73. Selling as an Art Form: How Storytelling and Authenticity Drive Results
Description
In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, I sit down with Jake Isham — filmmaker, creative director, and founder of Creative Minds Agency.
Jake’s story is pure art-meets-entrepreneurship. He started as an actor, moved behind the camera to direct, and somewhere along the way became what he calls an “accidental marketer.”
We dig deep into the intersection of storytelling, sales, and authenticity — how great art and great selling share the same purpose: to create an effect. Jake explains how the best salespeople are actually performers — not in a fake way, but in the sense that they listen, adapt, and stay present in the scene.
Our conversation bounces between filmmaking, improv, and enterprise sales, but it all comes back to one central idea: sales is an art form. The goal isn’t to pitch harder or talk faster; it’s to create a feeling that sticks.
A few big takeaways:
🎭 Sales and acting share the same core skill — presence. Great sellers listen, improvise, and respond in the moment.
💬 Be interested, not interesting. Shift the spotlight to the customer; that’s where trust begins.
🧠 Reps build mastery. Like athletes and artists, salespeople get better through repetition and reflection — not theory.
🔥 Authenticity beats polish. When you lead with genuine curiosity and passion, selling stops feeling like selling.
🎥 Personal brand is leverage. Jake shows how documenting your story builds trust and visibility that lasts beyond any one deal.
💡 The right views matter more than viral views. You don’t need a million followers — you need the right audience.
Jake and I also talk about the business of creativity — how he learned to blend craft with commerce, the value of expertise (“knowing where to tap”), and why every creator, seller, and leader needs to believe in what they’re offering.
It’s a fun, high-energy conversation about where art meets revenue — and how showing up as yourself is the real competitive edge.
🎧 Give it a listen, and let me know what lands with you.
#SalesLeadership #PersonalBranding #AuthenticSelling #Storytelling #ThoughtsOnSelling
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