In this Strategies & Tactics edition, Neil Barrow distills the single most important takeaway from his conversation with Kate Hall: The shift from "Employee" to "Owner."

Neil challenges every business development professional to stop waiting for permission and start treating their territory, network, and pipeline as their own personal business. He breaks down exactly what "Thinking Like an Owner" looks like in practice - from refusing to let leadership dictate your success, to adopting the "Break Glass in Case of Emergency" mindset that forces you to take extreme ownership of client outcomes.

Outline:

• 00:00 Strategies & Tactics: The Kate Hall recap

• 00:45 The "Break Glass" Strategy (Taking extreme ownership)

• 02:00 Why "doing whatever it takes" is an owner trait

• 03:00 Scheduling your outbound call block (The owner's discipline)

• 04:00 Reviewing your losses to fix your business

• 05:45 The 2 non-negotiables: High Motor & Point of View

• 07:00 Drive = Mastery + Purpose + Impact

• 07:50 "This Is My Business" (The entrepreneurial mindset)

• 09:00 Creating clients for life by reinforcing credentials

• 10:45 The 2026 Challenge: Pick up the phone

About the Guest (Featured in this Analysis):Kate Hall is a Business Development Principal at Embark. She transitioned from Big 4 accounting to recruiting and finally to high-level business development, helping her firm achieve 12x growth through a relentless "entrepreneurial" work ethic and a "fire extinguisher" service philosophy.

In this episode, Kate Hall, Business Development Principal at Embark, joins Neil and breaks down her unconventional path from a Big 4 accountant to a high-volume recruiter, and finally to a top-tier business development leader helping drive Embark’s massive 12x growth over five years.

They discuss the gritty reality of building a network from scratch, why "doing the work" is the only networking hack that matters, and the critical difference between being a "hunter" and a "farmer" in professional services. Kate also shares her "Fire Extinguisher" philosophy: how to position yourself as the first call clients make when things go wrong, even if you aren't the one fixing the problem.

Outline:

• 00:00 From Big 4 to recruiting

• 05:12 Running away from accounting roles

• 10:45 The reality of 100 daily calls

• 16:20 Realizing recruiting is actually sales

• 22:15 Winning a massive deal

• 28:30 Transitioning to Embark before COVID

• 32:10 Pivoting strategy during the pandemic

• 36:45 Delivering value to your firm

• 40:15 Managing different sales performance buckets

• 43:50 The Fire Extinguisher business philosophy

• 46:30 Scaling 12x through strategic farming

  
  

About the Guest:

Kate Hall is a Business Development Principal at Embark, a new kind of business advisory firm. Starting her career in audit at KPMG, she pivoted to recruiting where she honed her sales skills before joining Embark as employee #100. She has since helped the firm expand across multiple markets by combining deep industry knowledge with a relentless "high motor" work ethic.

Join Neil Barrow for this Strategies & Tactics edition as he unpacks key takeaways from his conversation with Alissa Kolm. Neil dives deep into two specific areas: defining what it actually means to "add value" and the mechanics of the old-school, but highly effective, "drop-in" strategy.

Neil breaks down the "3 I's" framework for cultivating new relationships (Invites, Insights, Introductions) and shares his own war stories from his ADP days about mapping out drop routes. He challenges listeners to stop overcomplicating outreach and start using simple, low-friction tactics like joint COI calls and cookie drops to crack open doors that emails can't.

Outline:

• 00:00 Cultivating relationships with the 3 I's

• 01:25 Defining value as a connector

• 02:07 The strategy of joint COI calls

• 03:02 Executing old school drop-in tactics

• 04:25 Planning joint drop-off days

• 05:49 Cold outreach to build referral networks

• 06:46 Invites, Insights, and Introductions deep dive

• 08:40 Creating accountability with calendar blocking

• 10:06 Summary of practical BD tactics

About the Guest (Featured in this Analysis): Alissa Kolm is a Business Development professional and Relationship Manager who specializes in activity-based selling. She built her career by launching new markets from scratch, leveraging high-volume activity and strategic partnerships with COIs to drive long-term growth.

Join Neil Barrow as he chats with Alissa Kolm, a seasoned Relationship Manager who built her career by launching into a brand new market with zero existing network. In this episode, Alissa shares the gritty details of how she went from "casting a wide net" to building a highly targeted referral engine using CPAs and bankers.

They dive into practical, low-friction tactics that actually open doors—like bringing competitors to prospect meetings and the "cookie drop" strategy to make cold calls less awkward. Alissa also breaks down why activity-based metrics (inputs) are far more critical than revenue goals (outputs) when you are starting out, and how to organize your week to ensure you never drop the ball on a lead.

Outline:

00:00 Starting BD in a new market

01:42 Choosing sales over accounting routes

02:40 Identifying key referral partner buckets

03:33 Casting a wide networking net

04:54 Adding value with no clients

06:16 Being a connector for others

07:11 The strategy of joint calls

08:43 Doing drop-ins with partners

10:25 Focusing on activity-based metrics

12:17 Planting seeds for long-term wins

14:07 Cold calling strategies in 2025

16:32 A multi-year win story

18:29 Organizing with calendars and CRMs

About the Guest: Alissa Kolm is a Business Development professional and Relationship Manager. She launched her career by building the Fort Worth market for NowCFO from the ground up before transitioning into commercial banking. She specializes in activity-based selling and leveraging COI (Center of Influence) relationships to drive long-term growth.

Join Neil Barrow for this Strategies & Tactics edition as he unpacks key takeaways from his conversation with Chad Corley. Neil answers the most common question for new BD professionals: "What should I actually be doing day-to-day when I start a new role?"

Neil outlines a clear, step-by-step playbook for the first 30, 60, and 90 days. He explains why you must prioritize "internal business development" before ever leaving the building, how to reverse-engineer your firm’s best clients to find your target referral sources, and why setting a goal of 10 meetings a week is the fastest way to build a functional network.

Outline:

00:00 Strategies & Tactics intro

01:30 Why internal BD comes first

03:00 Analyzing where top clients originated

04:45 Finding where your referral sources hang out

05:30 The "10 Meetings a Week" goal

06:00 The most powerful networking question to ask

06:45 Building your 90-day external game plan

07:45 Focusing on inputs versus revenue outputs

09:00 Organizing your attack plan

10:15 Avoiding the "aimless networking" trap

About the Guest (Featured in this Analysis): Chad Corley is a Senior Relationship Manager at Armanino. He specializes in bridging the gap between sales enablement and origination, helping firms leverage internal data and partner relationships to build predictable deal flow in the private equity and accounting space.

Join Neil Barrow as he chats with Chad Corley, Senior Relationship Manager at Armanino. They dig into the internal and external components of business development - from tracking and nurturing referral sources to building relationships that create lasting deal flow.

Chad shares his unique journey from software sales to investment banking, and finally to a top 25 accounting firm. He breaks down the difference between "sales enablement" (helping partners win) and "origination" (hunting new business), and why successful BD pros must master both. They also discuss the "Hittin' Singles" mindset - ignoring the home runs to focus on consistent, daily activity that compounds over time.

Outline:

00:00 From software sales to investment banking

03:15 Identifying your top referral sources

06:40 Transitioning to a large accounting firm

09:10 Building your personal vs. firm brand

12:20 Sales Enablement: Helping partners win

16:45 Managing inbound leads with a CRM

20:30 The "Speed to Lead" advantage

24:10 Asking the right discovery questions

28:00 Connecting partners to Private Equity

33:50 Weekly routine: Hitting singles every day

About the Guest: Chad Corley is a Senior Relationship Manager at Armanino, one of the top 25 accounting and consulting firms in the nation. With over a decade of experience spanning software, startups, and investment banking, Chad specializes in Private Equity relationships and sales enablement, helping partners and internal teams drive growth through strategic connections.

Join Neil Barrow for this Strategies & Tactics edition as he unpacks the key takeaways from his conversation with Emily Ackerman. Neil dives into the concept of "unapologetic authenticity" and why wearing a "professional mask" is actually hurting your ability to close deals.

Neil breaks down how to integrate your personal obsessions (whether it’s heavy metal music, barbecue, or faith) into your professional brand to attract your true "orbit" of referral partners. He challenges listeners to stop trying to be buttoned-up and start using their personality as a filter to qualify clients and deepen relationships faster.

Outline:

• 00:00 Intro to Strategies & Tactics edition

• 00:52 Recap of Emily Ackerman’s authenticity

• 01:45 The danger of the "Professional Mask"

• 03:30 Integrating personal interests into business

• 05:15 Turning referral sources into friends

• 07:00 Qualifying prospective clients using "vibes"

• 08:45 Summary: Be unapologetically authentic

• 10:00 Challenge: Find your core nucleus

  
  

About the Guest (Featured in this Analysis):Emily Ackerman is the Director of Business Development for the Southwest region at Bennett Thrasher. Known as the "Queen of BD," she leverages her competitive nature and authentic personality to dominate her market and build deep, lasting referral networks.

Join Neil Barrow as he sits down with Emily Ackerman, Director of Business Development for the Southwest at Bennett Thrasher. Known in the DFW area as the "Queen of BD," Emily shares how she channels a lifelong competitive drive into a high-motor career that leaves competitors looking lazy.

They discuss her unique approach to staying "famous" in her market so she is the first call when a deal goes south, and her refusal to be stiff or corporate. Emily breaks down her specific, time-saving tactics like "holding court" at coffee shops and her legendary "I'm Sorry Beers" drop-off strategy that turned a cold prospect into a major client.

Outline:

• 00:00 Fueling success through childhood competitiveness

• 02:27 Using social media to dominate competitors

• 04:30 Finding the edge before others do

• 06:51 Being a matchmaker, not a salesperson

• 09:41 Overcoming LinkedIn "ick" and head trash

• 12:51 Treating business development like modern dating

• 15:10 Winning big with "I'm Sorry Beers"

• 20:05 Structuring the week by beverage type

• 21:00 Saving time by "Holding Court"

• 23:34 Managing your "Nucleus" referral partners

• 25:27 Using "vibes" to qualify partners

• 27:53 The power of unapologetic authenticity

  
  

About the Guest:Emily Ackerman is the Director of Business Development for the Southwest region at Bennett Thrasher. With a background in media sales and accounting BD, she is known for her high-energy approach, her ability to connect people, and for being unapologetically herself in a corporate world.