Stop Selling HR Solutions & Start Selling Business Outcomes + Guest Briana Mascaro
In this episode of the Leap into HR Consulting podcast, Sarah Hamilton-Gill explains why experienced HR consultants and coaches can still struggle to attract clients, even when they have strong expertise.
The central message is simple: stop selling HR support or coaching sessions, and start showing the business outcome.
Sarah explores how many consultants describe what they do in terms of services, such as policies, retainers, coaching, psychometrics or leadership development. However, business owners are usually focused on more immediate challenges: people issues taking up too much time, managers avoiding difficult conversations, senior teams lacking alignment, or growth creating risk and chaos.
The episode shares three practical ways consultants and coaches can strengthen their positioning:
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Lead with the outcome
Explain the value your work creates, such as reducing risk, improving leadership confidence, supporting growth, creating clarity or helping managers deal with issues earlier. -
Be known for something specific
Move away from being too general. Choose clear themes or problems you want to be associated with, so people can remember, refer and recommend you more easily. -
Create a clear next step
Avoid vague endings like “let me know if I can help.” Instead, guide the conversation towards a practical next step, such as an HR priorities review, leadership coaching programme, manager confidence support or facilitated team session.
Sarah reassures listeners that struggling to talk about their own value is very common, especially for those moving from corporate HR or in-house coaching into consultancy. The answer is not to become pushy or salesy, but to become clearer, more confident and more commercially relevant.
In this episode, Sarah also speaks with Briana Mascaro, a former labour and employment attorney from Florida who has recently made the move from corporate life into entrepreneurship. Briana shares her journey from legal practice into corporate HR, including her time at Disney managing union contracts, employee relations, investigations and complex workplace challenges during major periods such as #MeToo and COVID-19.
She explains how this experience has now shaped her new business, where she combines executive coaching, HR consulting and employment law expertise to support smaller businesses with people-related challenges.
A key theme of the conversation is the move from corporate certainty to entrepreneurial freedom. Briana talks openly about how coaching became a passion project, how she prepared financially before making the leap, and why building a network and client base before leaving corporate life helped her transition with confidence.
Sarah and Briana also explore the importance of outsourcing workplace investigations, particularly for smaller businesses that need independent, credible and objective support. Briana highlights how her legal, HR and employee relations background gives her a strong foundation for handling sensitive and complex investigations.
The episode also covers the practical realities of starting a consultancy, including setting up systems such as a CRM and accounting software, using AI tools, managing workload, choosing the right clients and setting realistic goals. Briana shares honest reflections on work-life balance, breaking old corporate habits and creating more time with her daughter. For anyone considering a move from corporate HR or employment law into consulting, this conversation is full of grounded advice, encouragement and practical insight. In this episode, we cover: Briana’s transition from employment law to corporate HR and consulting Her experience at Disney with unions, employee relations and complex investigations Why executive coaching became the catalyst for starting her own business
The benefits of outsourcing workplace investigations How to prepare financially and practically before leaving corporate life The importance of systems, networking and realistic goal-setting Building a consultancy around your strengths, niche and values Creating better work-life balance as a business owner Listen in if you are thinking about making the leap into consulting, building a coaching practice, or using your corporate expertise to create a more flexible and fulfilling career.
Please connect with Briana via her LinkedIn profile and let her know you listened to the podcast! https://www.linkedin.com/in/briana-mascaro-/
For more information on all of our services:
To find out more about our summer sales programme contact:
Sarahhg@globushrconsulting.co.uk
