Rain- Thats been the prevailing climate here on the East Coast for what feels like aforever! Since when did Seattle and New York have a swap that I didn’t know of ?
Since rain was the topic of the day this past June/July it makes me recall a lesson on Branding I was privy to given by Ben Mack which I think had the title: “How to Be a Rainmaker” so something like that.
Over the next bunch of articles or so I will endeavor to highlight some of the major points of this lecture which was comprised of three primary sections: 1) How to Make the Lightning, 2) Keeping the Lightning Striking and 3) Bottling your lightning.
For those of you not acquainted Dr. Ben Mack, he is one of the principal authorities on Branding today in the USA. He has been employed at over 14 different Ad agencies over his illustrious career and was a Vice President for Brand strategy for a major corporation.
Essentially, what that means was he was chief strategist in charge of a ” billion dollar account (that’s right, I said ” billion or 500 million smakers)! Do you think he knows what he is doing? I most certainly do, and not only has he performed magic for the many businesses he has worked for, he is also a professional magician who at the age of 19 was the youngest beneficiary of the Award of Merit given by the Academy of Magical Arts.
For those unfamiliar with what a rainmaker is, a rainmaker is one indian shaman not withstanding who instead of insuring a good harvest for his people brings increased revenue to his business by the use of his or her political connections, ability to attract customer therfore making the people he works for money.
As a marketer your cheif duty is to “up sell” people on their experience of reality. In Ben Mack’s book “Think Two Products Ahead” he discusses how the most valuable branding really only happens only when people think two products ahead rather than just thinking here and now and to build a profitable relationship with your clients or customers through your Brand. The section where Ben teaches how to construct your Legend Platform is worth much more than the price of the book itself!
Your “Brand” (the one called YOU!) is formulated around the idea of a “legend” or story and in the log run get stronger as days and weeks or even years go by. These tales are acceptable to be paradoxical to each other. So, if you had to single out what type of story you should use to allow your business shine like a diamond (you are reading articles like these to do so correct?) why not have them be legends. How else will you become “Legendary” in your chosen field without them?
Stay tuned for the next part in the series of articles covering Dr. Bens How to Become a Rainmaker.
