That's the problem. In this episode, I break down why most SaaS partners are giving away the most valuable conversation they could be having, AI readiness diagnosis, for free. I share Jay McBain's latest research showing 82% of channel partners don't feel prepared to deliver AI services, and I unpack the real reason it's not demand, complexity, or talent. If you've been winging the AI conversation in client meetings and wondering why the work that follows feels like a once-off, this one is for you.Resources and LinksJay McBain on The Paul Higgins Podcast: Episode 435Need help with your WHO and WHAT decisions? Apply for a FREE Multiplier CallBook a Decision Session herePrevious episode: 681 - Generalists Get Referrals Specialists Get ChosenCheck out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resources

Your revenue is inconsistent and you already know why you haven't made the decision yet. In this episode, I break down the WHO problem most SaaS partners mistake for a skills problem, why serving more industries makes you the best option for no one, and the audit I run on every client's last twelve months of revenue to find their real signal. I share what Jay McBain's data shows about the fastest-growing tech partners right now, and the three steps to rebuild your business around one industry and one problem type. If you keep getting random referrals and repricing every engagement from scratch, this one's for you.Resources and LinksJay McBain on The Paul Higgins Podcast: Episode 435Need help with your WHO and WHAT decisions? Apply for a FREE Multiplier CallBook a Decision Session herePrevious episode: 680 - The 28 Moments Your Clients Use to Choose Without YouCheck out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resources

You didn't lose that deal in the proposal. You lost it six months earlier, before the prospect ever found your name. In this episode, I break down why the buyer's journey for tech business owners has shifted, why AI is accelerating it, and why most owners are still showing up only at the last two touch points and wondering why win rates feel random. I walk through the channel analyst data from Jay McBain on the 28 touch points in a modern B2B buying journey, and I share the three fixes that decide whether your business compounds or flat lines over the next five years. If you are tired of being invisible in the early part of your client's buying journey, this one is for you.Resources and LinksJay McBain on The Paul Higgins Podcast: Episode 435Need help with your WHO and WHAT decisions? Apply for a FREE Multiplier CallBook a Decision Session herePrevious episode: 679 - The LinkedIn Secret Filling Tech Business Owners' Calendars with Donald KellyCheck out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resources

Why you should listenDonald runs one of the top B2B sales podcasts in the world, heard in over 155 countries, and breaks down the exact LinkedIn-first sequence he uses to turn cold prospects into booked calls without paid ads or cold spam.Learn the three-step system Donald uses to move a prospect from stranger to conversation: engage on their content, send a personalised connection request tied to something specific about them, then bridge to a short email that speaks to real pain, not surface pain.Get Donald's follow-up sequence that replaces the lazy "bumping this up" email with relevance-based touches your prospect actually wants to reply to, plus the exact tools (Hunter.io, Sales Navigator, Apollo) he uses to find verified business emails.Tired of sending LinkedIn messages into a black hole and wondering why your outbound never converts? In this episode, I talk with Donald C. Kelly, founder of The Sales Evangelists and one of the most recognised B2B sales voices in the world. Most tech business owners default to pitching before earning attention, and it is the reason their pipeline stays empty. Donald walks through the exact sequence he uses to break through the noise, earn engagement, and turn it into a real conversation, without faking friendship or copying the spray-and-pray playbook every SDR is running. If you sell on LinkedIn and the results are not matching the effort, this one shows you where the gap is.About Donald KellyDonald C. Kelly is the founder of The Sales Evangelist and host of one of the longest-running B2B sales podcasts in the world, with nearly 2,000 episodes heard across 155+ countries. A LinkedIn Top Voice in Sales and three-time Salesforce Top Influencer, he helps SMB and mid-market sales teams build LinkedIn-led outbound systems that turn cold prospects into booked calls. He is the author of Sell It Like a Mango and based in West Palm Beach, Florida.Resources and Linksthesalesevangelist.comDonald's LinkedIn profileDonald's free prospecting toolHunter.io Apollo.io SNOV.ioZoomInfoGemini Nano BananaBase44Previous episode: 678 - 81% of Partners Will Grow Below the Industry RateCheck out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resources

Watched your vendor's share price lately, or noticed the quiet changes to partner fees, commissions, and cloud service minimums? In this episode, I break down why Wall Street is pricing in the collapse of the per-seat model, and why platforms restructure partner economics long before they touch executive pay. I share the pattern I've seen across 670 tech business owners, including what happened to my own consulting business when the platform pivoted overnight while I was on dialysis three times a week. The business owners coming through this stronger already made three structural decisions, the ones still waiting for the platform to stabilize are still waiting. If 80% of your pipeline still runs through someone else's hands, this one is for you.Resources and LinksNeed help with your WHO and WHAT decisions? Apply for a FREE Multiplier CallBook a Decision Session herePrevious episode: 677 - Hard work isn't your problemCheck out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resources

Most tech business owners hitting mid-six figures aren't stuck because they're not working hard enough. They're stuck because they're running a business built on assumptions nobody has ever tested. In this episode, I walk through the exact audit I did on my own business when activity was high and revenue wasn't moving. I share what the data revealed: a newsletter that warmed but never converted, a target market too early-stage to invest, and growth projections built on events and partnerships that historically produced near-zero direct clients. Once I faced those numbers, I made one decision: cut the noise and go back to the one engine that actually built my business. If you're adding more LinkedIn posts, more outreach sequences, and more channels but the gap between where you are and where you need to be isn't closing, this episode is for you.Resources and LinksNeed help with your WHO and WHAT decisions? Apply for a FREE Multiplier CallBook a Decision Session herePrevious episode: 676 - Why Your Voice Is the Only AI Tool That Matters With Molly Mahoney Check out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resources

Why you should listenMolly launched the world's first AI-focused content membership in 2021, two years before ChatGPT, and has generated content that reached over 39 million views. She brings hard-won perspective on what separates human-first AI strategy from AI zombie content that erodes trust.Learn the SAAVE framework: a five-part method for identifying what makes you a uniquely weird human, so your AI agents produce content that actually sounds like you and not like every other consultant using the same tools.Get the APR Method: a repeatable three-step system for announcing, producing, and repurposing every video you create, so one piece of content generates an entire week of output without starting from scratch.Your content machine is broken, and the tools aren't the problem. If everything you publish sounds like it could have come from anyone in your industry, you haven't got a content problem. You've got a voice problem. In this episode, I talk with Molly Mahoney from The Prepared Performer, a digital marketing strategist and keynote speaker who has been building AI-powered content systems since 2021. Molly shares how she helps established business owners identify the 20 things that make them a uniquely weird human before touching a single AI tool, because without that foundation, you're just feeding the robot army. If you've been hiding behind the technical work while the algorithm rewards personality, this conversation will change how you think about content.About Molly MahoneyMolly Mahoney is a digital marketing strategist, keynote speaker, and former NYC performer who helps coaches, consultants, and agency owners build AI-powered content that actually sounds human. Known as The Prepared Performer, she launched the world's first AI-focused content membership in 2021, two years before ChatGPT, has generated over 39 million views, and been featured in Forbes and Inc.Resources and LinksThepreparedperformer.comMolly's LinkedIn profileFree Custom GPT Source Prompt GeneratorSpotlight Engine SoraPerplexity ComputerGoHighLevelRSS AppPrevious episode: 675 - SaaS isn't dying. Your positioning might be. Check out more episodes of the Paul Higgins PodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel: @PaulHigginsMentoringJoin our newsletterSuggested resources