Most conversations about AI in consulting stop at productivity. Doing the same thing faster. That's the wrong frame entirely.

In this episode, I break down the three form factors for digital products: information products, software products, and what I'm calling actors. An actor is an AI agent or multi-agent orchestration that deploys your expertise on your behalf without requiring your ongoing presence at every step. The distinction that matters: an actor becomes a producer when it generates real market value, not just activity.

I walk through how I built this into my own content pipeline (four hours down to fifteen minutes), how clients are using actors to overdeliver on their initial offer at 2-3x the going rate, and why "efficiency" is the wrong frame for what's actually happening. This is the next piece in a series. The Services Stack covers the thesis. The New Value Quadrant covers pricing. The Post Scope Era covers practical sales and delivery changes. This episode covers the new form factor that makes all of it possible.

Key topics covered:

• What a "form factor" actually means and why it matters for how you price and package
• Form Factor 1: Information products (ebooks, courses, coaching, communities) and the key person problem
• Form Factor 2: Software products and why they require a team and capital
• Form Factor 3: Actors, AI agents that produce outcomes on your behalf
• The distinction between an agent that acts and a producer that creates net new market value
• Why your methodology, positioning, and expertise dictate the value an actor creates
• Real example: content scheduling from four hours to fifteen minutes
• How clients are using actors to deliver 2-3x more value at standard pricing
• Efficiency vs. production: doing the same thing faster vs. creating something new
• Why speed to value creation might be the real variable
• Human flourishing as the real goal
• Three steps to build your first actor

CHAPTERS

• Website: https://dogoodwork.io
• Newsletter: https://dogoodwork.substack.com
• https://dogoodwork.substack.com/p/how-ai-is-creating-the-3rd-form-factor

What happens when you stop thinking about AI as a replacement tool and start thinking about it as a value creation engine? In this episode, Raul shares the paradigm shift he taught his 4-year-old son about money and value creation, rebuts Mark Cuban's argument about AI token costs, and walks through how to find your own net new value as a service founder or consultant.

Chapters

00:00 - A 4-Year-Old's Take on How Money Works (and Why He's Right)

01:30 - The Highest Calling: Why We're Meant to Create, Not Just Execute

02:30 - Mark Cuban Is Right About Token Costs. He's Wrong About the Goal.

04:00 - What Net New Value Actually Is (and Why You're Stuck Without It)

05:00 - The Key Distinction: Efficiency Is Not Creation

06:00 - How I Compressed 12 Weeks of Work Into a Month (Without Outsourcing My Thinking)

07:00 - The Test: Are You Still in Replacement Mode?

08:00 - The Firm of the Future: 70% Agentic, 30% Human, 100% Intentional

09:30 - Your Offer Dictates Everything. Start There.

11:00 - What I Learned Spending Millions in Direct Response About Upsells

12:30 - Proactive Value: Anticipate Your Client's Next Problem Before They See It

13:00 - Be a Creator and Inventor. Tinker. Play. Build for Fun.

In this episode, Raul and John discuss why hiring an agency feels risky today—cost, quality, outcomes, and commoditized “SEO/PPC shop” buying—then explore a shift toward providing open-ended marketing leadership focused on strategy, positioning, and execution using a mix of people, AI, automation, and outside resources. They argue project fees don’t fit a fast-changing landscape and consider retainers plus tool costs, while noting some work (like nailing brand positioning) can justify value-based pricing. They cover AI’s rapid acceleration, tool churn, and potential skill loss, alongside likely disruption to entry-level roles, and suggest human relationships will become more valuable in high-stakes B2B selling. John shares positioning lessons from customer interviews, a case study creating a sales/brand playbook used for onboarding, and examples of “marketing-adjacent” AI work that helps sales operations.

00:00 Do Agencies Still Matter?

01:18 What Clients Really Want

02:29 Marketing Leadership Model

04:57 Post Scope Era Pricing

06:52 AI Velocity And Tool Overload

09:00 Value Based Fees And Retainers

12:09 Skill Loss And Disruption

15:01 Meaning Work And Removing Toil

17:51 Human Connection Comes Back

22:18 Proof Points vs Positioning

22:55 Cloud Consulting Case Study

25:13 Tagline to Sales Playbook

26:52 Using AI for Messaging

28:25 Positioning Is for Buyers

29:18 When Positioning Doesn’t Land

30:49 Marketing Isn’t Just Opinion

32:39 Revenue as the Validator

33:39 AI Adjacent Opportunities

36:58 Relationships in a Tech World

39:12 Loyalty Means Real Dollars

40:59 Lifetime Value Marketing Model

Connect with John Schultz:

https://www.netstrategies.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnschultznetstrategies/

Connect with Raul:

• Work with Raul: https://dogoodwork.io/apply

• Free Growth Resources: https://dogoodwork.io/free-growth-resources

• Connect with Raul on LinkedIn (DMs open): https://www.linkedin.com/in/dogoodwork/

In this podcast episode, JJ discusses ZeroEyes, an AI weapons-detection software-as-a-service created in response to the Parkland shooting to make existing security cameras proactive rather than reactive. The platform works with current IP cameras (720p minimum) to detect brandished firearms (not concealed weapons) and sends detections within seconds to the ZeroEyes Operation Center, where trained former law enforcement or military personnel verify threats to reduce false positives before calling 911 and the client. The conversation covers why human judgment is kept in the loop, how special-operations mission focus shapes company culture and go-to-market, and why competitors without an operations center struggle. Key adoption challenges include limited school budgets, distracting “shiny” analytics, reliance on bonds and grants, and efforts to lower costs via insurance partnerships and state blanket funding.

00:24 Origin Story Parkland

02:16 Making Cameras Proactive

03:50 Human in the Loop

08:27 Mission Driven Culture

12:12 Avoiding Shiny Analytics

14:39 Budget and Funding Hurdles

17:02 Partnerships and Insurance

20:28 Hesitation Costs Lives

22:18 Signals and Real Cases

Connect with JJ:

• Website: https://www.jjparma.com
• ZeroEyes: https://www.zeroeyes.com
• LinkedIn: JJ Parma
• Email: johnparma@zeroeyes.com

Connect with Raul:

• Work with Raul: https://dogoodwork.io/apply

• Free Growth Resources: https://dogoodwork.io/free-growth-resources

• Connect with Raul on LinkedIn (DMs open): https://www.linkedin.com/in/dogoodwork/

In this episode, I interviewed Dirk Vander Noot, founder of Tell Tale Ops, who runs thousands of automations monthly and helps small businesses use AI and automation without losing the human touch. He discussed what you can build with AI versus what you should build, emphasizing focusing on tasks that drain time and energy but don’t gain value from a human doing them. Dirk explains how to identify value through customer and team feedback, and how involving teams in workflow redesign increases satisfaction, which can improve customer satisfaction. He distinguishes reliable step-by-step automations from AI agents better suited for research and creative, variable outputs but with higher risk. Drawing from hospitality, he argues people return for service and relationships, so even if AI can do something, it may not be best to. Dirk shares that the most exciting outcomes are clients growing revenue while working less and gaining more time with family.

00:41 Can Versus Should

01:51 Finding High Value Tasks

03:26 Measuring Value Signals

05:06 Team Purpose And CSAT

07:55 Humans And AI Roles

09:44 Slop And Output Pressure

14:27 Automation Versus Agents

18:13 Human Touch In Hospitality

20:29 Building Abundance And Wrap

Connect with Dirk:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirk-vander-noot/

Website: telltalesops.com

Connect with Raul:

• Work with Raul: https://dogoodwork.io

• Free Growth Resources: https://dogoodwork.io/resources

• Connect with Raul on LinkedIn (DMs open): https://www.linkedin.com/in/dogoodwork/

Your Offer Is Your Positioning: Selling in the Post Scope Era

Resources:
Services Stack:
https://dogoodwork.substack.com/p/the-service-stack-what-remains-when

The New Value Quadrant
https://dogoodwork.substack.com/p/the-new-value-quadrant-how-to-price

00:00 Budgets Tighten Up
01:54 Entering Post Scope Era
03:51 Outcomes Over Deliverables
05:36 Scope Creep vs Partnership
06:41 Clients Buy Safety
09:33 Who Cares Positioning
11:17 Offers Communicate Value
15:46 De Risk The Journey
20:23 Underpricing Backfires
22:27 Return To Bespoke
24:06 Belief Is Differentiator

The New Value Quadrant: How to Price Consulting & Agency Services in the Agentic Era

Read this on the newsletter:
https://dogoodwork.substack.com/p/the-new-value-quadrant-how-to-price

Services Stack
https://dogoodwork.substack.com/p/the-service-stack-what-remains-when

00:00 AI Is Deflationary: The Pricing Squeeze Hits Agencies
00:20 The “AI Discount” Story & the AI Pricing Trap
01:38 Jevons Paradox: Cheaper Execution, Higher Demand
02:40 Stop Selling Hours—Sell Outcomes, Transformation & Belief
03:38 Why Legacy Pricing Breaks (Retainers, Hourly, Projects)
04:35 Introducing the New Value Quadrant (4 Pricing Models)
06:05 Quadrant 1 — The Margin Play: Keep Prices, Expand Profit
06:49 Net-New Value in Q1: Reinvest Time Savings, Don’t Cut Fees
10:39 Quadrant 2 — The Volume Play: Outcome/Consumption-Based Pricing
12:46 Designing Q2 for Long LTV: Caps, Tiers & Beating Churn
16:14 Quadrant 3 — The IP Play: Turn Your Methodology into Agentic Workflows
20:57 Quadrant 4 — Value Capture: Performance Deals with More Control
23:21 Retainer Floor + Performance Upside (Leading & Lagging Metrics)
24:03 Why Caps Build Trust (and Why Equity Splits Can Backfire)
25:32 The AI Adoption Gap: Your Window to Price Outcomes, Not Inputs
28:59 Who to Work With: The 3-Part Ideal Client “Trifecta”
30:07 Trifecta #1: Growing Market + Conviction (Sell Transformation, Not Services)
32:07 Trifecta #2: Target Tech-Laggard Industries to Avoid Commoditization
33:41 Trifecta #3: The Founder Must ‘Get It’ (No Convincing on Sales Calls)
36:07 The Craft Model: Small Elite Team + Agents to Deliver Net-New Value
39:39 Stop Discounting Because of AI: Choose Your Quadrant & Price the Output

AI's Impact on Client Services: What You Need to Know

Read the newsletter:
https://open.substack.com/pub/dogoodwork/p/the-service-stack-what-remains-when

00:00 Introduction: The AI Revolution in Client Services
00:33 Real-World Applications of AI
02:41 The Future of Client Services
04:50 Understanding the Services Stack
05:46 Layer 1: Execution
07:30 Layer 2: Template Strategy
09:19 Layer 3: Judgment-Driven Strategy
12:42 Layer 4: Transformation and Accountability
16:21 Layer 5: Belief
19:54 The Power of Belief in Client Relationships
21:35 The Future of the Agency Model
22:40 Introducing the Craft Model
23:35 AI's Role in the Craft Model
25:20 Adapting to the New Reality
28:59 Practical Steps for Transitioning
35:29 Final Thoughts and Call to Action