Tom Langan 00:00
Businesses need to do a better job of communicating with the communities they want to serve. They need to start broader and at a higher level than their first sales interaction.
Bob Woods 00:14
Welcome to the Making Sales Social podcast, featuring the top voices in sales, marketing, and business. Join Brynne Tillman, Stan Robinson Jr., and me, Bob Woods, as we bring you the best tips and strategies our guests are teaching and using so you can leverage them for your own virtual and social selling. Welcome to the show.
Brynne Tillman 00:36
Welcome back to Making Sales Social. I’m Brynne Tillman, and my guest today is Tom Langan, a two-time Emmy Award–nominated director of photography and producer, and the Chief Legendeer at Tallix Media.
Tom helps founders, nonprofits, and mission-driven teams use story-driven video as a real business asset. His Legendeering framework is centered on leading with value, earning trust, and building communities of raving supporters around a brand. Through Tallix Media and Media Gym, he teaches leaders how to communicate with clarity and conviction so their content strengthens real relationships instead of adding to the noise.
I love that. Tom, welcome to the show.
Tom Langan 01:27
Thanks so much for having me. I appreciate it. I’m thrilled.
Brynne Tillman 01:30
When we first talked, I was blown away by how differently you look at the work you do and the impact you’re making on companies. I’m excited to jump into your genius.
Before we do, I ask all of our guests the same first question: What does making sales social mean to you?
Tom Langan 01:51
To me, making sales social means recognizing that sales are built on relationships. We often overlook that and trend toward the transactional side of selling—how do I get money from you into my business?
The problem with that approach is that it ignores the human component. On both sides of every sale is a person, and that sale only happens if the relationship between those two people works.
Making sales social reminds us that sales—especially for larger-ticket items—depend on relationships. The more money we spend, the more important that relationship becomes. Fundamentally, the relationship has to come first.
Brynne Tillman 02:58
I love that answer. The relationship has to come first—hands down. And video is a great way to start building that.
Your work is built on the idea that video can humanize business. How does Legendeering help people create the kind of trust and emotional resonance that shortens the time from first touch to real conversation?
Tom Langan 03:28
Legendeering is designed around the premise that businesses need to communicate better with the communities they want to serve. They need to start broader and at a higher level than their first sales interaction.
I like to describe the kind of video content we create as “handshake content.” It’s analogous to how you interact with someone when you first meet them—that initial handshake, that first conversation, when you’re learning basic information about each other and deciding whether a relationship makes sense.
That handshake moment is the kind of content we help clients create. It moves people from introduction to relationship, and ultimately to a sale. But you have to start with that basic introductory level of content.
You need to give people a reason to want a relationship with you. That means putting their needs, wants, and questions first, then showing how what you do provides solutions.
Brynne Tillman 05:12
I love that. Can you give us an example of a short video built as that handshake?
Tom Langan 05:26
Instead of sharing one of my own examples, I’ll use one most people are familiar with: Red Bull.
Red Bull is one of the best examples of using video to build relationships with an audience. They create content around adventure sports—high-adrenaline activities like skydiving, snowboarding off mountain peaks, racing planes just above the ground, even jumping from the edge of space.
Think about the famous space jump. You saw the Red Bull logo everywhere—on the helmet, the suit, the balloon, the lower third on the screen. But did anyone drink a Red Bull in that video? Did anyone talk about the ingredients or why it “gives you wings”? No.
The content wasn’t about the product. It was about delivering what their audience wanted to see. They put their audience first and tied their brand to that experience.
So when someone walks into a convenience store and sees a refrigerator full of energy drinks, who’s top of mind? Red Bull.
Brynne Tillman 08:12
Of course—Red Bull. They’re emotionally connected.
It reminds me of when I was nine. We were a Pepsi household until Coca-Cola launched its Santa campaign. That image of Santa drinking Coke made me want to switch. And I never went back.
Tom Langan 09:00
Exactly. That worked because it connected with you emotionally at that moment. They made it for that audience—you.
When Red Bull launched in Europe, they introduced ingredients like guarana and ginseng, which were unfamiliar in Western markets. There wasn’t even an energy drink category yet.
They realized their audience had to be low risk-averse—adventure seekers who weren’t afraid to try something new. So they built content around that mindset. They tied their brand to the lifestyle and led with value for that audience.
They said, “We see you. We know what you love. Let us give that to you.” And in return, when you’re in a store, you think about picking up a Red Bull.
Brynne Tillman 10:53
I love how you frame that. A lot of sales teams struggle because their content feels disconnected from what their ideal clients want to consume. It’s often product-focused or even case-study-focused.
How do you work with marketing teams to ensure the content aligns with what their clients actually want?
Tom Langan 11:32
Our job as media producers is to help businesses achieve their goals—increase sales and revenue.
The marketing team knows their customer better than we do. They’ve invested time, research, and money into understanding their audience. So I ask them: Who is your customer, and where are they?
Then we create episodic content—a repeatable system that consistently delivers value. Each piece stacks value over time. That taps into the Rule of Reciprocation: when you consistently provide value, people naturally look for ways to return it.
We create the content with the brand’s support, and the marketing team distributes it to the right audience at the right time.
Brynne Tillman 14:00
Let’s drill down on episodic content. Is it like part one, part two, part three? What does that look like?
Tom Langan 14:20
Do you have a favorite TV show?
Brynne Tillman 14:23
About forty.
Tom Langan 14:26
Let’s pick one.
Brynne Tillman 14:44
The Big Bang Theory.
Tom Langan 14:48
Perfect. In each episode, there’s a short story arc, and across the series, longer arcs—like character relationships. The core cast stays the same.
When you see an episode, you know what to expect. That’s the power of episodic content. As the creator, you set expectations and then meet or exceed them every time.
If you consistently meet expectations, what happens? You build trust.
Brynne Tillman 16:46
The characters become part of your life, even though they’ve never met you.
Tom Langan 16:52
Exactly. You stop on an episode because you trust it will entertain you.
Episodic content works the same way. You create a repeatable structure that builds trust over time. Then you translate that trust into a business relationship.
But it has to be built on trust before it becomes transactional—before you move to the sale.
Brynne Tillman 18:07
I feel like GEICO has done a really good job of that. Even though they’ve had different storylines—there’s either a gecko or a caveman—the moment you see it, it’s entertaining and funny. You have that expectation. I’m starting to see what you’re saying in the real world. That’s really cool.
Tom Langan 18:35
Absolutely. GEICO is a little more traditional—well-done advertising. To compare Red Bull and GEICO: Red Bull creates long-form content you want to watch from start to finish—documentary-style snowboarding expeditions, F1 racing—content designed for viewing. GEICO, on the other hand, is an advertisement. You’re not tuning in to watch GEICO; you’re watching something else, and GEICO is interjected as the ad. With Red Bull, you actively go out to watch their content.
Brynne Tillman 19:31
Oh my gosh, that makes sense.
Tom Langan 19:35
Exactly. That’s the difference. People watch Red Bull content for the content itself, not just for the brand.
Brynne Tillman 19:46
Got it. And then they binge-watch that sports content, and the Red Bull branding is everywhere. This is powerful. I live in the sales and marketing world, and this shift in thinking about video is incredible. You mentioned that marketing knows the most about their customers—do they really know what content their customers want?
Tom Langan 20:35
They know enough about their customers for us to extrapolate what kinds of content those customers are likely to want. That allows us to provide value with a relatively light lift.
Brynne Tillman 20:53
Yeah, my wheels are turning. It’s a new framework around brand placement.
Tom Langan 21:09
Exactly. In television, we often did brand integrations where a company would subsidize part of a show’s production and get their product featured—like a credit card in a scene or a car placement. That was common.
What we’re doing now with Legendeering is taking that a step further: instead of just paying for partial placement, brands create content their audience truly wants. Instead of piggybacking on someone else’s content, they own it and make it custom for their audience.
This approach isn’t actually new. It dates back to the 1920s with soap operas, which were fully sponsored by soap companies like Procter & Gamble. They tied their brands to content their target market—housewives in the 1950s—would watch during downtime.
We’re revisiting a proven methodology and adapting it for the modern digital media environment. It connects directly back to content marketing origins, even to Benjamin Franklin. That’s why the subtitle of my book is Brand New (but Tried and True): Communication Strategy to Humanize Your Business.
Brynne Tillman 25:20
That’s awesome. I have another question. Salespeople—especially leaders or those in business development—how can they personally brand themselves with video in a way that aligns with the company but also connects human to human with their audience?
Tom Langan 26:14
The best way is to make content about the people themselves. Tell their stories. Humanize them. Don’t just tell the story of how they sell. The people you want to reach will connect with your salespeople as people. Give them a reason and a way to connect.
Brynne Tillman 27:10
I love that. There’s so much to learn here. We’re tight on time, but I want to ask: what questions should I have asked that I didn’t?
Tom Langan 27:29
I’d say the question is why: why create this strategy? Why humanize the world of business? What’s the point?
Brynne Tillman 27:44
Tom, why?
Tom Langan 27:47
It’s simple. In my life and in the lives of many people, we’re dissatisfied with our relationships with companies. We’re treated like data points on a spreadsheet, like walking ATMs. We aren’t seen as human.
I want businesses to think about the people they interact with as real humans. If you treat people humanely, they’re more likely to support your brand and develop real relationships with your community. Long-lasting, sustainable, and profitable businesses are built on relationships.
Every day we interact with businesses. My goal is to make those interactions positive, marginally better for all of us.
Brynne Tillman 29:53
I love that. Thank you so much for your brilliance today. You’re making me think about video differently for business. How can listeners get in touch with you?
Tom Langan 30:16
I’m very active on LinkedIn. Add me, send me a message, or search for Tallix Media LLC on LinkedIn. Reach out, and we’ll get back in touch.
Brynne Tillman 30:37
Thanks, Tom. We appreciate you sharing your insights. To our listeners, when you’re out and about, don’t forget to make your sales social.
Bob Woods 30:52
Thanks for watching. Join us again for more special guests with marketing, sales training, and social selling strategies that will set you apart. Hit the subscribe button to get the latest episodes from the Making Sales Social podcast. Give this video a thumbs up and comment below on what you want to hear next. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other platforms. Visit our website, socialsaleslink.com, for more information.
