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Branding

Have an outflow to sustain Life : Lesson from a Dead Sea

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This post originally written for Sticky Sheep

The Dead Sea is one of those iconic sites to check out with a visit to the Holy Land. It isn’t dead in the aspect that it does have some benefits (translation = products) that it is able to provide for its surrounding community. However, in all aspects it is a void of life and production of vitality for the range it covers. What makes this sea, so dead?..

It goes no where.

You may know that the famed Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea & there are some small waters that filter into the sea. But remarkably there isn’t an outflow of water.

Whether you are a business or a church, non-profit or fortune 500. There needs to be outflow from your entity. I am not just talking about an outflow of product, but all the energies and collection of talent in a company need to be pouring out into the community. So I ask, what are you doing that flows out into the community? What nutrients, positive energy, inner life, etc does your company/church give to build the greater good? Or, do you just hold everything within the walls for just the company/church?

As I mentioned, this isn’t an outflow of product, but allowing the passions & personalities of the company/church to move outward, beyond the current boundaries, to do and be a part of things that are not for a bottom line. Flowing outward to be a service to the surrounding community. It is in this spirit though that your company/church can ensure its future life. It is in this spirit that people will stick to who you are & what you are about. It is in this spirit that your innards will be revitalized by a movement that goes somewhere.

You, Your Brand, Your Product

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Today at All American Pest Control Erin hosted an Accelerent seminar led by John Boyans on building sales, referrals, relationships, and overall Accelerent partnership. I’ve started making a few of these but today was a bit different since it was our home turf & it was in our brand new addition’s training room. My primary responsibility was tech emergencies.

John had a few quotables & thoughts that stuck out to me, but the one that stuck the most was.

“People will buy You first, your Brand second, and your Product third.”

I am very inclined to tell folks that they are their brand, and their brand is their communication.. Which pushes on his thoughts a bit.. Then I pieced together the difference. It is the sale, the commitment that make because of the relationship with you. That relationship is real, ie. they actually know you, or perceived, ie. your brand is strong enough that they feel they know you.

What does this mean?…

It means that your mom knows you and loves you and will buy your product no matter what. Even if you tell your mom that the book you were writing has no real value to her what so ever [personal experience confession]. It is why whenever you start something new, you plug the ‘low hanging fruit’ of people who “know you” not necessarily your brand.

It can build on itself as well.

I have no physical product to sell… at least right now.. But I am trying to bring about change. For me this means that my personable relationships are king right now in bringing change. My brand is directly affected and plays a role in these relationships (many times as the introduction to a personal relationship) and how I keep these relationships builds my brand. It is a wonderful cycle

So understand this, whether you are a CEO, Pastor, Writer, Intern..

  1. You, as a person, have a brand that people can relate to
  2. You may belong to a corporate brand that people cannot relate to, only its people. You
  3. When these stars line up you are building some kickass leverage in making change