Selling Starts at First Sight: The Brand Psychology Behind Buy-Ready Clients with Emily Paulsen

Nov 12

EPISODE: 21

If your brand is getting attention but not turning into action, you’re not alone—and you’re not broken. This week, I’m joined by Emily Paulsen, founder of Electric Collab, a psychology-based brand studio that helps founders go from "getting seen" to getting chosen.

With a background that spans global brands like Abercrombie & Fitch and The Wendy’s Company, Emily brings a grounded, emotionally intelligent approach to branding—one that helps small teams show up with more clarity, connection, and conversion across the entire buyer journey.

We dig into the real reasons your brand might be attracting the wrong clients (or none at all), and what it actually takes to build a brand that supports—not sabotages—your sales process.

Inside this episode, we talk about:

The difference between branding for attention vs. branding for action
How brand psychology shapes client perception before the first call
What it really means to “own your brilliance” and show up with clarity
The silent friction points that could be costing you conversions
Why your brand visuals and messaging need to evolve as you grow

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE 👇🏻

Speaker: [00:00:00] I think sometimes we forget how unique we all are as individuals. I don't think we have a lot of opportunity as people, as professionals, as experts to really clearly see just how much value we can deliver in the world and how we do that in a way that's completely unique to us. Like when you put all of those pieces and parts together, that's where you get something really special that stands out in the market.
Speaker 2: Welcome to Sales Is Service. The podcast designed to help you change your mind about sales. Literally, I'm gonna help you change the way you think about selling. I'm Tam Smith, your host Sales Bessie, and pitch partner next door. You're tired of bros with biceps telling you how to crush a million dollars in your sleep or battling imposter syndrome on your own.
You've come to the right place. All you need to do is listen, then take action. No gym membership required. Let's get started.
[00:01:00] Quick question for you. How many new business inquiries did you generate in the last 30 days? How many were actually sales qualified, and how many of those converted into paying clients? If your results are inconsistent or, hey, maybe you don't even know how to answer that, we need to talk. That's why I created the five minute sales audit.
In just five minutes, you'll walk through a simple set of questions about your sales process, and within three business days, I'll send you a personalized video audit and a detailed PDF checklist. You'll see what's working, where the gaps are, and one low lift action you can take right now to improve lead generation and client acquisition.
It's quick, it's actionable, and it'll give you clarity on what to fix Next. Book your audit today at Studio three 40 nine.com/sales audit. Alright, let's get into today's episode. So last week I hopped on what I thought was gonna be a virtual coffee, part of my regular outreach routine to make new connections, nurture my relationships with referral partners and collaborators, and keep my own business development momentum going.
Within minutes, I realized this wasn't going to be just a casual chat, it was a discovery call. And the prospect, she was coming in [00:02:00] hot in the absolute best way. She'd already explored my website, joined my email list, even listened to a couple of podcast episodes, and that's when she said the magic words.
You're already speaking to everything I know I need in my business. You're everything I've been looking for, and that was five minutes in before I even fully introduced myself. I know I say this often, but it is so worth repeating. The sales process doesn't start with the pitch. It starts way earlier with how we show up in our brand.
Welcome to Sales as Service. I'm Tam Smith, sales growth strategist, founder of Studio 3 49, sales, marketing, and your host here on the podcast where we ditch the pressure and focus on building trust first sales systems that actually feel good to use. If you're new around here, I'm so glad you're listening, and if you've been with me for a while, welcome back.
You know how we do things around here, and today's conversation is a powerful one. I'm joined by Emily Paulson, founder of Electric CoLab, a psychology based brand studio, helping founders align their visuals and messaging with who they are. So they're not just [00:03:00] seen, but recognized as the go-to experts for the clients they want to work with.
Emily's resume includes household names like Abercrombie and Fitch and the Wendy's company, along with scrappy scaling startups. And today she helps small but mighty teams build brands that support the entire buyer journey, not just that first impression. If your brand is getting attention, but not action, you'll wanna stick around with us for this one.
Here we go. Emily, welcome to Sales Is Service. Thanks for being here.
Speaker: Thank you for having me. I'm honored.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well first up, who do you help and how do you serve?
Speaker: I help established service-based businesses and service providers, and really what I've learned. That led me to my service is that once you've been in business for a while, so when I use words like premium or established, you've been in the game for a bit and it's really easy to lose touch with how new to us people are perceiving us, our business, the way that we deliver value.
So I serve entrepreneurs by helping them recenter their [00:04:00] message, their visual presence, their. Digital experience through their websites and other assets to make sure that what they're putting out there in the world reflects the quality that they deliver today and really is built for where they're headed, not stuck back where they've been.
Speaker 2: Well, I wanna ask you about your own branding. The origin of the name Electric collab. Where did it come from?
Speaker: Brand naming is really important to me. Something that I love doing when I get the chance, and something that I think is really important in a brand name that sticks for a long time is having something that you can pronounce and spell.
And I wanted a word that was. Common, I guess, but used in an uncommon way. So electric, I love thinking like lightning in a bottle, electrify your business. I really believe that branding can do that. It can be that jolt of energy amplifying that unique spark. Like it just. To me it's electric to transform, you know, everything from your brain into this [00:05:00] beautiful brand that lives out in the universe, out on the internet.
That's like an electric process to me. So that's where that piece came from. And then collab, it's. Inherently collaborative. I can't build a brand about you without you. We have to work together. I need feedback. I need ideation. I need to understand what makes you so unique and special so that I can weave that into everything.
So the process is electrifying and it's also very collaborative.
Speaker 2: I love that and I know how I felt when Devin connected us and I saw the name of your business. It was, I mean, this is gonna sound so goofy, but it was like, have a little dancing in my chair moment. You know, it like set me up to like, it
Speaker: makes
Speaker 2: you so happy.
It just, it di I had that reaction, the, like, the experience you want someone to have with a brand. When I read that name, that was just, I mean, you, you did your job really well because that it, that's what it set me up to expect with you. That was just in that little. Name of a brand it did that. So I just, I wanted to share that with [00:06:00] you.
Uh, I know that's so goofy, but I did kind of have a little like, okay, let's go.
Speaker: That's not goofy. That like makes my weak. So thanks for saying that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it really glad didn't, that's genuine. It was just well done. So I wanted to share that. Thank you. Yeah. Share a little bit about your path. Uh, you've started with some big brands, you know, you have experience with Abercrombie and Fitch, Wendy's to actually launching Electric CoLab.
Speaker: Yes, I have worked in branding for a long time now and I'm really grateful, especially in hindsight. It was, some of it was fun at the time. Some of it was really hard to be on big teams at those big organizations. I'm grateful because it was an incredible education. A place like Abercrombie takes their brand incredibly seriously, especially back in the time when I was working there.
The team I was on was called Brand Senses, like All Five Senses. So it really. Taught me the power of branding. And when I use the phrase psychology based, it's really leaning on those things. I learned about emotional connection and [00:07:00] what actually connects with people and drives them to make a purchase, drives them to take action.
So I worked in that environment for big companies for a long time, and then I wanted to transition to the small business startup space mostly because it was hard to tell eventually. Am I making an impact when I'm on a team of 150 people or a hundred people and I wanted to see what can I do on my own when I have more, say, more direct control instead of just kind of being one on a team where there's people beneath you and people above you and you're kind of limited, so.
That led me to go to a smaller company that did ground up hospitality concepts, true brand development. From naming to concept menu design. What are, what color are we painting the walls? Restaurants are a very immersive experience, and that's all related to brand. So I was in that space for a while. And then eventually what brought me to electric collab.
I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. I never thought I could do that, to [00:08:00] be honest. I thought I was too reliant on the praise of a boss and the competition of being on a team, and I just thought. I'll never be able to do this all by myself, sitting in my house like that seems insane. But my boss at the time came to me with the idea of starting a consultancy together.
This was through the pandemic where we were both actively working, but we also had free time. And there we couldn't do anything. Right? We couldn't socialize and have all of our fun hobbies. So she brought this idea to me and I felt like if this. Woman who I really respect and admire thinks maybe I can do this.
If we do it together, then sure, you know, why not. Um, so she and I started electric collab together. She quickly realized that that was not the path she wanted to take. Very amicable decision. 'cause I already felt like, oh my gosh, now that I have a taste of this, I could do anything. Right? I can serve the clients I wanna serve.
I can build brands the way I wanna build them. I can structure projects and pricing based on. What I think, not based on like what my boss or [00:09:00] boss's boss is telling me to do, which had been my whole career. So that little taste of entrepreneurship really enticed me. And when she said, you know, that she was gonna do something different with her career, I felt like perfect.
This is my moment. I'm just gonna try my best. And see what can happen on my own. And that was four years later. So I'm really grateful that it's been working ever since
Speaker 2: and it's addictive. Once you get that taste,
Speaker: it's weirdly addictive. Yeah. Like it's so hard in so many ways to be out here in this space running our own stuff.
But it is, once you're in it, it's really hard to imagine going back.
Speaker 2: Are you showing up on LinkedIn but not generating leads or referrals? If you're posting and growing your network but still not seeing consistent results, the issue likely isn't you, it's your system. Most people don't realize that five to 15% of their LinkedIn connections could be potential clients.
That means your next few sales calls could already be sitting in your network. You just need a strategy to reach them. That's exactly why I created the [00:10:00] LinkedIn lead generator challenge. It's a free five day experience to help you turn your profile into a lead generating machine. Inside you'll get access to a plug and play outreach sequence, profile tweaks that attract the right people, and a daily system for outreach and engagement that takes less than 30 minutes to follow.
It's the same method I use with clients to help them build visibility. Create real connection and generate consistent pipeline, all without the salesy energy. So if you're ready to show up on LinkedIn with more intention and lead with value so you can finally see results, head to Studio three 40 nine.com/linkedin-leads and join us.
Alright, let's jump back into it. Oh, I wanna get into your magic. You talk about helping founders own who they are in their industry. What does that look like in practice? How do you help clients uncover their brilliance?
Speaker: I think sometimes we forget how unique we all are as individuals. I work with a lot of women entrepreneurs, but honestly.
This is the same with the male clients I support. I don't think we have a lot of [00:11:00] opportunity as people, as professionals, as experts to really clearly see just how much value we can deliver in the world and how we do that in a way that's completely unique to us. I mean, we are all individual and we have a completely bespoke combination of background, upbringing, how we.
We're in school, what we did with our initial career, what's our personality? What do we care about? What's our value system outside of work? Like when you put all of those pieces and parts together, that's where you get something really special that stands out in the market. And a lot of entrepreneurs come to me because they're like, ah, I need to work on my brand.
Like I need to stand out. There's so many people in my space, there's so many coaches, there's so many agencies, there's so many wedding planners, like whatever you do for a living, it can sometimes feel like, oh my gosh, there's. A thousand of us out here, everyone's saying the same stuff. Like there's nothing special about me to that I could even talk about.[00:12:00]
And that's so not true. So when I say own who you are, I see it as my job as their partner and brand builder to really. Go down into those layers and figure out like what is this unique combination of point of view, expertise, personality, all of this stuff that we can package up to show people, not just, hi, I'm a wedding planner.
I'm a wedding planner who plans weddings in this way, and I take this special approach. I have a unique framework. I have a really interesting background that sets me up to be really good at wedding planning. You know, whatever your personal story is, once we can package that in language and then use.
That to influence design, then you do stand out from everybody else. 'cause it's truly built on who you are. And that's the best way to automatically attract the people who are looking for what you have to offer when you put it out there. That originality or authenticity, even though I know we think that word is overused.
When you lead with that in your brand, the [00:13:00] thing people experience first. Sales just come so much easier and more importantly, aligned. Clients come so much easier because you're putting out the truth. They resonate with that, and those who want it are able to step forward.
Speaker 2: Do you find that it's often like when people say, oh, there's nothing special about me, there's nothing unique, or, you know, they think they have nothing to say.
It's usually that thing that comes easy or natural that they've dismissed that they think doesn't have value.
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, when you've been in a space for a long time and you've built a whole career around it, you're like. This is child's play. You know, this is day one stuff. I can't talk about this in my marketing.
Everybody knows this. This is so basic and boring, but that's not true to the people who aren't in your field. So I think that's part of it. And I think people also forget that all those little nuanced elements around the way you do what you do, like it's not just the work that you deliver, it's the way that you [00:14:00] deliver it, the care that you take, the tone that you speak to clients with, like all those little subtle things, those really add up to, again, like the right people are drawn to that, right?
And then people who want a totally different vibe can easily. Self-select out and go find the provider. That's perfect for them. But I think we're blind to that because it's just our everyday life. So to us it doesn't feel special. But when you can have some help, some outside perspective identifying it, then it's easy to talk about it.
Speaker 2: And having that emotional connection with your audience is so important. How do the visuals and messaging either support or sabotage that?
Speaker: I love that. Phrasing that you just said, support or sabotage, because our brands really can get in our way sometimes, which is not what any of us want. We're not doing that on purpose, but that's okay.
It can all be fixed and yeah, emotional connection, I think. We forget about how, I don't wanna use the word victim, but we forget [00:15:00] how inclined we all are to purchase in a certain way. Mm-hmm. Just as humans, as part of our human behavior, we all buy based on emotion. Mm-hmm. And it doesn't matter if it's a $5 cup of coffee or a $50,000 vehicle we buy because we believe that purchase is going to make us feel something.
And sometimes I test this with myself, like if I'm like, oh, I really want. A blue cardigan. I'll be like, why? Like, you know, and then just ask yourself why enough times and you'll drill down to the place where it makes you feel something. Right. It makes you feel like you're in with the current trends. Okay.
Why is, does that matter to you? Well, I feel like people who are in are young and hip. Okay. Why is it so important to be young? Because I'm reaching this age, and I think deep down I'm a little bit worried about that. You know, like if you go deep, deep, deep, deep, you'll get to something that. Is truly an emotional craving and we're trying to fill that with these purchases, and that can sound a little like [00:16:00] manipulative or you know, like I'm being extra philosophical about us buying a freaking sweater.
But this is really important for us to say, understand anybody who's selling anything, and our brands are a tool to help us make sales. We need to understand like the true why on why people are stepping forward. It's not to trick people, it's to invite people who really do want and seek this thing that we have.
It's inviting them to step forward and get it. So the way that visuals and messaging play into that messaging is key for conversion. Like it's. Words will always be visuals when it comes to actually making a sale, because it's hard to tell that whole story just with visual design to make that true connection and help people feel like we totally understand where you are today.
We absolutely understand what you want. We have the thing to take you there. You need to do that through language. But our eyes recognize visuals first. We process [00:17:00] images 60,000 times faster than we can process words. So the visuals are the thing that get the attention to get us to read the message, whether it's scrolling on Instagram or you know, clicking a link and then deciding, do I wanna read this homepage or am I just gonna click away or seeing an image of somebody?
All those things, like that's what signals our brain. First, and then we can decide, ooh, this looks interesting to me. I'm gonna read on, or I'm not, so making sure that the colors we use, the way we lay things out, like, you know, I could go really deep in design theory and I won't, people probably don't. I am fascinating
Speaker 2: by that though.
Yeah.
Speaker: But yeah, there's, there's a lot of science behind that. Like the way we use white space on a website, right? All those choices are really intentional to make sure that we're creating the right environment. Per for the right people to have that emotional experience to read on, to scroll on, and ultimately engage with our business.
Speaker 2: What are some of the biggest gaps you see when clients come to you? [00:18:00] Is it visual identity, is it language, was it something else? Do you see some like common, like things consistently?
Speaker: Yes. I see a lot of really vague language, a lot of generic messaging, and I think there's like a. Curse out there where some of those generic phrases sound really pretty or they sound really good, or they even might feel accurate.
I was just helping somebody not too long ago with a brand. We were kind of auditing her brand and looking at different pieces, and there was a lot of language about living a limitless. Life. A lot of people could use a phrase like that, right? Like that could be a life coach, that could be a personal trainer who's helping people get in shape so they can push, pass their limits.
That could be something around education, something around the arts. So like that's a beautiful phrase, and it's not that her work. Doesn't help people live without limits, but there's nothing special about that. And I see that all the time. And I think sometimes we [00:19:00] get attached to those phrases because we feel like, oh, but it's like, that's so powerful, right?
Like limitless living. That's what I stand for. That's what I help with. Like I want to use this language, but to the outsider who has no idea who you are, what you do, and more importantly why they should care about it, that's just not gonna stick. So that's a common. Problem that I see. And then, you know, that just kind of continues through all of our messaging.
So I see that a lot. And then with visuals, I think sometimes people just forget that as we evolve over time and we might kind of, you know, tweak a color palette in one place, but that. Tweak doesn't get translated over to Instagram, or we start playing around on Canva and like, Ooh, there's a new exciting font, or this new template.
Like, I'm gonna start using that for my social posts. Okay. But that doesn't match my website. And we're just so in the moment, you know? And we get bored with the stuff we were using before. It's kind of fun to switch things up and we don't. Necessarily realize that again, to that outside person, things are [00:20:00] all over the place.
It's, it gets really inconsistent. It's hard for people to recognize, like, what? What is this business? You know, when you're using different colors, different fonts all the time, you wanna stand out when people are scrolling or looking for you, you don't wanna be like, I don't know, she looks different. Every two weeks like,
Speaker 2: right.
Yeah.
Speaker: I have no idea how to find her, but, but it's easy to do when we're in the business thinking of so many other things. So yeah, the generic messaging and inconsistent visuals are things that I see a lot.
Speaker 2: And I'm curious 'cause I, in terms of a sales conversation, you know, I think of your visual identity, well, lemme back up.
Sales is really nothing more than. Making a connection, starting a conversation, building a relationship that ultimately leads to an opportunity. And in turn, like I feel like that that connection ultimately, you know, in this, it starts online. You know, for most of us, service, service-based businesses, it's starts virtually.
Uh, so just, I'm thinking of a, do you have a story or moment where messaging and visuals, like with the client. [00:21:00] Directly contributed to a con, to a conversation or conver conversion, like, you know mm-hmm. You came in like the before and then the change that was made to translate directly into, you know, basically starting more connections, conversations, and conversions.
Speaker: Yes. Yes. I'm. Grateful that that happens a lot. That's the whole point. Yes. Of, of hiring someone like me,
Speaker 2: right?
Speaker: It should have a true impact on your bottom line when you update your brand. This is not just vanity stuff. It should really make a difference. So yes, one client comes to mind, who we both know.
Devin Lee. I'll just say her name because everybody should go look for her. She's an amazing, she's
Speaker 2: film the podcast. Yeah.
Speaker: Yes, yes, yes. Okay.
Speaker 2: Uhhuh.
Speaker: She is. So. She's so cool and she's so smart and she's a systems strategist that helps business owners. She takes over a custom tech stacks and implements all of these beautiful bespoke systems in your business so you can get back to the work that really revs your engine.
And Devin has been in the space [00:22:00] for a long time, and of course she's had success. She's had amazing clients. She's done amazing work, but. When we worked together to completely rebuild her brand, she was really ready for growth, like wanted to reach the next level, knew that she should be charging higher prices, wanted to book out further in advance.
You know, a lot of the stuff that many of us want as service providers. And it was a really fun project because talk about unique value, like Devin has such a cool personality and incredible vibe and none of that was really shining through her original brand. Be, you know, for lots of reasons. Like, you know, we kind of build things over time.
We partially DIY it, we want things to seem really professional, so maybe we strip out parts of our personality and. Letting all of that shine. Like, first of all, writing language, that is exciting. Like when you're selling systems, that's not necessarily the sexiest investment for most of us, right? Like, oh, [00:23:00] let me spend a bunch of money on the backend of my business that nobody sees but me.
You know, we, that's not necessarily, that doesn't scream fun, but when we use phrases like, really Rev your engine or system so good, they knock your socks off, or, you know, things like that. Now it's like, well wait a minute. I would like my engine revved in my business, I am sick of typing in contacts every two minutes or spending three hours a week on invoicing or you know, all these things that she helps with.
So using language that really talks about the result that she delivered. And then just having so much fun with the visuals. She has like a bright neon green in the brand. There's photos of her in roller skates on the website. One of her inspo for our project together was Beetlejuice. I don't think I've ever been happier to have somebody send me, you know, sometimes it's like coastal, neutral beach vibes.
And I was like, Beetlejuice. Yes, but it stands out, right? It completely stands out in the market. I don't see [00:24:00] anybody else in the system's space having as much quirk fun, play joy in the way they present their brand and. That's sort of the whole message that we built for her. Like systems are the key to work joy.
It strips out all the stuff you don't wanna do, so you can spend your days doing the stuff you love to do. And once we made that adjustment and relaunched everything, she booked out two quarters immediately and she just sent me a message yesterday. So that was at the end of last year. She booked out two quarters and now she's booked out through the rest of the year and.
Not to take full credit for that because it's her work that really is amazing. But that's the beauty of branding. Like I'm not inventing anything. I'm just taking what she already had and repackaging it differently, and it brings me so much freaking joy to see somebody like her who is excellent and so many people need her services.
She's thriving and now all of her clients are thriving because they're connecting with her on this cool emotional level.
Speaker 2: And for listeners [00:25:00] listening to this, we both know Devin personally, we're recording this the end of May, going into June. And to say you have a client that's like booked out her year.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker 2: Like not basically, we're not even at the end of Q2. Like Wow.
Speaker: It's amazing. Like that's the dream, right? Yeah. For a lot of us, that's the dream. And again, like I certainly won't take full credit for that. It's her and her magic and her business, but. I do think that the way we package ourselves up for people Yes.
Is the start, right? Like that opens the door and then you have the conversation and then you know, all of your genius shines through. But yeah, it's a fun story to tell.
Speaker 2: Yeah, love that. Yeah, we, we know we're on the back end, we know all of that, but like, be able to package that up for someone that you know is not familiar, doesn't have any association to start that conversation.
I mean, that's huge. So have talk to, to both of you just say. Thanks.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker 2: Um, you touched a little bit, kind of early in the conversation about not for it to sound manipulative you say, but how do you balance using [00:26:00] psychology and branding without it falling into manipulation and gimmicks, if you will?
Speaker: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I think anytime that you are trying to sell something by inventing value. That you don't necessarily believe in that is where things go really, really wrong and you get into a space where it's a lot more about smoke and mirrors than real results or like an authentic drive to provide service.
And first of all, that feels. Terrible. If you're in a business like that and you know, I know lots of friends who work for companies where they kind of feel like that. Like, we're pushing this product, we're pushing this service. We're, you know, jacking up the prices because we have more internal expenses.
Nothing's changed with what the customer's getting, but this is an internal initiative and we have no choice. Like when you're in those situations. That's to me, where we're pulling these emotional levelers to [00:27:00] be manipulative for some. Other objective, like because we desperately need the money because there's an internal project that has to be brought to light because we're trying to outpace competitors, things that are not really rooted in genuine service.
Speaker 2: This is what's given Sales a bad name, basically.
Speaker: Yeah,
Speaker 2: yeah,
Speaker: yeah. And it's because some of that does exist, right? But there's so much. That is different. Like there's so many of us, and this is also why I love working with entrepreneurs, but this exists in big companies too. There are so many of us that genuinely believe the thing that we have to offer has meaning.
We've seen the value through the results we get for clients. We've seen the value through maybe a transformation we've experienced for ourselves. And when you're really building all of this language, making all of your choices, putting out your marketing, creating content. When you're building from that place, honestly, then thinking about how do I [00:28:00] find the person who really genuinely needs this so that I'm talking directly to them.
This isn't like I have this thing for sale. I'll take anybody who wants to buy it, right? Like I'm just trying to trick anybody into saying yes, no. We're trying to make a match between what you have and the person who genuinely needs it and cut through the noise to reach them so that. They benefit from getting the service that they are seeking.
You benefit from serving them as a client and it's a win-win for everybody. So I think these tools, like, you know, like anything they can fall into bad actor hands, I guess, and be used nefariously out in the market. And we've seen a lot of that. Over the decades with regulation and whatever. But I really think for the small business owner who is doing something heart that they care about and they know there are people who need it, let's use these tools for us.
Like let's not just leave them to the. Big brand, bad [00:29:00] actor, whoever, let's use them to benefit us and to benefit our clients.
Speaker 2: Yeah. It's like I, they're powerful tools and I choose to use our powers for good. Yeah.
Speaker: Yes. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Speaker 2: We're gonna jump into the fast five. Your, I can't live without it.
Software or app.
Speaker: I really had to think about this because I have a lot, I'm gonna say, I'm going to say. Canva.
Speaker 2: Mm mm-hmm.
Speaker: We don't, and I, yeah, I know these answers are supposed to be fast. We use Canva more internally for like electric collab content creation and things like that. But having some, being in the graphic design space for so long, Canva revolutionized that industry and as a tool that I use and also is just a brand story that I think is incredibly cool.
I. I'm always gonna root for Canva.
Speaker 2: I can't get over how it's grown 'cause I feel like I'm an O OG Canva user. Like before, you know, I was even in, you know, my entrepreneurial journey, you know, was using it just in my corporate career for things nice. And I cannot get over just the [00:30:00] evolution of, and how it's grown in the, the powerful tool that it's become.
Uh, it's amazing. So yes, I'm with you on that. Best advice you've ever received about sales and business development?
Speaker: Go with your gut. No matter what mentor, fancy ahead of you, expert Coach says nothing can replace your own intuition.
Speaker 2: Morning routine must have.
Speaker: Okay. I wanna say, I'll tell you the truth and I'll tell you what I wish it was.
The truth is coffee. Mm-hmm. Like I cannot, coffee has to be the first thing. I can't do anything. I want to say walk outside because I do that most mornings, but. I've been skipping it for like two weeks just because I'm just because of work. So that's, I, that's my aspirational morning. Must have like
Speaker 2: that, uh, your walk-on song, the one song that always pumps you up.
Speaker: Doses and mimosas by cherub. I
Speaker 2: love that. That's going on the playlist. Uh, and if you only had one [00:31:00] hour each day for business growth, how would you spend it?
Speaker: I would reach out to my best business relationships. To reconnect and offer support and value to them in any way that I can.
Speaker 2: Great advice. It's all about the relationship.
Yeah. Excellent. Well, where can people find you? We wanna connect online.
Speaker: I love to connect. I clearly love to talk and I love to meet people, so please, if you wanna talk about anything, come find me. My website is electric collab.com. I am on Instagram at Hey Emily Paulson. And there's a new little Instagram page for electric collab called The Electric Collab.
And yeah, you can get all my contact stuff there. Email me through the website. I would love to connect with anybody.
Speaker 2: Thanks again so much for being here.
Speaker: Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2: That's a wrap on today's conversation with Emily Paulson, and I hope it got you thinking about your branding as more than a design decision, but as a trust builder, a filter, and part of your overall sales system, because when your visuals and messaging align with who you [00:32:00] really are and what your buyer actually needs to feel your best fit, clients will recognize it before you ever get on that first call.
Now you know what time it is. It's time for this week's sales is service challenge. I want you to block 15 minutes this week to do a quick brand audit and be honest if it's been a minute, no, you're not alone. Our businesses are always evolving. It's never gonna be a one and done. So make sure your brand visuals and messaging are consistent with the latest version of you.
And I'll use myself as an example. Prospect I mentioned earlier, she'd gone through an email opt-in sequence that still included a free offer. I've since moved to a paid service because of demand and bandwidth, so it was totally outta date. So here's your challenge. Pick one place where prospects typically meet you first.
That could be your homepage. LinkedIn bio, your Instagram grid or like me, your email often and ask, does this reflect who I actually am as a founder? Is the information current and accurate? Does it clearly show who I help and how I help them? And most importantly, would it make my best fit client feel seen?
Understood and [00:33:00] curious to take the next step. If not, make one small tweak this week because your brand voice and messaging isn't something you overhaul once. It's something you keep aligning one touch point at a time. If you found this episode with Emily helpful, be sure to send it to a founder, friend, or drop a quick rating on Apple Podcasts.
It helps us reach more folks like you. And as always, remember, sales is an act of service. It's about what you give, not what you get, and when you serve well, the ROI always follows. See you next episode.
Speaker: You've just listened to the Sales As Service Podcast, the podcast
Speaker 2: to help you shift your mindset around selling. If you liked what you heard, be sure to hit subscribe and share it with a friend, because we're all about more sales. Awesome and less sales awkward. See you next episode.

✦ YOUR SALES AS SERVICE CHALLENGE

Block 15 minutes for a brand audit.

Pick one high-visibility entry point—your homepage, Instagram grid, LinkedIn bio, or email opt-in sequence—and ask:

Does this reflect who I really am today as a founder?
Is the info current and accurate?
Does it clearly communicate who I help and how?
Would it make my ideal client feel seen and understood?

If the answer is “sort of” or “not really”—choose one small update you can make this week to better align your brand with your buyer’s journey.

RESOURCES & LINKS

Learn more about The Electric Collab.
Find Emily and The Electric Collab on Instagram.
Connect with Emily on LinkedIn.
Join the Sales as Service LIVE Office Hours – get your invite for the next session
LinkedIn Lead Generator – daily actions that lead to real conversations
Grab your 5-Minute Sales Audit – a quick scan to see what’s working, what’s not, and what to improve

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your support helps us reach more creative agencies and service pros who need these insights. Thanks for tuning in to Sales as Service—see you next week!