In this episode of The Consultant’s Way Podcast, hosts Dean McMann and Anthony Paluska sit down with Dushyant Mitra to discuss how professional services teams within enterprise SaaS companies can evolve to operate more like consulting firms.

Dushyant shares insights from his career, highlighting the differences between traditional consulting and professional services, and why many SaaS organizations fail to fully leverage their professional services teams as strategic assets. The conversation centers on the common challenge of SaaS companies treating professional services as a product add-on rather than a revenue-generating, value-driven function. Dushyant explains that many professional services teams are underutilized, often given away for free or heavily discounted, with little emphasis on profitability or evolving service offerings. He argues that a consulting mindset—focused on financial responsibility, innovation, and evolving alongside product and industry changes—can help these teams drive greater impact for both clients and the company.

Dean and Anthony explore how professional services teams can go beyond basic implementations and support to offer advisory services, change management, and business process optimization. They discuss the importance of helping clients not just adopt a product, but successfully integrate it into their operations. Dushyant emphasizes that professional services teams are in a unique position to provide market insights and feedback to product teams, helping to refine offerings based on real-world use cases. The conversation also touches on organizational barriers, including resistance from consultants who are more comfortable in technical roles and the challenge of empowering teams to identify new service and sales opportunities.

Dushyant shares how companies can encourage a more consultative mindset, helping employees see themselves not just as implementers, but as strategic partners who can contribute to business growth. The episode wraps up with a discussion on the long-term benefits of this shift, including improved customer retention, increased revenue opportunities, and stronger employee engagement. Dushyant encourages professional services leaders to embrace evolution, empowering their teams to think like consultants and drive meaningful change within their organizations.