EPISODE: 20

In a successful sales process, you actually spend the least amount of time selling. The real work happens long before the discovery call—when you’re shaping the story that speaks for you.

In this episode, I sit down with Hersh Rephun, Holistic Brand Transformer and Founder/CEO of YES BRAND, to talk about how brand clarity and authentic messaging drive trust, connection, and conversion. Hersh’s “Holistic Brand Therapy” framework helps founders and creative agencies align who they are with how they show up—so their message connects as naturally as conversation.

Together, we explore how humor, self-awareness, and consistency can help brands sound like humans again—and why authenticity isn’t just a value, it’s a strategy.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why your prospects decide to buy long before the first call
How to uncover the real story behind your business strategy
The difference between brand performance and brand truth
How humor and honesty can become your brand’s secret advantage
A simple three-step exercise to define your Signature Sales Statement

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE 👇🏻

Speaker: [00:00:00] I used to do accents all the time. I, I would go into a bar and my way of getting over the nervousness was to, to, to be British or to, or to be Irish, or to be whatever, whatever they were. So if they were British, I'd start talking to 'em like British. So it's the same idea. They, they were entertained, but they felt, they didn't know me and they certainly didn't feel like.
They knew me well enough to trust me as a, as an individual because I was pretending to be different things, knowingly not faking them out, but still the, the best voice turned out to be my own. And I think that's, that's what you'll discover.
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 bestie 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 [00:01:00] come to the right place. All you need to do is listen, then take action.
No gym membership required. Let's get started.
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 minutes 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. Hey there, Tam here, and welcome back to Sales As Service. If you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you know I spent a lot of time on the show talking about [00:02:00] brand strategy and messaging, and that's no accident in today's world.
So much of the sales process happens before you ever have a face-to-face conversation. Your prospects are absolutely researching you and your competitors online to decide whether they even want to consider working with you long before you get that at bat. They've already formed an opinion about your brand, your credibility, and the problems they believe you can solve.
The real question here is, are you the one to solve those problems for them? Do they feel seen in your message? Do they believe you understand what they're facing and can support them specifically? That's why in any successful sales process, you actually spend the least amount of time selling. The biggest investment of time and energy should go into getting crystal clear on your audience, your offer, and how you represent your business and brand, so that your message speaks directly to the challenges your ideal clients are facing and the outcomes they can expect when they work with you.
And that's exactly what we're impacting today with Hirsch rep, boom, holistic brand, transformer and founder and CEO of yes. Brand Hirsch helps entrepreneurs and executives [00:03:00] bridge the gap between who they are and how they show up. So their message connects as naturally as conversation. We talk about why humor and authenticity can be powerful business tools, how to align your story with your strategy and what it really means to sell the truth.
Because when your brand is clear and consistent, you don't have to push to close the deal. Your message is already open the door. Here's our conversation. Hirsch. Thanks so much for joining me. Let's get into it. Yeah.
Speaker: It's great to be here, Tam. Thank you so much and thanks for the intro.
Speaker 2: Absolutely. So in your words, tell us who do you help and how do you serve
Speaker: the, the people that I, that I help are C-suite executives, successful entrepreneurs, conscious entrepreneurs, and I help them build an authority platform so they can unlock the kind of speaking gigs and the fees that they want to charge.
From the right people and they want to get on podcasts. They want to, they wanna be seen and heard and be the go-to experts in their field. And I helped them do that. And I set that up [00:04:00] within 90 days as a kind of a 90 day holistic. Brand transformation program.
Speaker 2: I'm really interested in, I wanna get into that, your holistic brand therapy approach.
Uh, walk us through the first 30 minutes of a brand therapy call. Like what do you listen for and how do you surface the real story?
Speaker: Well, the, the, the first, the first 30 minutes of actual working together is. Something that we've, we actually talked, we've actually done, which is to do a 30 minute kind of deep dive into a person's background and their life.
And, you know, I'm not the only brand person that's interested in, in, in the lives of the people I talk to, but I think that there's a, there's a tendency to negate that stuff. Say, well, nobody care. Nobody cares. They care about the problem I solve. They care about the problem I solve. Yeah. But they have to believe that you can solve the problem and the way that they [00:05:00] gain that trust isn't just from talking to you face to face.
It's from understanding your story. A story isn't like a biography. A biography is literally an accounting of everything that ever happened, right, right. Well, that's not, that's not what people want and they don't want a resume. What I do is in that first 30 minutes, I talk to them about their first memories.
I talk to 'em about the things that stuck with them in childhood when they were still little enough to have vivid imaginations and free. Thought and weren't worried and didn't, you know, typically speaking, when you talk to a five or 6-year-old, the first thing that they'll say is not that they're stressed, but if you or I, if you or I get on the phone with somebody and they go, how are you doing today?
Knowing what our schedules are like, probably we're like. Oh man, thank God. Thank God. It's Friday, TGIF. Right. You know, thank God it's 7:00 [00:06:00] PM Right. You know, it's like only seven more hours to go. Right. It's, it's, it's stressful, but little kids Yeah. Are free. And they, and, and they, and they have, and I and I, I commented recently that.
If you wanna know what you should be doing, ask a five or 6-year-old, because they're gonna, they're gonna probably have the, the, the open mind to really mm-hmm. Assess it. Mm-hmm. Versus, you know, once it's all been regimented and formalized and systematized, then all that stuff. So I go back, I go back and then I take that and I say, well, let's draw a parallel to today.
I'm sure there's a connection. If you have that strong a memory from your childhood, good or bad, you know, uplifting or traumatic, chances are there's a through line to today. And if there isn't, let's say, that gives us somewhere to go, okay, well why does your personal brand not connect to your strongest memory then?
Yeah. You know, and let's [00:07:00] build that bridge for your audience and let's do it in your voice. So you don't have to memorize like your 32nd pitch or your one sentence when I told you what I did. Yeah. Working with C-suite executives. Mm-hmm. Successful entrepreneurs. I could say that like any number of different ways.
Mm-hmm. I don't have to use the same, the same sentence. You know, I can talk about, you know, getting in touch with your, with your truest self and building your brand from the inside out. And that it's not external. It's all, it's all the same concepts, but it's the language, the vocabulary that you need to develop about your.
Brand.
Speaker 2: Absolutely. You now, you've said humor is an icebreaker for tough messaging challenges. Can you share a moment when humor or a joke like unlocked a branding breakthrough for a client? I'll,
Speaker: I'll bet. I bet. I, I can, I'm trying to think of where the humor. Was on their part. [00:08:00] You know, like I, I would say this was with a consumer brand, not a, not a personal brand, but I, you know, I have my, my, uh, chops also working with, with brands, you know, footwear brands, consumer brands.
So this was for Bear Paw Boots, the, the boot company, footwear company in, in Citrus Heights, California. And they were competing with, you know, some of those bigger, fancier, those kinds of brands that were very. Exclusive and, and you know, you'd see the, the, the really great looking blonde man and woman on a, on a beach in Australia, you know, on a windswept beach, and that would be that vibe.
But I noticed with this brand that they were much more of a soccer mom brand. They were much more of a, of a down to earth, nice, warm, approachable brand. And that the people that worked at the brand also had amazing sense of humor because they would laugh at all my jokes. They would laugh at dinners and, [00:09:00] and, and we would make, we would have fun and we would, we would play act with one another.
So my idea was to get us on, on camera, and I had two other partners. So it, it's really all of our idea. But the idea was to create a fictional character for me and interview them for real and just play. And we did it on the back of a formal catalog shoot. So there was all the trappings of a normal catalog shoot and a cabin in the woods type of, you know, Tahoe, lake Tahoe thing.
But their humor, their sense of humor about themselves spilled over into. You know, their own growth as an approachable brand for soccer moms, for families, for kids. A boot brand that doesn't have to, you know, cost a fortune that isn't exclusive, but is beautiful and comfortable and well-made. And they grew over that time from, you know, let's say being about a $40 million brand to, [00:10:00] to a hundred million and more because they connected.
And we had a magazine, online magazine called Bear Pos style. All of that was predicated on humor, was predicated on the accessibility and the lack of exclusivity of that brand. And so that, that's the one that comes to mind. Those videos are still out there. They're pretty, they're pretty funny.
Speaker 2: Well add those to the show notes.
That's awesome. Yeah, and it, and it really, like so many business owners, you know, myself included, depending on the day, you know, you, it's that fear of. Showing too much or like that that's, you know, your, like that humor or whatever, you know, your, the authentic aspects of your personality are not gonna be appreciated.
We have this idea of how we, you know, should show up. Um, how do you decide like what parts of. A story belong in the public brand and like what stays private. I think I'm kind of going through that myself now, you know, with [00:11:00] this podcast. And we've talked about, you know, finding my voice and owning those authentic parts of my brand and not being afraid of, you know, putting that more of that out there.
But how do you decide like,
Speaker: well. The, the rule of thumb that I use, Tam, is that think about what your brand, what your brand's core values are, right? Because you may have opinions that have nothing to do with the service you provide. So in other words, if you think about the business, even if it's your name.
But your practice, let's call it, think about your practice and you think about the core values and you say, okay, well it doesn't, my brand doesn't have to have an opinion about whether aluminum is safe or something like that. Right? It's just so you don't have to wade into those topics. If, if your brand is, is not about dating or romance or something, you don't have to share those parts of your life.
If you were a dating expert, then kind of your experiences in dating are, are relevant and I think that. [00:12:00] When it's to do with our expertise and the, and the solutions we deliver, it's really important. Like in my case, having a mantra that's about selling the truth mm-hmm. Means that I really should be very genuine in how I present myself and how I talk to people and I shouldn't like leave the set and then I'm a jerk or something.
Right. And then people say, oh, you know, I went to one of his talks and I talked to him after what an what an asshole, you know? And, and, and that's, and, and so, but that is kind of very important. So presenting genuinely is really important. And I think that, that, that's a, a good rule to go by, which is, it doesn't mean because it's your personal brand that every personal piece is, is public.
It just means that. You are to a great extent, the advice that you give or the, or the solutions you provide. And so you walk the walk, but that doesn't mean that from A to Z, everything about your [00:13:00] life and everything about your history is fair game. I think you can still be judicious. Jujitsu, ju jujitsu, you can still be juujitsu, you can still be judicious about how you share information,
Speaker 2: but I, I love the example that you used with the boot brand Spare paw, right?
Yeah. Bear Paw. Yeah. Just seeing the growth when they like. Owned their vo, like who they were, like just the uh, and seeing the growth of that business when they revealed more of that, you know, rather than trying to be, you know, whatever kind of, again, whatever they idea they had and what they thought they should be.
And that was only for their kind of internal conversations to reveal that humor and to show more of that publicly, you know, that really connected with the audience they were trying to reach. And then they saw this like, tremendous growth.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 2: What's an exercise? You know that founders and business owners, when like that self-doubt creeps in, what's an exercise to help get over that as far as putting yourself [00:14:00] out there?
Well,
Speaker: I think it all comes down to relationships. I think that if you've been doing it a while, look at some of the relationships and some of the validation you've received from people. Don't dismiss that stuff. Especially if it's private validation. You know, I'm not talking about testimonials. I'm, I'm talking about someone who sent you an email that you, you didn't use it as a testimonial, but it really touched your heart.
You know, somebody tells you something after a long time about the profound impact you had. You know, don't dismiss those things. And, and, and it's okay to. Look that up. I have one of those, I have one or two of those two, two of those things that, that people said to me privately that I didn't ever use as testimonials, but people I obviously respect and who were clients of mine in addition to becoming friends of mine.
And I just have those there in my affirmations of things that I, that I say. And I, [00:15:00] and it took me a long time to be able to, to read that out loud, because. You know, you could feel like, oh, I'm puffing myself up. I'm, I'm getting, you know, I'm making a bit. Well, no, you, I need it right now. Yeah. I need to remind myself that these people feel this way.
And I think that's a good tactic is to dip into that, you know, when you need it. Because sometimes you forget,
Speaker 2: I, I have a, in my inbox, I have a folder saved. I call it my smile file. Yeah. So on those days, again, when I just need the, you know, that, when that self-doubt and that, you know, inner, that inner mean girl creep seated.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I, uh, I have that smile file I can refer to just to, you know, re remind yourself. Of like the value you bring to the clients that you serve is Absolutely. I think that's super helpful. We've, you know, talked, talked a lot about, you know, brand therapy. You know, it's doing a lot of inner work first, and when you, you get like that exact language that, you know, captures who you are and the [00:16:00] problem you solve.
You know, we've kind of touched on that, how that impacts your, you know, inbound marketing as far as, you know, those right fit clients that you attract. But on the outbound side, you know, when it comes to like. Sales, emails, discovery calls, even live pitches. Where do you see the biggest gap between a fuzzy brand story and a sharp one?
A sharp, clear one.
Speaker: I think that when you are, I mean if I'm understanding you right, when you're, when you're comparing kind of the outbound strategy of how you talk about your brand versus, you know, when you have. You're responding to attention that you get, you're responding to somebody reaching out to you.
You know, and that's a little more, a little more fuzzy maybe, and a little, a little more casual. Um, but I think there's, there's a tendency to be impersonal when you're reaching out. You know, we try to be personal, like, you know, we're, we're researching their profile or something, and we're reaching out to [00:17:00] them and it, but with AI and everything that's out there.
And this comes up, you know, all the time we, you know, the AI conversation, but the fact is people think that it's AI even when it's real people. So what does that mean? To me, it means that when we're doing outbound strategies, we really have to develop our voice because it, it still cannot sound like anyone else.
It cannot sound like anyone else. And, and it's not easy because AI has made it even harder because now it can sound like you, AI can sound like you, and if you use ai, great. If it sounds like if you've done such a good job. Developing your voice and then training AI to represent you on some level, then fine.
It's really not that different from a pencil or from, from, from reading a book on [00:18:00] communication. You know, it's not, but the work that has to go into it first is what makes all the difference. So I think the, the fuzzy thing also helps. In that, like we were talking about before, if you're really fluent in your brand language, you can talk about it.
If you know sports inside and out, you don't have to brush up on it or memorize it before you go into a, into a Super Bowl party and talk about it. Right. You know, but so that's more the fuzzy, you know, that's more, you kind of just are fluent in your, in your brand language. The more considered pitching and outreach and cold.
Calling and things like that has to combine it. It has to feel like soft, you know, pitching. It has to feel like, you know, natural and organic. But it does have a little bit of prepared, you know, nature to it, and that's okay. I'm a big proponent of like [00:19:00] copying. To saying like, Hey, look, I got a, I got a pitch.
Like, I like when people say, Hey, there's this pitch I'm going around with.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker: Can I give it to you? Yeah. You know, I like that because I'm like, yeah, why? What should, they shouldn't unnecessarily change it, but the, but the pitch should really sound like them. Like if I say there's a pitch that I'm, that I prepared, do you mind if I give it to you?
And you say, yeah. And I say, Tim, have you ever felt like you were lost in a, in a windstorm of. Discontent and, and then, and then you hear,
Speaker 2: you've already lost me.
Speaker: Hold on. Discontent and disillusionment. Well, today is your lucky day. You know, that's not what I mean. But if they, but if they're, if they're like, Hey, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm pitching this thing, I don't mind, you know?
Speaker 2: Yeah. Like typically when you, when you are giving feedback to folks on, you know, how they're talking about themselves, like where, where are you coaching or giving, where, where, where's the opportunity for improvement the most? Like as far as. The [00:20:00] advice that you're giving most consistently to people when they're, they're trying to like, learn their language.
It's different, it's
Speaker: different with everybody but it, but it starts with, it starts with accepting that. Who they really are and how they really talk. Let's say they're caustic. Let's say they have a really sarcastic sense of humor. They may well need to change something, but it's not, it can't be that they put a mask on and go out and pretend to be someone else that's.
Too exhausting. It doesn't work. So I would say, okay, you are, you're, you're attack less. You're a, you're attack, you're attack. Less clown. I told somebody last night, don't be a clown. And I didn't tell them, but I gave that on a podcast as an example of not using humor the wrong way. I said, don't be, don't be, don't take yourself unserious to the point where they don't trust your brand.
You know, take yourself seriously and them seriously. If you're, if you're a character and you like to make jokes, acknowledge it and [00:21:00] make the jokes. So it's, it's don't try to be something you're not. So the more they are being themselves with an eye toward maybe tweaking it or utilizing it or refining it, the better off they are.
I did have a client come to me and say they wanted to completely change their persona, and I was like, look, you, you don't need, you don't need to. I get what you wanna fix and you can fix it. It's, it's not, you know, it's not a, it's not that big a deal. It's it's nuance. It's, it's subtlety, it's degrees, degrees of, of heat and cold, you know,
Speaker 2: what was driving the, like, what was driving that, you know, thinking that they needed to completely like, reinvent their persona?
Speaker: I think that, that we live in a, in an environment right now in coaching. Consulting where there's a very powerful alpha attitude that. Is like the equivalent of the old jackal lane commercials. You don't [00:22:00] want to get sand kicked in your face, you know, here's my workout program, and no one is ever gonna mess with you again.
You know? And, and there's like this bigger, bigger, stronger. Tougher is better. In that space, this client was like, you know, I think I'm at risk of being perceived that way. Mm-hmm. That I'm the bodybuilder type that I'm, that I'm the, I'm the tough alpha male. And that's not, that's, that's the. It's not like it's completely untrue, but it's not the image.
I don't wanna be lobbed in with all the tough, with all the tough guys. That's not my vibe. I'm the tough self-made, you know, deck a millionaire, you know. It's like, so he said, I, I would rather be funny. I'd rather be light. I'd rather be, I said, but you're not. 'cause he had used the word hysterical and I said, well you're not hysterically funny.
You know, so that's a tall order to be his hysterical. We literally watched comedians, reels together and did [00:23:00] stuff like that. And I said, you're not historically funny and you don't need to be, but. Notice the, notice the 'cause, 'cause the risk also, Tam, is when if you're too self-deprecating, like I just said, people don't take you seriously.
So he didn't wanna make a joke of himself either. And so I said it's really about knowing that nobody's perfect. That's really the tone. It's not, you are a weak loser and I need to make a man out of you. Or, I'm a, I'm a big. Manly man, and you can be too. It's, none of us are perfect. We all have things we wanna improve.
We're not gonna get there by sitting on our ass. You know, that's not going to, that's not going to accomplish it. And, you know, my attitude speaking for like this, this kind of my attitude is, you know, be a doer. Be a doer. And you know, here's where I started. Here's what my beginnings were. You know, all that relatable stuff.
[00:24:00] The early memory thing. Yeah. The early memory of saying, I remember being with my dad, struggling through this, and I remember this moment and thinking, I'm never gonna be that. Yeah. Not, not the dad, but just the, I'm never gonna struggle in that situation, or whatever it was. And it's like, yeah. Now all of a sudden you realize how relatable that is.
Yeah. Yeah. You went from the strong man, from like Thor mm-hmm. To being a, a, a, a, a real human being that. That people see vulnerability and that's very different from I just being funny is the answer.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm kind of going through that myself right now in my own, you know, this pivot I've made in the business, you know, moving from exclusively doing marketing to sales and I am.
Working in a really different capacity for one client. Like my career sales, yes. You know, sales, sales, leadership. But the businesses and brands that I worked for was largely working. What I realize now was account management role, which is one skillset, [00:25:00] and now I am doing more of like what I would, you know, consider.
Like cold sales, like cold outreach, cold sales, and it's a very different skillset that I'm learning. And I am probably a little self-conscious about my southern accent because depending on what room I'm in, you know, sometimes it works to my advantage and other times it doesn't. But the harder I try, like I just have to own.
Who I am and be who I am versus, you know, you all the, you know, sales experts, quote unquote, that are out there. You know, that I compare myself against that. You know, when I try to be, that it does not end well. No,
Speaker: no. So I just
Speaker 2: have to be
Speaker: me. Yes. Yeah. But you're a hundred percent right. I mean, and it's you that people respond to.
That's what you have to remind yourself. You know? It's, it's, we're supposed to evolve. You know, like, I use the term ever evolving achievers, right? We, we accomplish stuff and then there's more we wanna [00:26:00] accomplish. There's something different we wanna accomplish, but we're always evolving. The personal brand.
The thing that I love about working with personal brands is that they're not, you know, they're not static. Yeah. Every day something new happens, and every day it, you grow. Every day you're a day wiser. So all those things and your persona and your. You know, and just speaking specifically, your, your accessibility and your and your genuineness are not things that you want to compromise and accents are, are a thing.
It's funny 'cause I was watching Handmaid's Tale. Last night in the new season of Handmaid's Tale. And so many of those actors are British, but they're, they're playing Americans. I don't wanna, you know, I don't wanna point out who, who they are. Maybe people know, maybe they don't. But there are a couple of very key characters in the thing.
And they're, and they're British or Australian and different situations and, and you don't know, 'cause they have these really impeccable American [00:27:00] accents. And the idea is that's acting when you meet them at a party. You want them to be that? That normal self, you know, and you have to think of it like you're not acting.
You are, you are at a party. You are, you're at an event, you're engaging, and it's, that's what they want. And if that's your accent, you know, and, and it's delightful. It's not like any kind. Yeah. It's, it's very natural. And I, and I, and, and I, and I. I think it's comforting to people in a way. You don't realize that you, you think, again, like we talked about in the very beginning, you think about things that you think people want.
And the reason I use selling the Truth as my mantra and the title of my book and all that stuff is that that's all we have to sell. So that's it. You know, there's, there's, there's, there's no, and I, and take it from me, because as a comedian, and even before I was [00:28:00] doing comedy as a person, I used to do accents all the time.
I, I would go into a bar and my way of getting over the nervousness was to, to, to be British or to, or to be Irish, or to be whatever, whatever they were. So if they were British, I'd start talking to them. I'm like, British. So it's the same idea. It's, it's, it's, they, they were entertained. But they felt, they didn't know me and they certainly didn't feel like they knew me well enough to trust me as a, as an individual because I was pretending to be different things, knowingly not faking them out, but still the, the best voice turned out to be my own.
And I think that's, that's what you'll discover
Speaker 2: the best voice is your own. Yeah. Yeah. That needs to be a t-shirt. We're gonna jump into the fast five.
Speaker: Okay,
Speaker 2: so you're, I can't live without it. Software or app.
Speaker: I wanna say Calendly. Not that there aren't other [00:29:00] calendar things, but I, but it does come to mind 'cause it's the only, it's one of the only softwares that I actually go in and use.
Myself and I feel so fluent in it, and I feel like it's that first line of communication between you and someone you're meeting with or someone you're, so, a lot of people just default and they just think of it as a utility. I do think of it as a brand element.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Speaker: So that's the one that comes to my mind.
Speaker 2: I really learned that from you too, just in our own setting up meetings. Our own connection. My experience when we first connected in our, our, you know, first conversations, how you. Use that as a place to like, that's like the start of your new connections experience with you. And it really like, I felt like I had such great insight.
I wrote some notes for myself, just note taking like, Hey, I need to think about how to do that better myself. Because it is like. The first experience, you know, your new connection, whether it's client amplifier, you know, trade [00:30:00] part, whoever it is, it's their first experience with you. And so really like use it to help people get to know you.
So yeah, that was a great takeaway. Best advice you've ever received about sales and business development?
Speaker: Well, the best, this is the best advice that I ever received. The best advice I ever received was from a former. Employer of mine, and he said, you're, you're a better, you're a better writer than you are a salesman.
And at the time I was a salesman Uhhuh for him. And I think what I took away from that was, maybe at the time I took away from it that I wasn't a good salesman. But I think what I really learned ultimately was that not all of us are salesmen. Mm-hmm. But we all have to sell. So what are we gonna do about it?
You can't say I suck as a salesman, therefore I'm not gonna make any money. Or you can't say like, some of us may have thought at one point I suck at sales and so someone else will do it. Ultimately we ought [00:31:00] do it.
Speaker 2: Yeah. So
Speaker: the question is what's the best delivery system? So I think it was really great advice 'cause it was a hundred percent true.
Speaker 2: I'd be interested like how could. How he was evaluating that? I don't see it.
Speaker: Oh, yeah. But I'll tell you, I'll tell you how he evaluated. He evaluated because we were, it was a production company. It was a commercial production company, and we were, we were representing directors of TD commercials and all of that.
Yeah. And. He also knew that I was a screenwriter, so he'd also read screenplays mm-hmm. That I'd written. Mm-hmm. And he may even have said, you're a better screenwriter than you, than you are, than you are a salesman. Uhhuh. He may, he may have said that, but I didn't wanna misquote him. But I think that's what he was basing it on am My creativity was.
You know, off the charts and you know, in a way, like compared to my ability to just get on the phone and be like, Hey, I got a thing for you. What about this guy? What about that guy? What about, you know, whatever. And, and also keep in mind, I was in my twenties still.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker: So, you know, I was new [00:32:00] to to to sales.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker: Also
Speaker 2: morning routine must have,
Speaker: well, coffee's the obvious, the the obvious thing. I mean, I really can't. I really don't think I've, I've come up with a substitute for that yet. Yeah.
Speaker 2: And I, so, so many friends around me are, you know, like reducing or eliminating their, like coffee intake and like, the thought of that, just like I could feel my, with anxiety, well I do,
Speaker: I do drink half calf.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker: So that's, and I have found that that's, that's helpful.
Speaker 2: I'm not there yet, but I trust you. Your, your walk-on song, the one song that always pumps you up,
Speaker: it's too bad we can't just use our walk-on songs without licensing them. I, but that's, that's a tough one because, but what really pumps me, I, I don't wanna miss out on this one because I, because I'm sure that it's, I'm sure there is one.
Oh, well, okay. I'm gonna, I'm, I'm gonna use this, this song nine nine in the afternoon. By [00:33:00] panic of the disco.
Speaker 2: Oh, okay.
Speaker: Is an unusual one, which is typical for me. I would never pick one that I feel is like
Speaker 2: very, very on brand.
Speaker: Like Yeah. Like I love Springsteen, but I, but I, but I, you know, I will say if I had to pick a Springsteen song, I would pick waiting, waiting for a Sunny Day.
And I think that might not be bad for me. Yeah. Like, like that kind of optimistic uhhuh boosting thing. Uhhuh. But nine in the afternoon is, is kind of. Quirky and funny and, and bouncy and not, and the reason I pick it is 'cause not everybody would know what it's Right. We're,
Speaker 2: we're gonna add that to the playlist.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Uh, if you only had one hour each day for business growth, how would you spend it Follow up. Ooh. So good. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Fortune's in the follow up and it's the thing I see missed. There's so much opportunity missed for just like lack of follow up. Yep. Uh, so I'm so glad you said that. Follow up, follow up, follow up.
Yeah. And then [00:34:00] follow up. Har, thank you so much for being here. Where can people find you and connect with you online?
Speaker: It's been my pleasure, Tam. Thank you for having me. They can find me at Yes. Brand builders. Dot com and they can find my book at selling the truth book.com.
Speaker 2: Awesome.
Speaker: Is
Speaker 2: is out now?
Speaker: It's just about out now.
Yeah. Awesome. By the time anyone hears this, it will be out. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I'm excited for the read. Thanks again so much. My
Speaker: pleasure.
Speaker 2: Ah, so good. What I love most about this conversation with Hirsh is that it reminds us your true self is what sells. And that applies not just to you as a founder, but to your brand as a whole.
Because when your message, your team, your client experience, all reflect what you actually believe and deliver, you don't have to chase the sale, the right fit clients start finding you. So before your next sales conversation or campaign launch, take a step back and ask, does our message reflect? Who we really are and the businesses we're here to serve.
Remember, your [00:35:00] prospects are forming opinions long before you ever get on the call. The more your brand sounds, looks and feels like the real you, the easier it becomes for clients to trust that you understand their world and can deliver what they need. That brings us to this week's sales and service challenge.
Create what I like to call your signature sales statement. Block off 25 to 30 focus minutes this week and run through these three steps with your team or on your own. If you're solo first, write your signature sales statement. That's your we help insert ideal client. Achieve, insert desired outcome through how you do it differently or your competitive differentiator, then make it unmistakably yours.
Add one human detail. That could be a bit of humor, a client story or a vivid example, so it couldn't come from any other brand in your space. I'll give you mine as an example. For Studio 3 49, we help female agency owners and service-based founders stop waiting to get picked and start asking for what they actually want.
Through relationship first sales systems, we build [00:36:00] sustainable, scalable ways to grow without the burnout or the grow marketing. We help female agency owners and service-based founders stop waiting to get picked and start asking for what they actually want is the core statement. And I've made it our own by showing how we do that.
Through relationship first sales systems and a little bit of humor without the burnout or the bro marketing because let's be honest, we probably all have a very clear visual of what that looks like. Once you've got your statement, test it in the wild. Once inbound and once outbound for inbound, maybe add it to your LinkedIn headline or website hero copy, or the first line of your about page on your website for outbound.
Try using it to open your next outreach email or the next time someone asks you what you do. When your brand voice and values are aligned, selling stops feeling like chasing and convincing and starts feeling like connection and conversation. Before you go, be sure to check out the show notes for all the resources mentioned and where to find and connect with Hirsch.
And if this episode gave you something to think about. Send it to a fellow founder or agency owner who might need to hear it too. As [00:37:00] always, thanks for listening and remember, sales is an act of service. It's about what you give, not what you get, and when you serve well, that ROI always follows. I'll see you next week.
You've just listened to the Sales Is Service Podcast, the podcast to help you shift your mindset around selling. If you liked what she 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

Create your Signature Sales Statement:

Block off 25 focused minutes this week and run through these three steps with your team—or on your own if you’re solo:

Write your Signature Sales Statement.
We help [ideal client] achieve [outcome] through [how we do it differently—your competitive differentiator].
Make it unmistakably yours.
Add one human detail—a bit of humor, a client story, or a vivid example—so it couldn’t come from any other brand in your space.
Test it in the wild—once inbound, once outbound.
- Inbound: Add it to your LinkedIn headline, website hero copy, or About page.
- Outbound: Use it to open your next outreach email or discovery call.

When your brand voice and values align, selling stops feeling like chasing—and starts feeling like connection.

RESOURCES & LINKS

Learn more about Hersh, and YES BRAND.
Connect with Hersh on Linkedin
Find Hersch on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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!