Old School Wisdom. New School Rules.

🔥 Episode Summary:We’re back in the fedora era. 🕶️In this episode, Ronnell sits down with one of the most recognizable—and respected—voices in the channel, Andrew Pryfogle, a true industry pioneer whose fingerprints are on nearly four decades of technology channel history. From MCI to his own ventures and now his leadership at Avant, Andrew has helped shape the DNA of how we sell, serve, and scale in this business.But this isn’t a nostalgia tour. This one’s about truth-telling—unfiltered.They dive into why too many partners and channel managers have become “traffic cops,” how AI threatens the transactional seller, and why the next generation of channel pros needs to think less about quotes and more about insight.This is the conversation the channel needed—the one everyone’s been thinking but few have had the courage to say out loud.💥 In This Episode:The real difference between serving and leading customersWhy being a “traffic cop” in 2025 will get you run over by AIThe existential threat AI poses to transactional sellers and managersWhy “saving money” is a dead sales strategy—and how to shift to helping customers make moneyHow pricing models like “per seat” are doomed, and what comes nextWhat partners can learn from the long-distance and telecom pricing revolutionsHow the monetization of labor will create the biggest wealth transfer in channel historyWhy failure rates in AI are sky-high—and how smart partners can profit from itThe cultural reset the channel needs to survive and evolveHow one channel manager (shoutout Kim Staro 👏) models the future of true partnership🔍 What You’ll Learn:✔️ How to stay relevant in an AI-driven, consumption-based world✔️ Why insight—not information—is the new sales currency✔️ How to position yourself as an indispensable advisor, not a replaceable coordinator✔️ Why the top 10% of partners will own the future—and how to join them👤 Guest:Andrew PryfogleRenaissance Man | Industry Pioneer | CX & AI Practice Leader @ Avant🔗 LinkedIn: /andrewpryfogle📣 Resources & Recommendations from Andrew:Avant Analytics & CX Practice resourcesSayLess Academy: The Hell Up And Sell: The Book — available wherever you get your business wisdom📌 Timestamps:00:00 – Intro: “The show in the channel—yeah, we said it.”03:45 – Fedora talk & building the silhouette brand05:20 – From MCI to the modern channel: four decades of transformation09:12 – What running a restaurant taught Andrew about leadership (and staffing nightmares)18:47 – Why simplicity, gardening, and woodworking matter in a high-speed world26:30 – The problem with “traffic cop” partners and managers34:10 – Why Google and ChatGPT are better traffic cops than you38:55 – The AI threat no one’s prepared for45:18 – “Save money” is dead—“make money” wins every time53:06 – The end of per-seat pricing and the need for consumption models1:00:12 – The coming monetization of labor and wealth transfer1:09:27 – AI projects are failing—here’s your opportunity1:19:40 – How partners can stop being reactive and start leading1:26:02 – Channel culture change: from coordinators to conductors1:33:22 – The Kim Staro model: what true channel leadership looks like1:40:45 – Final thoughts: show them what they need, not just what they want🚨 Like this episode?

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Old School Wisdom. New School Rules. is an episode from Business And Bourbon with Ronnell Richards by Business And Bourbon with Ronn.

This episode is 01:12:48 long.

This episode was published on Oct 17, 2025.

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