How to Get Clear on What Makes Your Business Different

Last Sunday was National Book Lovers Day — which had me thinking about mine, and what writing it actually gave me.

Do you find this happens to you? You've explained what you do a hundred times — in meetings, at networking events, to the person sitting next to you on a plane.

And you still walk away thinking… that's not quite it.

I really struggled with this. I knew exactly what I did. I just didn't have the words for why it was different from what everybody else was doing.

That changed when I was voluntold to write a book — though not for the reason you'd expect.

Let me tell you what surprised me most.

I thought the hard part would be having enough to say. It wasn't.

What surprised me was the CLARITY.

My messaging never actually changed. Everything I'd been saying for years was the same. What changed was my ability to explain it — writing it all down forced me to get clear, and once it was clear on the page, it was clear everywhere else. In meetings. On calls. On a stage.

And after 40-plus years in marketing and branding, believe me, I had a lot to say. It all just came pouring out.

Why the words matter more than you think.

In my industry, everybody's selling the same stuff from the same vendors and catalogs. If the product is the whole pitch, there's nothing left to separate one person from the next.

But to me it was never about the product.

It's really been about the STRATEGY, and about building relationships. Surprising and delighting your clients and your employees. Saying thank you. Showing people they're appreciated.

That's a completely different approach and focus to selling product — and I knew that. I just couldn't say it in a sentence.

I realized I was a GIVE-ologist®.

Somewhere in the middle of writing The Art of GIVE-ology® -GIVING Your Way to Success in Business, I found the words I'd been missing.

I wasn't "a promo products person."

I was a GIVE-ologist®.

And I trademarked it — along with GIVE-ology® — because those words were mine.

Same business. Same clients. Same products, even. What writing gave me was the clarity and the words to share it with a lot more people.

Naming it changed everything — not because the name is clever, but because it finally described what was actually happening in my work.

The shortcut I wanted to give.

The book let me share nearly two decades of this part of my business — an amazing career of experiences that brought me to where I am now. What worked. What didn't. And the things that only made sense to me later on.

I'd rather help somebody avoid the pitfalls than watch them walk into one.

You don't have to write a book. But you do have to know what makes you different — because that IS your brand. It shows up in how you talk about your work, and in everything you put your name on.

That's the part I help companies with. If you want to talk it through, I'm always just a conversation away.

Everybody's got a story to tell… is your brand telling yours?

About the book

I wrote The Art of GIVE-ology® -GIVING Your Way to Success in Business to show how strategic GIVING — the right product, the right person, the right intention — builds relationships that grow your business. It's a guide for business owners, entrepreneurs, executives, and marketers who want to avoid some business pitfalls, learn what really works, and move forward with clarity and confidence.

Available on Amazon. And if you'd like a signed copy at DonnaBender.com

Watch all the replays of The BIG Show & Tell on YouTube @DonnaBenderGiving