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Oct 23, 2016 · 19m · top-founders

Ep 456: $700k Agency Enters Group Coaching Space. Why? With CEO AriMirza

Ali Mirza · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In episode 456 of The Top podcast, host Nathan Latka interviews Rose Garden Consulting founder Ali Mirza about scaling his sales consulting agency to nearly $800,000 in revenue and his strategic transition into scalable group coaching through Monday Morning Meetings.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 46.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 5.0 Guest teaching 2.6 Guest disagreement 2.8 Nathan pushing back 4.8
05100:0010:000:28–4:30 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Weekly Giveaway Winner Announcement and Contest Details Nathan introduces Ali Mirza and probes his pricing model. When Ali hesitates to name an anonymous client, Nathan directly calls him out and pulls public client names from Ali's website to force transparency.4:30–6:33 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Revenue Milestones and Relocating from Canada to Atlanta Nathan drills into historical revenue figures and notices a projected drop from 2015 to 2016. Ali explains the revenue drop was caused by relocating operations from Canada to Atlanta.6:36–9:19 · Nathan as informed peer 7/10 Differentiating Sales Strategy from Major Management Consulting Firms Ali claims his sales consulting outperforms major firms like McKinsey and PwC. Nathan calls out this boast as unrealistic on a large podcast stage and reframes Ali's true differentiator as lower pricing and direct accessibility, which Ali accepts.9:19–14:48 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Launching Monday Morning Meetings for Group Coaching Scale Ali introduces his new Monday Morning Meeting platform. Nathan presses through the buzzwords to label it plainly as a group coaching business and challenges whether leaving high-margin consulting profits for a webinar is worthwhile.14:49–18:09 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Assistant Meeting Scheduling Platform Nathan runs mid-roll sponsor reads and transitions into the Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions with standard, agreeable responses.0:28–4:30 · Guest teaching 2/10 Weekly Giveaway Winner Announcement and Contest Details Nathan introduces Ali Mirza and probes his pricing model. When Ali hesitates to name an anonymous client, Nathan directly calls him out and pulls public client names from Ali's website to force transparency.4:30–6:33 · Guest teaching 3/10 Revenue Milestones and Relocating from Canada to Atlanta Nathan drills into historical revenue figures and notices a projected drop from 2015 to 2016. Ali explains the revenue drop was caused by relocating operations from Canada to Atlanta.6:36–9:19 · Guest teaching 4/10 Differentiating Sales Strategy from Major Management Consulting Firms Ali claims his sales consulting outperforms major firms like McKinsey and PwC. Nathan calls out this boast as unrealistic on a large podcast stage and reframes Ali's true differentiator as lower pricing and direct accessibility, which Ali accepts.9:19–14:48 · Guest teaching 3/10 Launching Monday Morning Meetings for Group Coaching Scale Ali introduces his new Monday Morning Meeting platform. Nathan presses through the buzzwords to label it plainly as a group coaching business and challenges whether leaving high-margin consulting profits for a webinar is worthwhile.14:49–18:09 · Guest teaching 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Assistant Meeting Scheduling Platform Nathan runs mid-roll sponsor reads and transitions into the Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions with standard, agreeable responses.0:28–4:30 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Weekly Giveaway Winner Announcement and Contest Details Nathan introduces Ali Mirza and probes his pricing model. When Ali hesitates to name an anonymous client, Nathan directly calls him out and pulls public client names from Ali's website to force transparency.4:30–6:33 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Revenue Milestones and Relocating from Canada to Atlanta Nathan drills into historical revenue figures and notices a projected drop from 2015 to 2016. Ali explains the revenue drop was caused by relocating operations from Canada to Atlanta.6:36–9:19 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Differentiating Sales Strategy from Major Management Consulting Firms Ali claims his sales consulting outperforms major firms like McKinsey and PwC. Nathan calls out this boast as unrealistic on a large podcast stage and reframes Ali's true differentiator as lower pricing and direct accessibility, which Ali accepts.9:19–14:48 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Launching Monday Morning Meetings for Group Coaching Scale Ali introduces his new Monday Morning Meeting platform. Nathan presses through the buzzwords to label it plainly as a group coaching business and challenges whether leaving high-margin consulting profits for a webinar is worthwhile.14:49–18:09 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Assistant Meeting Scheduling Platform Nathan runs mid-roll sponsor reads and transitions into the Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions with standard, agreeable responses.0:28–4:30 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Weekly Giveaway Winner Announcement and Contest Details Nathan introduces Ali Mirza and probes his pricing model. When Ali hesitates to name an anonymous client, Nathan directly calls him out and pulls public client names from Ali's website to force transparency.4:30–6:33 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Revenue Milestones and Relocating from Canada to Atlanta Nathan drills into historical revenue figures and notices a projected drop from 2015 to 2016. Ali explains the revenue drop was caused by relocating operations from Canada to Atlanta.6:36–9:19 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Differentiating Sales Strategy from Major Management Consulting Firms Ali claims his sales consulting outperforms major firms like McKinsey and PwC. Nathan calls out this boast as unrealistic on a large podcast stage and reframes Ali's true differentiator as lower pricing and direct accessibility, which Ali accepts.9:19–14:48 · Nathan pushing back 6/10 Launching Monday Morning Meetings for Group Coaching Scale Ali introduces his new Monday Morning Meeting platform. Nathan presses through the buzzwords to label it plainly as a group coaching business and challenges whether leaving high-margin consulting profits for a webinar is worthwhile.14:49–18:09 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Sponsor Spotlight: Assistant Meeting Scheduling Platform Nathan runs mid-roll sponsor reads and transitions into the Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions with standard, agreeable responses.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 70.3% · guest 29.7%0:00 · Nathan 70.3% · guest 29.7%3:00 · Nathan 24.1% · guest 75.9%3:00 · Nathan 24.1% · guest 75.9%6:00 · Nathan 20.2% · guest 79.8%6:00 · Nathan 20.2% · guest 79.8%9:00 · Nathan 16% · guest 84%9:00 · Nathan 16% · guest 84%12:00 · Nathan 44.2% · guest 55.8%12:00 · Nathan 44.2% · guest 55.8%15:00 · Nathan 83.6% · guest 16.4%15:00 · Nathan 83.6% · guest 16.4%18:00 · Nathan 99.1% · guest 0.9%18:00 · Nathan 99.1% · guest 0.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 7:14 Ali claims superiority over major consulting firms

Ali directly dismisses enterprise consulting giants like BCG and McKinsey, claiming they only email proposals while he actually knows how to sell.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 7:32 Nathan calls out boastful consulting claims

Nathan bluntly shuts down Ali's assertion that he can out-sell global management consultancies, telling him the claim is baloney and demanding specific positioning.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:49 Ali articulates buyer-centric sales messaging

Ali explains how he reverses traditional seller-focused scripting to map messaging strictly against individual buyer motivations and persona efficiency needs.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 9:05 Nathan reframes Ali's true competitive edge

Nathan cuts through Ali's elaborate process defense to state that his real advantage over elite consultancies is simply lower pricing and personal accessibility.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Weekly Giveaway Winner Announcement and Contest Details 5236 Nathan introduces Ali Mirza and probes his pricing model. When Ali hesitates to name an anonymous client, Nathan directly calls him out and pulls public client names from Ali's website to force transparency.
Revenue Milestones and Relocating from Canada to Atlanta 5324 Nathan drills into historical revenue figures and notices a projected drop from 2015 to 2016. Ali explains the revenue drop was caused by relocating operations from Canada to Atlanta.
Differentiating Sales Strategy from Major Management Consulting Firms 7457 Ali claims his sales consulting outperforms major firms like McKinsey and PwC. Nathan calls out this boast as unrealistic on a large podcast stage and reframes Ali's true differentiator as lower pricing and direct accessibility, which Ali accepts.
Launching Monday Morning Meetings for Group Coaching Scale 6336 Ali introduces his new Monday Morning Meeting platform. Nathan presses through the buzzwords to label it plainly as a group coaching business and challenges whether leaving high-margin consulting profits for a webinar is worthwhile.
Sponsor Spotlight: Assistant Meeting Scheduling Platform 2111 Nathan runs mid-roll sponsor reads and transitions into the Famous Five rapid-fire closing questions with standard, agreeable responses.

Statements from this episode (6)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mirza: Rose Garden Consulting project fees range from $20,000 to $130,000
“My programs range anywhere between, I think the smallest one I've done is probably 20, 25,000 dollars. All the way up to one I did for about, I think it was a 130,000. It was the one, it was all said and done is what I charged them.”
Ali Mirza Oct 23, 2016 ▶ 2:38
Disclosure
Mirza: Rose Garden Consulting retainers range from $5,000 to $25,000 monthly
“My typical retainer would be anywhere between 5000 all the way up to 25,000, depending on, you know, What sort of engagement it is.”
Ali Mirza Oct 23, 2016 ▶ 3:04
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ali Mirza: Rose Garden Consulting reached roughly $790k in 2015 revenue
“I think we were about 700 and probably 80 something, 790, somewhere between there.”
Ali Mirza Oct 23, 2016 ▶ 5:28
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Mirza: Rose Garden Consulting will do roughly $550k-$600k in 2016 revenue
“We'll, we'll probably miss the 600 mark, but we'll probably be somewhere in and around there.”
Ali Mirza Oct 23, 2016 ▶ 5:38
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Mirza: Monday Morning Meetings will reach 200 subscribers within six months
“I'm very confident I could probably have 200 people within six months based on what everyone's telling me.”
Ali Mirza Oct 23, 2016 ▶ 13:12
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Mirza: Rose Garden Consulting net margins exceed 50% on most projects
“I would say most of our projects were definitely in the 50% or greater.”
Ali Mirza Oct 23, 2016 ▶ 13:33
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