Episode 20
Developing Sales Strategies (ft. Your Story Agency)
Your Story Agency is a Vancouver video production company built around a simple promise: results-driven video and strategy that helps businesses clarify their message, connect with customers, and even automate parts of their business with video. Braeden Fairbridge and Cameron Russelle run it, and this episode is a long, candid session on the part of the business most studios avoid talking about openly: sales.
Braeden and Cameron join Dario and Kyrill to work through the full sales journey: landing first clients and upgrading them, defining what results-based content actually is, handling the client who wants results but has no marketing budget, dealing with price shoppers, building outbound sales, selling video to gatekeepers at big corporations, hiring a salesperson, and productizing videos so the offer sells itself.
Key Takeaways
- Sales is a system, not a personality trait. The episode treats selling as a repeatable process, outbound, qualifying, and productizing, rather than something only a few naturally gifted people can do.
- Upgrade clients, don't just chase new ones. A lot of growth comes from landing first clients and then upgrading them over time into bigger, more valuable relationships.
- Have an answer for the no-budget client. Braeden and Cameron work through what to do when a client wants results but has no marketing budget, and when a prospect only wants to price shop.
- Sell video as strategy, not as a commodity. Selling on outcomes and message, rather than on day rates, is how you get past gatekeepers at big corporations.
- Productize so the offer sells itself. Turning custom work into defined, repeatable packages makes video easier to buy and easier to sell.
- Know when to hire a salesperson. As the company grows, bringing on a dedicated salesperson and building real sales strategies becomes the unlock.
Timestamps
Winning First Clients and Upgrading Them
Every video business starts with the same problem: getting those first clients, then turning one-off projects into something bigger. Braeden and Cameron open on exactly that, landing early work and upgrading clients over time, which is the natural on-ramp to the kind of recurring relationship the show unpacked in how to create a retainer. The lever that makes upgrading possible is proving value, and that means being clear about results-based content, the same ground Capture the Moment Media covered on creating results based videos.
The Budget Objection and the Price Shopper
Then come the objections every producer knows by heart. What do you do when a client wants results-driven content but has no marketing budget? What about the one who just wants to price shop? Your Story Agency’s answers are grounded in framing the real cost and value of the work, the same conversation Lapse walks clients through in how much a video actually costs. Part of the fix is helping a buyer understand what a corporate video is genuinely for, so the discussion moves off price and onto outcomes, which is the whole point of defining what a corporate video is.
Outbound Sales, Selling Video, and the Gatekeepers
From there the episode gets into the machinery of actually selling: building outbound sales, selling video as a strategic tool rather than a commodity, and getting past the gatekeepers at big corporations. Selling video as strategy is exactly the posture V Strategies argued for on providing strategic video, and cracking the corporate gate is easier when you understand how those buyers evaluate vendors in the first place, which Lapse breaks down in its guide to choosing a video production company.
Team Growth, Hiring a Salesperson, and Productizing
The final stretch is the longest and the most useful: real sales strategy. Team growth, hiring a dedicated salesperson, developing repeatable strategies, and productizing videos so the offer is easy to say yes to. Deciding when to add that first non-production hire is the same fork Lapse examines in running a production company versus a one-person operation, and productizing is what turns all of it into a sales engine instead of an endless series of custom quotes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the guests on this episode?
Braeden Fairbridge and Cameron Russelle from Your Story Agency, a Vancouver video production company.
What is Your Story Agency?
A Vancouver based video production company that provides results-driven video and strategy to help businesses clarify their message, connect with customers, and automate their business with video. Site: your-story.agency.
What sales topics does this episode cover?
Landing and upgrading first clients, results-based content, handling clients with no marketing budget, price shoppers, outbound sales, selling video, targeting gatekeepers at big corporations, hiring a salesperson, and productizing videos.
What does productizing video mean?
Packaging video services into defined, repeatable offers rather than fully custom quotes, which makes the work easier for clients to buy and for the team to sell.
Where is Your Story Agency located?
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The Hosts
Dario Nouri and Kyrill Lazarov are the co-founders of Lapse Productions, a Toronto video production company, and the hosts of Creatives Grab Coffee, a weekly show about the business of video production.
About
Creatives Grab Coffee is a podcast about the business behind video production: sales, strategy, pricing, team building, and everything that happens off camera. New episodes every week on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Lapse Productions is a Toronto-based video production company serving tech, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing clients with corporate, promotional, event, and testimonial video. New to commissioning video? Start with our guide to the types of corporate video.
Your Story Agency is a Vancouver based video production company that gives businesses results-driven video and strategy to clarify their message, connect with customers, and automate their business with video. Co-founded by Braeden Fairbridge and Cameron Russelle, the agency built its growth on a deliberate, repeatable approach to sales. Learn more at your-story.agency.
