In an industry often crowded with “stuff,” few people have mastered the art of human connection quite like Joelly Goodson. As a sales expert at BAMKO, host of the Branding Matters podcast, professional speaker, and industry persona Branding Badass, Joelly has spent years proving that success isn’t about the product on the table, but the experience you build around it.
Fresh off her standing-room-only presentation at the PPAI Expo, “Branding Beyond the Product: How to Escape the Commodity Trap,” we sat down with Joelly to talk about her strategic approach to managing her client’s brand awareness, her own personal brand, and why she believes the only way to win in today’s market is to stop being transactional and start being experiential.
The Power of Personal: Why People Hire People, Not Corporations
Q: You launched your podcast Branding Matters in 2021. Five years and 150 episodes later, what is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about what it takes to build a personal brand?
Honestly, the most surprising thing is that it actually works! I started the podcast in 2021 after a long career in advertising, speaking to a group of women who had been laid off during the pandemic about building a personal brand. They were diving into entrepreneurship by necessity and felt totally lost. I saw a gap and just wanted to help them find their footing when it came to advertising themselves.
What I didn’t expect was how the show would springboard my own career. While I was focused on my amazing guests, the podcast was quietly building my brand in the background. People weren’t just showing up for the experts; they were connecting with me. It really hit home that at the end of the day, people don’t hire corporations; they hire people. Having a strong personal brand that resonates is what turns a “transaction” into a real relationship, and seeing that happen over the last five years has been the best part of the ride.
Q: You’ve become known in the industry as the Branding Badass. Looking back, how much of that was a conscious strategic pivot to stand out, and how do you grow that personal brand while balancing your day-to-day role as a sales expert?
The Branding Badass persona didn’t happen by accident; it was a conscious choice I made to stand out. After going through my own professional ups and downs, I knew I had to reinvent myself and lean into social media. Branding is all about differentiation, so I came up with a name that would stop the scroll. It worked immediately; the name itself became a conversation starter and a way for people to engage with me before we even met.
I don’t see my personal brand and my sales role as separate things; they are actually one and the same. The whole reason I built this brand is to grow the business. Clients want to know exactly who they’re working with, which is why I’m so consistent with who I am, from my podcast and social posts right down to a one-on-one call. Even when you work for a large company, your clients are still working with you. I have the support of a great business behind me, but the relationship is human. We all have a digital footprint, whether we like it or not, and if you aren’t creating yours, someone else is doing it for you.
Don’t Sell “Stuff”: The ROI of the Experiential Approach
Q: At PPAI 2026, you hosted a presentation called Branding Beyond the Product: How to Escape the Commodity Trap. For those of us who weren’t in the room, can you explain what it takes to break away from being seen as just another vendor?
After 25 years in this industry, I’ve realized we have a bit of an identity crisis. We often call ourselves salespeople, but at our core, we are marketers. My background is in advertising, and for a long time, I thought I’d left that world behind to get into sales. But I had a lightbulb moment through my podcast; I’m still a marketer through and through. Back then, I used ads to tell stories; now, I just use branded merch as the medium to build those same connections.
The commodity trap is a real danger in our industry because, let’s be honest, we all sell the same stuff. We work with the same suppliers and offer the same products. If a buyer sees you as identical to everyone else, your only differentiator is price, and that’s a race to the bottom where everyone loses as margins shrink.
To escape the trap, you have to stop selling the product and start selling the solution. It’s not about how the client feels about your product, or even how they feel about you; it’s about how you make the client feel about themselves. When you shift the narrative so that the client is the hero of the story, you move beyond the transaction. That’s how you build the kind of loyalty that price-shoppers can’t touch.
Q: In your session, you emphasized moving away from being a “stuff seller.” Why is it critical to see the difference between a product and a brand experience?
When you focus solely on the product, you’re stuck in a cycle of specs and checks. If I send a client a basic mockup of a mug or a pen, the first question they ask is, “How much?” That’s because I haven’t given them anything to value other than the price tag.
I prefer a different approach. Instead of just showing a product, I create a connection. For example, rather than just sending a hat, I’ll send one that says “Bad Hair Day.” It’s a small shift, but suddenly it’s not just merchandise; it’s a personality. It makes them remember me. That is the beginning of the experience of working with Joelly. I see this a lot at trade shows. Most people just hand out quotes when asked, but to provide a real experience, you have to dig deeper. Ask them why they’re doing the event, what’s the actual goal? If I can tell a client that a specific activation can increase their booth traffic by 175%, I’m no longer just a vendor; I’m a consultant helping them reach their goals faster. Don’t be transactional, be experiential.
The Impact of Energy: Why Great Branding Sticks
Q: Following the PPAI Expo, the industry is always buzzing with trends. How do you filter through the noise of new products to find what will actually move the needle for your clients’ brands?
Before I even set foot on the show floor, I meet with my clients to get crystal clear on their upcoming goals and events. I go in with a laser focus, not on the hottest products, but on what will actually move the needle for my specific clients.
I’m very strategic about how I navigate the show. While most people are busy posting photos of every new product they see, I don’t post products at all. Everyone does that, and to stand out, I have to do things differently. Instead, I shop the floor with specific faces in mind. When I find something that is a perfect fit for a client, I’ll get the vendor on camera right then and there. I have them call the client out by name in the video and explain why this is the solution they’ve been looking for. At this year’s show, I actually landed an order on the spot by doing that. It’s about being a bridge between a great idea and a client’s specific problem, rather than just being another person shouting about a cool new mug.
Q: What was the best piece of promotional merchandise you’ve ever received, and why?
The best piece of promo I’ve ever received is a little yellow button that says, “You are a badass!” whenever you push it. When I first launched the Branding Badass brand, I received a handful of gifts like that from people in my network. It’s the perfect example of what happens when you build a truly strong personal brand; people start to see things in their everyday lives and immediately think of you. They began to associate my name with that specific energy and identity. That’s the ultimate goal of branding, not just to be seen, but to stay top-of-mind so that when the right solution pops up, you’re the only person they think of.
Experiences as the Ultimate Marketing Solution
Whether you’re navigating a career shift or scaling a global sales program, the lesson is the same: you have to be the architect of your own story. Escaping the commodity trap isn’t about finding better products; it’s about shifting your mindset from being a vendor of stuff to a partner in solutions. By leading with personality and focusing on the human experience, you don’t just close transactions; you build a brand that people can’t help but remember.
Want more insights on how to cut through the noise? Follow Joelly on LinkedIn or Instagram to see the Branding Badass in action.
If you’re ready to transform your next marketing initiative from a simple product into a full brand experience, contact BAMKO today to get started and see the difference an experiential approach can make.
