How to Build a Firm That Grows Through Talent, Trust, and Differentiation With Chris Burkhard

Want to solve Branding and Lead-Gen for good for your B2B Business? Download our Completed Playbook for FREE: https://ghapodcast.com/b2b-podcasting... ********************************************************** Chris Burkhard is a fourth-generation entrepreneur, advisor, and President of Placers, an award-winning workforce solutions firm serving growth-minded organizations across the Mid-Atlantic. Over more than 25 years, Chris has built and led professional services businesses around a challenge every firm leader understands: earning trust, finding the right people, and creating a business that can grow beyond its founder. In this episode of The Principal Podcast, we explore how Chris has grown Placers, built long-term client relationships, developed a differentiated point of view, and used talent, culture, and thought leadership to create a firm built to last. ********************************************************** Links: StreamYard (for guest): https://streamyard.com/suu86sx2rs YouTube (for sharing):    • How to Build a Firm That Grows Through Tal...   Apply to be a guest: https://ghapodcast.com/application-to... ********************************************************** Chris's Bio: Chris Burkhard is President of Placers and Founder of CBI Group, with more than 25 years of experience across entrepreneurship, staffing, workforce strategy, executive advisory, and business growth. Under his leadership, Placers has been recognized as a multi-year Inc. 5000 honoree, Delaware’s 10th Fastest-Growing Company in 2022, and a Top Workplace in Delaware in 2023. Chris was named Delaware Small Business Person of the Year in 2020 and inducted into the Delaware Business Hall of Fame in 2025. He is also the author of Opposite the Crowd and host of Outside Insights, where he shares ideas on leadership, culture, business, and personal growth. ********************************************************** Show Notes: Chris Burkhard has spent more than 25 years building businesses and advising entrepreneurial leaders. As President of Placers, he leads the firm’s strategy, market growth, and Total Talent Solutions, helping organizations solve workforce challenges through temporary staffing, direct placement, and strategic workforce management. Chris also founded CBI Group, which today serves as an executive advisory platform for entrepreneurial leaders looking to scale profitably, strengthen execution, and build high-performance cultures. His experience gives him a useful perspective for professional services leaders: he has been both the advisor helping other businesses grow and the entrepreneur responsible for growing his own. Beyond client work, Chris has built a platform around his ideas. He is the author of Opposite the Crowd and host of the Outside Insights podcast, using content to explore leadership, culture, entrepreneurship, and decision-making. We’ll dig into what he has learned about differentiation, winning and retaining clients, scaling a team, and building a professional services business with staying power. ********************************************************** Proposed Interview Structure: 1. You’ve spent more than 25 years building businesses, from CBI Group to Placers and your advisory work today. What originally got you into the professional services business, and what has kept you in it? 2. What specific problem are you helping clients solve through Placers and your advisory work today, and why does solving that problem matter so much to you personally? 3. Who are your ideal clients today, and within those organizations, who usually holds the decision to bring Placers or you in? 4. In a business like staffing and advisory, where trust and reputation matter so much, how are clients typically finding you today, and what has worked best for consistently generating new business? Current Acquisition Channels: Cold outreach Sub Question: You’ve built Outside Insights alongside your business. What role has podcasting played in building your reputation and relationships, and how do you think about it as a marketing tool for professional services firms? 5. When a prospective client enters your world, how do you take them from an initial conversation to enough trust and confidence to hire you? What have you learned about selling a service where the relationship matters as much as the solution? 6. Once you’ve won a client, how do you make sure they keep coming back? What do you do at Placers to keep delivering value, deepen the relationship, and turn an initial engagement into a long-term partnership? 7. You’ve been building and leading professional services businesses for more than 25 years. Where do you find yourself most challenged right now as a firm leader, if at all? 8. Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity for your work over the next few years?