Podcast Summary:

Right About Now – Legendary Business Advice
Episode Title: How Consultants Help Businesses Grow | Stacey Bullman
Host: Ryan Israel (Radcast Network)
Guest: Stacey Bullman, Founder of "I'm Not Mad At You" Consulting
Release Date: September 16, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Ryan Israel interviews Stacey Bullman, an experienced business consultant and founder of “I’m Not Mad At You,” a firm focused on actionable, no-nonsense business advice. The conversation explores the real impact of consulting, the pitfalls businesses make with consultants, the critical role of sales and cash flow, and why “never turning off your sales pipeline” is the difference between growth and extinction. Stacey shares hard-won insights from decades in Fortune 100 and small/mid-sized business environments, emphasizing relentless execution, accountability, and cutting through the consulting industry’s fluff.

Key Points & Insights

1. The True Consulting Role: Action, Not Theory

• Consulting = Entrepreneurship:

  • Stacey affirms running a consulting firm is an entrepreneurial journey—her approach born from frustration with traditional consultants:

    “Fortune 100 companies don't go out of business. So far, most of the companies we work with don't go out of business either because they're working with systems and processes.” (02:31)

  • The typical consulting model fails by ignoring the field—her firm gets straight into client P&Ls in the first week, cutting out long-winded ‘courses’ or exhaustive pre-work. (03:06)

• Executability & Accountability:

  • Unlike larger firms, Stacey’s team holds themselves accountable to the financial results:

    “If we start with the P and L, we have to finish with the P and L. If we've worked with you for six months and we don't see a substantial difference ... I'm not paying for myself and I'm not valuable to the organizations.” (03:24)

2. Why Consulting Often Fails—And How Stacey Avoids That

• Collaboration = Results:
  • Success depends on the client implementing recommendations:

    “A lot of people have paid me a lot of money over the past 10 years and didn't do what we asked. I don't work in a vacuum ... They pay me good money and oftentimes they don't listen.” (04:41)

• No Return Clients as a Badge of Honor:
  • Stacey points out her clients never return years later for a redo—not because they’re dissatisfied, but if they didn’t listen, the approach wouldn’t have worked.

    “We've never in 10 years had a client come back to us. … because in order for this to work, it has to be collaborative.” (05:15)

3. Consulting Model: The Soundboard Approach

• Weekly CEO Soundboarding:

  • The firm’s primary offering is weekly collaborations with CEOs, not one-off advice or generic plans:

    “We sit and talk every single week. We look at the information together ... With each other's collaborative efforts, we come up with a plan.” (04:46)

  • Minimum engagement is three months—sporadic calls don’t work. CEOs need near-real-time input or they risk making poor decisions in the gaps. (06:39)

• Case Studies as Stakes:

  • Stacey uses pressure as motivation:

    “If you're not a case study, I fire you. In fact, in my pitch, I say, if you're not a case study, I fire you.” (06:13)

4. The #1 Problem Consultants Solve: Sales & Cash Flow

• Sales is Always the Root Issue:

  • No matter how clients frame their problems, sales/cash flow is at the core:

    “It's sales, it's cash flow. I've heard every other answer. But ... that problem will lead to, ultimately, a sales problem or a cash flow problem or a production problem, which is still sales.” (08:04)

  • Example: In construction, owners want to build, but their success hinges on business development, cash flow, and company management—most don’t realize this until a consultant points it out. (08:40)

• Never Flip Off Your Sales Pipeline:

  • Using a sports metaphor with LeBron James, Stacey warns against pausing sales activity:

    “If you turn that off, you don't get to just turn it back on ... You may be 90 days, 120 days. You may be out of business.” (09:13)

  • Memorable Quote:

    “LeBron James. Years ago, he said, I haven't activated playoff mode … When he did activate playoff mode, guess what? They didn't make the playoffs because it was too late. And that's the exact same thing ... with your sales pipeline.” (00:30; revisited at 09:13)

5. The Challenge of Sales: Mindset & Execution

• Operations vs. Business Development:
  • Owners tend to focus on what gives immediate results (operations), neglecting sales efforts where payoffs are delayed and rejection high. (10:29)
  • Quote:

    “With sales, generally, you have to be really good at the 99 no's. And there's a lot of time, oftentimes in between the yeses.” (10:32)

6. How Sales Has Changed: Technology & Noise

• Lead Generation Simplified:

  • Technology—LinkedIn, Google, ChatGPT—means target lists can be built quickly, scaling outreach massively compared to “Yellow Pages and car rides” days.

    “I can go on LinkedIn, ... literally create my target list in 15 minutes ... you can get 6,000 opportunities instead of six.” (11:21)

• Downside: More Noise for Buyers

  • Everyone is being sold to constantly—‘the noise is a lot louder.’ (12:29)

• Leaders Must Learn to Ask for Help:

  • Owners’ reluctance to seek help—stemming from a “I know what I’m doing” mentality—limits growth:

    “We have to hit them in an organic spot. You have to be ready for help. ... most leaders are not out there asking for help because it's against the mantra.” (12:29)

7. Common Sales Challenges In Organizations

• Lack of Value Proposition/Differentiation

  • The #1 sales struggle is companies not defining what makes them unique:

    “The first thing is you have to have a value proposition and a point of differentiation. If you're in sales … and they have not given you a value proposition or a point of differentiation, that's hard.” (13:33)

  • Stacey claims “we work 83% faster than other consulting firms” as a clear differentiator, with processes to rebrand or position clients in under two hours. (13:59)

• Payment Should Match Value Delivered

  • Stacey relates a story: $1,800 consulting fee led to a client doubling their AV business in weeks, prompting her to change her pricing model and offer “Don’t Be Dumb” sessions at $2,500 for an hour:

    “He grew his sales from six hundred to $1.2 million. And I got eighteen hundred dollars for that. I had to change my mindset. … I'm offering a don't be dumb session.” (15:29)

8. Stacey’s Quick-Start Playbook for Entrepreneurs

(16:24)

• 1. Define your target market/avatar:
  • Know gender, age, location, etc.
• 2. Quantify your audience/reach:
  • Get specific on the number of real prospects.
• 3. Run the numbers before launching:
  • “If you’re about to start a business, run the numbers.”
• 4. Never stop on sales:
  • Avoid going “into reserve mode” after a good month.
• 5. Embrace ‘no’ as part of the game:
  • Resilience through rejection is essential.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Consulting Failing:

  “We’ve never in 10 years had a client come back... They recognize in order for this to work, it has to be collaborative." —Stacey Bullman (05:15)

• On Holding Clients Accountable:

  "If you’re not a case study, I fire you." —Stacey Bullman (06:13)

• On Never Stopping Sales Effort:

  "If you turn [sales] off, you don't get to just turn it back on... you may be out of business.” —Stacey Bullman (09:13)

• On Technology Changing Sales:

  "Now, between ChatGPT, Google, LinkedIn... we can create a robust target list in minutes. You can get 6,000 opportunities instead of six." —Stacey Bullman (11:21)

• On Value Propositions:

  "If you’re in sales... and [the company] has not given you a value proposition or a point of differentiation, that's hard." —Stacey Bullman (13:33)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:31 – Consulting as Entrepreneurship; Field-level execution vs. theory
• 03:24 – Accountability to P&L and financial results
• 04:41 – Why consulting fails without owner action
• 05:15 – No repeat clients, collaboration required
• 06:13 – Only working with clients who become case studies
• 08:04 – Sales/cash flow as core business problems
• 09:13 – The LeBron analogy: never pause your sales engine
• 11:21 – Lead generation evolution: Tech has sped up targeting
• 13:33 – Importance of value proposition and differentiation
• 15:29 – Raising prices to correlate with value delivered
• 16:24 – Stacey’s playbook: targeting, numbers, perseverance

Where to Learn More

• Website: imnotmadatyou.com
• Contact: stacy@imnotmadatyou.com

Tone & Takeaways

Unfiltered, practical, and direct. Stacey Bullman’s message cuts through corporate speak and consulting jargon. She underscores that business growth is rooted in process discipline, relentless sales focus, data-driven decision-making, and a willingness to act on sound advice (“stop turning off your sales pipeline!”). Consultants should be accountable for producing real financial impact—and if you want to win, never lose the hunger to sell, improve, and ask for help.

For doers, builders, and dreamers: Real talk, real advice, no fluff.