How to Build a Professional Services Firm That Clients Trust for Decades With Steve Shoultz

Want to solve Branding and Lead-Gen for good for your B2B Business? Download our Completed Playbook for FREE: https://ghapodcast.com/b2b-podcasting... ********************************************************** Steve Shoultz is the President of Priority Risk Management Inc., an independent insurance agency he founded in 2005 after building a career spanning more than 30 years in insurance. In this episode of The Principal Podcast, Steve shares how he has built a trust-driven professional services firm around client education, long-term relationships, and risk expertise, and the lessons other firm leaders can take from his approach to growth, sales, retention, and leadership. ********************************************************** Know more about Steve Shoultz Website Link: http://www.priorityrisk.com Connect with Steve Shoultz on LinkedIn LinkedIn Link:   / steve-shoultz-a1b5153   Apply to be a guest on The Principal Podcast: https://ghapodcast.com/application-to... ********************************************************** Steve's Bio: Steve Shoultz is the President of Priority Risk Management Inc., the independent insurance agency he founded in August 2005. He has more than 30 years of experience in insurance and risk management, helping businesses and individuals understand their exposure and make informed decisions about protecting what matters to them. Before founding Priority Risk Management, Steve held sales roles at Consolidated Insurance Services and Sentry Insurance, working across commercial and personal insurance. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science from Illinois State University with a double major in Occupational Safety and Industrial Technology. His background across safety, risk, insurance, sales, and firm ownership gives him a practical perspective on building a professional services business where expertise, trust, and long-term client relationships are central to growth. ********************************************************** Show Notes: Steve Shoultz has spent more than three decades in the insurance industry, working across both commercial and personal lines. In 2005, he founded Priority Risk Management with a clear philosophy: help clients understand the risks they face so they can make informed decisions about how to protect themselves and their businesses. That philosophy has shaped how Steve approaches more than insurance. It influences how his firm earns trust, sells its expertise, retains clients, and builds relationships that last. Like many professional services firms, Priority Risk Management operates in a business where clients are buying expertise and confidence long before they can see the outcome. In this conversation, we get into the business behind the expertise: how Steve attracts and wins clients, turns trust into long-term relationships, builds a team around his approach, and thinks about the next stage of growth. For founders, Managing Partners, and CEOs of professional services firms, Steve’s experience offers a practical look at building a firm clients continue to rely on over time. ********************************************************** Proposed Interview Structure: 1. You’ve spent more than 30 years in insurance and have been building Priority Risk Management since 2005. What originally got you into this business, and what made you want to build a firm of your own? 2. What specific problem are you helping clients solve through Priority Risk Management, and why does solving that problem matter so much to you personally? 3. Who are your ideal clients today, and within those organizations, who typically holds the decision to bring you in and hire your firm? 4. When you look at how Priority Risk Management has grown, where do your best clients typically come from, and what has worked best for you in consistently generating new business? Current Acquisition Channels: Referral, Content, Cold outreach Sub Question: What do you think about podcasts as a marketing and trust-building tool for insurance firms and professional services businesses more broadly? 5. Insurance and risk management require clients to place a lot of trust in the person advising them. When a potential client comes into your world, how do you take them from an initial conversation to feeling confident enough to hire your firm? 6. Once you win a client, what do you do to make sure they keep coming back, continue seeing value in the relationship, and ultimately stay with Priority Risk Management for the long term? 7. Where do you find yourself most challenged right now as the founder and President of Priority Risk Management, if at all? 8. Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunity for Priority Risk Management and your work in risk management over the next few years?