A Brand3 Conversation with Rich Laster, Founder of GrowExpand.com

Interview by Matt Wolfe (transcript edited for clarity and concision)

Rich Laster is not your typical sales strategist. With a background in finance and a career built on go-to-market growth, he’s now the founder of Grow Expand, where he helps scaling companies build revenue systems that actually work. 

He’s a self-proclaimed “revenue architect” who isn’t shy about getting personal—and passionate—when talking about what makes businesses thrive. In this edited conversation, we dive into how brand strategy can bridge the classic sales-marketing divide, what it really means to work without silos, and why your brand story belongs in every sales script.

Matt Wolfe: Rich, I’m so excited for today’s conversation. Let’s start with your background. How did you end up here with a company called GrowExpand?

Rich Laster: I started in banking after college. I was helping people finance their businesses, but the system wasn’t designed for people like me to truly serve others—it was designed to hit quotas. So I launched my own consulting firm. 

But as I dug deeper, I realized most entrepreneurs don’t know how to sell their business. They’ve got a great product, but they’re wearing seven hats and stuck in tactics. That’s where I found my purpose: helping people grow and expand, for real.

Matt Wolfe: That aligns so well with Brand3’s mission. We always say that without brand strategy, marketing tactics fall flat. A lot of our work starts with helping a client reconnect with their original purpose and bring that clarity into their messaging. 

We help them rediscover what makes them different and how to communicate it simply and consistently. How did you come to see the value of brand work in your own consulting?

Rich Laster: I wasn’t a marketing guy. I knew how to help people sell, but I didn’t fully understand brand until I met you and your team. You introduced me to the brand book concept, and I spent two weeks reflecting on my own story. Too often, we jump into how things look and feel without getting clear on what we stand for. Strategy comes from that truth.

Matt Wolfe: Yeah, we share that belief. Brand isn’t a document that sits in a folder somewhere; it’s the foundation that drives marketing, sales, customer experience, and even internal culture. When did you start to see sales and marketing as interconnected, rather than separate efforts?

Rich Laster: Honestly, it hit me when I realized I needed help. I could coach sales teams all day, but marketing wasn’t my lane. So I read Ogilvy. I connected with people like you. I learned that when a business has a strong brand foundation, the sales messaging becomes easier. It’s more authentic.

Matt Wolfe: And that authenticity pays off across the board. The brand work we do impacts everything from marketing campaigns to team morale. It gives people a shared language and purpose. Why is that connection between sales and marketing so crucial?

Rich Laster: Because when they don’t connect, people operate in silos. And silos kill momentum. 

Marketing might build great collateral, but if it doesn’t connect with the sales team’s reality, it doesn’t get used. The brand story needs to be reflected in scripts, sequences, everything. Otherwise, you’re promising one thing and delivering another.

Sales and marketing aren’t enemies. They’re cousins who should ride bikes and get into trouble together.

Matt Wolfe: You’re big on aligning sales and marketing. Where did that come from?

Rich Laster: Honestly? From my own pain. I’m a sales guy, but when you introduced me to the idea of a brand book, I really got clear on my why. That changed everything. Most people start with tactics: Give me a funnel. Give me a package. 

But if you don’t know who you are and why you exist, those things won’t work. Your brand is the starting point.

Matt Wolfe: Why do sales and marketing teams so often end up misaligned?

Rich Laster: It’s cultural. Marketing lives in the broom closet; sales is over in the pit with a headset—and nobody talks. You build beautiful collateral, then don’t pass it to sales because you're scared it’ll get messed up. But that’s the problem! 

Sales needs to weigh in: Is this natural? Will this subject line make people open the email? Everyone needs to be telling the same truth.

Matt Wolfe: We often see that breakdown when a company hires a new salesperson who has to make up their own message because no one handed them the brand story. So they wing it. Or they default to talking about features and pricing. And the whole experience starts to feel disconnected for the customer.

Rich Laster: Exactly. The MQL drops into the pipeline, but the messaging doesn’t match what got the prospect interested in the first place. Sales is left trying to rebuild trust that should’ve already been established.

Matt Wolfe: So what does a strong brand-to-sales handoff look like in your experience?

Rich Laster: In a healthy system, marketing and sales speak the same language. If marketing says a lead is qualified, sales should trust that. 

Matt Wolfe: And when that doesn’t happen, you end up with wasted time and leads that stall. We've worked with clients where sales and marketing didn’t even talk, and you could see the confusion in the customer journey. What else should leaders look out for?

Rich Laster: Blame and burnout. Marketing thinks sales is lazy. Sales thinks marketing doesn’t understand the customer. No one says it outright, but you can feel the tension.

Matt Wolfe: That reminds me of what we often see in brand discovery. People on the same team giving completely different answers about what the company does, who it’s for, and why it matters. What role does culture play in all this?

Rich Laster: A big one. Culture sets the tone for collaboration.

If your team feels like part of something bigger, they’ll check their egos and work together. But if everyone’s working in isolation, they start thinking their way is the only way.

Matt Wolfe: It’s a mindset shift. Brand3 is intentional about helping leaders build cultures around purpose and alignment. That starts with leadership modeling the behavior. So how can business leaders actually measure whether their brand strategy is working across teams?

Rich Laster: You know the old saying: Trust, but verify. As a CEO, you should hear your brand story in every customer touchpoint—ads, emails, phone calls. Sit in on discovery calls. If your sales team isn’t reflecting your brand message, something’s broken.

Matt Wolfe: Absolutely. And you should also hear that story coming back from your customers—in their own words. When they repeat your message back to you, that’s when you know it’s working. Can you share a story where brand alignment made a measurable difference?

Rich Laster: I worked with a brilliant content creator who had all the brand pieces in place. Her marketing was on point. But she was still wearing the sales hat, and there was no system. I helped her define a process rooted in her brand values. Now she’s clearer, more confident, and converting faster. That’s the power of alignment.

Matt Wolfe: That’s what we love to see too. Clients who have a great heart behind the business but just need help building the structure around it—so they can grow with integrity. Before we wrap, if someone suspects that their sales and marketing teams are disconnected, what’s a simple place to start fixing that?

Rich Laster: Start with the messaging. Get everyone in a room and ask them to explain who you help and how. If you get five different answers, you know where the problem is.

Every conversation should answer: Why do we exist? Who do we help? And how do we make their life better?

Matt Wolfe: That’s such a good gut check. 

Rich Laster: Get that story straight, and things start moving again. Start with your brand. Nail your value proposition. That’s the lifeblood of your business. It should be in your call scripts, your email sequences, your CRM notes—everywhere. 

When brand messaging is consistent, MQLs convert to SQLs, and deals close faster. I’ve seen teams get that fall-off down to under 5%. That’s what happens when sales and marketing are best friends, not awkward coworkers.

Matt Wolfe: And when it’s working?

Rich Laster: You’ll see it. Higher conversion rates. Less wasted effort. Sales teams focused on onboarding, not damage control. And marketing content that speaks directly to the right people, not the whole planet.

Wolfe: You’re also big on CRM adoption and sales systems. How do you embed brand into those tools?

Laster: It starts with clarity. If your sales team doesn’t have a strong brand message, it’s like sending them into battle with no ammo. Every CRM field, every sales sequence—if it’s not tied to your value proposition, it’s noise. Sales isn't about pushing product; it's about listening, solving, and communicating value. The brand makes that possible.

Every client's offering is the Neosporin for somebody's pain. Your brand just has to say that out loud.

Matt Wolfe: Final thought: Why does this work matter so much to you?

Rich Laster: Because I’ve seen great people struggle to communicate their value. They started their business to make an impact, but they can’t sell it. I help them find the language and structure to do that. If I do my job right, they’ll be thriving a year from now. That’s why I exist.

Matt Wolfe: That’s powerful. And that’s why we love partnering with people like you—because it’s not just about the numbers. It’s about helping good businesses grow for the right reasons. Thanks so much, Rich.

If your sales and marketing teams feel disconnected, the problem might not be your people—it might be your message. At Brand3, we help businesses uncover the truth of their brand and align it across marketing, sales, and customer experience. Because when your brand strategy is clear, your sales messaging connects—and revenue follows.

Reach out to Brand3 today, and let’s create a strategy that speaks with one voice—and sells.

Brand3 proudly partners with Rich Laster to strengthen clients’ sales programs. You can learn more about his fractional CRO, custom CRM optimization, and revenue growth planning services at growexpand.com.