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THIS ONE is really interesting and I have been thinking a lot
about going deeper into the details to differentiate the articles
I am sharing. I want to give you a piece that is going to be all
about strategy and reveal some of the most important insights
that I have about the difference between Sales and Branding.
It’s really the key to my success.
The single biggest difference between me and most other
people on the internet trying to give you advice is that
all of my content is FREE even my Facebook videos
don’t have ads unless the music I use forces one in.
I don’t need to monetize you. I don’t need to sell you. I
built a 150M dollar revenue business and I’m just getting
started. Being Gary Vaynerchuk i.e. “GaryVee” is really a
conversation about branding. To me, it’s my side hustle.
I’m building for the long term, because I think it’s about
brand. So many of you are in it for the quick sale, and you
are going to be forgotten. I build trust by giving away all
of my content for free and then, every three years or so, I
write a book and ask if you’re interested in buying it.
The difference between branding and sales is simple.
Are you trying to convert or are you trying to
create an experience? The latter always wins.
At the end of the day there is only one thing that constitutes
“brand.” It’s how you feel in the moment you interact with
the product, service or business. When I say “Pepsi” and
“Coca-Cola” and “IBM” and “Sears” you have a very specific
innate reaction to your feeling about that brand. It could be
good or it could be bad or maybe it’s somewhere in between.
The only thing I care about, and why I focus so much on
legacy, is I want you to have a positive reaction when you
hear my name. I want you to feel good when you think about
what I’ve done. If you had to put it into words, I would
hope you might say, “Gary, the guy who gave more than he
asked,”or something along those lines. I want you to have a
positive connotation, a good feeling when you think of me.
The reality is, the greatest companies in the world don’t
sell. They brand. Think of Apple as a prime example…
When, if ever, have you received an advertisement from
MEET
GARY
VAYNERCHUK
Apple telling you to BUY their product? It never happens.
Apple focuses on building a relationship that will last by
deploying all of their energy into branding and showcasing
how your life will change once you switch to iPhone.
Their ads are about sharing an experience, about the
simplicity and ease of use of their products. About how
great it is to use the Mac. It’s all about branding.
The same goes for me. I’m not selling you my $2,000 e-book.
I’m not trying to get you to go to my class, or come to my
keynote. I’m building a relationship. I’m building brand. So
the next time you think to yourself about throwing another
right hook, ask if this is going to help you win in 25 years?
Everyone can have their 15 minutes of fame, or better yet, their
15K Instagram followers and their one great sale. So few of
you can build a brand and a relationship for years to come.
Whether you’re a small business or a massive corporation,
you need to start thinking about business as a long-term
relationship, not a single transaction. Branding is the
reason there are so many 22 and 29-year olds who want
to work with me. It’s because I care, and I’ve built trust.
Everything I do is about building a brand. It’s about sharing
my narrative and documenting my success. I’ve built a real
business. I have real clients. I don’t need to sell you!
At the end of the day what I’m trying to do is build legacy.
I know that if I bring a ton of value to my audience and
they get good at running their business, then when they are
successful, their stories over dinner or at a conference, or to
their grandchildren are going to paint a positive picture about
me. That is far more impactful on my brand than getting one of
them to buy one of my courses and then never reach success.
The reason I’ll be relevant in 50 years is because I built a brand.
If I continue to put out the best content on the internet, if
I distribute it better than anybody, if I impact youth earlier
than anybody, if I get you to buy into the tactics and the work
ethic that it takes to be successful… then you will also be
successful. And then you will continue to share the stories of
how I impacted your life and business and on and on and on.
And P.S Funny thing about brand. If you build a brand,
you outsell any salesman any day of the week.
Gary Vaynerchuk (The New York Times bestselling author)—the
inspiring and unconventional entrepreneur who introduced us
to the concept of crush it—knows how to get things done, have
fun, and be massively successful. A marketing and business
genius, Gary had the foresight to go beyond traditional
methods and use social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook,
and YouTube to reach an untapped audience that continues to
grow. Content originally appeared on garyvaynerchuk.com
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