Rain- That’s been the prevailing climate here in New York for what feels like forever! Since when did Seattle and New York have a swap that I wasn’t made aware of ?
Since rain was the topic of the day this past June/July it makes me recall a seminar on Branding I viewed given by Ben Mack which I think had the title: “How to Be a Rainmaker” so something like that.
In this and ensuing articles I am going to try and cover the major parts of the talk which included: 1) How to make lightning Strike, 2) How to keep the lightning striking and 3) Bottling your lightning.
For those of you not acquainted Dr. Ben Mack, he is among the chief powers that be on Branding today in the USA. He has been employed at over 14 diverse Ad agencies over his memorable professional undertakings and was a Vice President for Brand strategy for a very large corporation.
Essentially what that meant was he was a strategist in charge of a ” Billion dollar budget (yes, I said ” BILLION or 500 Million dollar account!). Do you think he knows what he is talking about? I certainly do, and not only has he performed magic for the companies he worked for, he is also a Professional Magician who at age 19 was the youngest beneficiary of the Award of Merit presented by the Academy of Magical Arts.
For those unfamiliar with what a rainmaker is, a rainmaker is one medicine man not withstanding who instead of bringing a good harvest for his tribe brings increased revenue to his corporation by the use of his or her political clout, ability to attract customer therefore making the people he works for happy.
The essential obligation as a marketer is to “up sell” folks understanding of reality. In Benjamin Macks book entitled “Think Two Products Ahead” he elaborates on the whole concept of how practical branding can only happen when businesses (large or small) think two products ahead instead of the current time frame and for these companies to put together thriving affiliations with their client or customers through their Brand. The section in the book where Ben Mack discusses the process of developing your Legend Platform is worth it’s weight in gold!
A Brand (your brand, a Brand called YOU) is built through the use of Legends or communication that is repeated time and time again. These stories can and should be allowed to challenge each other and absolutely will grow with age. So, if you have to pick a story that you create for your business to help grow your business (after all you are reading articles like this to help you become more profitable in your business arent you?) why not pick the type that grows stronger with age and you will indeed become “Legendary”.
Look out for the next article in the “Rainmaker and Branding” series coming soon to a blog, e-zine or website near you!