The Framework And The Origin Story

Amy Dardis 0:10

This is the Building a Clear Authentic Brand podcast, and I'm your host, Amy Dardis. In this episode, we are diving into the Clear Authentic Brand framework, which is Clarity, Alignment, and Accountability, and the story of how I actually discovered it. My husband Josh and I owned a web development and marketing agency, and we primarily helped service-based, people-driven local businesses, think trades, businesses, contracting, construction, HVAC, and the occasional nonprofit. And every time we built a website, we always led with a discovery process, which was me sitting down with a client and asking them a bunch of questions to get an idea of their business. So I wanted to understand who was the target market, who was their ideal customer, what was their process, what made them unique, how did they differentiate themselves in the marketplace? And how could I outline that on a website in a way that was clear, it was simple, it made sense, it was authentic to their brand, and it was going to help attract the right type of clients. And it was through this process that I noticed that most of the businesses that I did sit down with actually struggled to articulate this because getting website content or clear messaging from our clients was actually one of the pickest bottlenecks. So we actually figured out a way to overcome that by just sitting down, asking them questions, hearing their story, pulling out the patterns, and being able to articulate that message for them. And they were always so thankful and so relieved for that process that they're like, oh my gosh, like I haven't been able to put this into words. And then we would put on their website and we would see an increase in leads and conversions. And it was really exciting to be able to help them

Discovery Calls That Unlock Messaging

Amy Dardis 2:15

with that. So one of my clients along the way was a gas and welding distributor, and they had six different locations and about 80 employees. And we built their website and then continued a relationship. We'd meet quarterly or a couple times a year and just talk about their marketing efforts. And over the course of building a relationship and having conversations, I actually ended up going to work for them. And I was gonna head up their marketing department as well as an e-commerce division, which I had never done before, they had never done before, but it was one of the projects that I was hired to oversee. So this business had been around for 70 years. It was a family-owned business and they had never had a marketing department. They had never had someone really own that part of their business. And there was a general sense of a brand, but since I was new and coming into the business, I really wanted to get my arms around it. I wanted to have a clear marketing strategy. So I did what I always do, which is I started with clarity. I started with trying to make sure that I understood who we were as a business, who our target audience was, what our core offerings were, what problems did we solve? How did we solve them? How did we differentiate ourselves from other distributors in our industry? Why would customers choose us? And that way, everything that I did with marketing was going to be authentic and consistent and align together. So I wanted to have a really clear plan because I was overseeing all of the flyers, everything that went on on social media, all of the ad campaigns, everything that we were putting in the e-commerce platform. And so having a really good grasp on the business and how we operated and who we helped was really important to this. So within the first two months of me being there, we went through some internal clarifying exercises in order to put down into words like clear, tangible sentences. We wanted to define our purpose, which is why we existed, our core values, so what we valued and how we operated. We identified our target market, our unique differentiators. So what made us different than the other distributors within our area, as well as our messaging pillars. So underneath all of the campaigns and the posting, whether it was organic or paid or flyers, I wanted to know what are the three to five topics I need to make sure that I'm hitting on consistently in order to build up a very consistent brand message. So at the beginning of this, all I was thinking about was external messaging. I was thinking about marketing. I was thinking about attracting

When Marketing Meets Hiring Reality

Amy Dardis 5:30

more of our ideal customers. But then through the process, the more involved I got in the business, the longer that I was there, the more ingrained I became, I started to see a connection between the messaging that we had been putting out for customers to how we actually operated internally. And I started to observe what it takes in order for us to be able to deliver on that experience. So as a business, we were a very service-focused business, very focused on relationships and providing great customer service. But we were highly dependent on our people. And I was watching as we were hiring some people and they were not working out and how painful and how expensive that was for us, as well as watching us hire some other people who did work out and they thrived and they excelled. And so I started looking at our hiring process and how we decided who it was that we were gonna hire and specifically what characteristics, what attributes, what qualities were we looking for in people while we we were going through the interview process? What things were we telling them about our expectations of how we operated and how our people operated and how we served our clients and why they would want to work for us over the other job offers or job opportunities that they were currently considering. And then also looking at what are the questions that we're asking them, what are the conversations that we're specifically having within that interview process in order to make sure that they're clear on the expectations, we're clear on the expectations, and the decision that we make when it comes to choosing who to hire is actually the right decision for both us and them. So I became fascinated with this process and studying it and realizing that there's a lot that we do or don't do that really affects the outcome of this. And so I started seeing people as the catalyst, like having the right people on board is everything. And Jim Collins talks about this in his book Good to Great, as well as Built to Last. He talks about making sure you have the right people on the bus. And everything else after that, you can pretty much figure out, but you have to have the right people on the bus. We were also implementing EOS at the time, and so we were really focusing on right person, right seat, and figuring out, okay, what is the right person? How do we know if they're the right person? What makes them the right person? And then being able to also figure out what is the right seat for that person and doing this all in this people process. But I became very focused on alignment and making sure that the people we had, the people we were hiring, they all aligned with this messaging. And that's where I figured out this connection of we were a relationship-driven business that really focused on serving our customers well. So, in order to be able to deliver on that experience, we needed to hire people who were very relationally driven and who cared about people and service. And that came naturally to them. And I realized that in the course of the five years that I was there, that we never once had to have a customer service training. We didn't have to coach people or train people on how to be nice to customers or how to serve them well or how to have a pleasant experience because we hired people who were naturally ingrained and wired that way, who naturally just wanted to help the person that came through the door. And that minimized a lot of customer service issues because it was already there. And I was like, oh wow, this is important. Like, this isn't something that we train on. This is something that we hire for. And I started to see this connection between our external brand messaging, where I was thinking this was all just for clients. And the big aha moment was realizing that this messaging was as important for clients and attracting the right customers as it was for making

Work Style Fit And Non Negotiables

Amy Dardis 10:20

sure that we were hiring the right employees. And everything that we said to our customers needed to be delivered by and provided by the people that we hired. So it made sense to make sure that we were communicating all of these things. We were communicating our values, we were filtering for our values, we were understanding why we did what we did and the mission that we were trying to accomplish. And we were communicating that to the candidates that we were interviewing, and we were talking about our customers and the problems that they experienced and how we were able to come in and actually help solve them. And we were looking for candidates who actually resonated with that messaging. Instead of it being something that we were just telling them and then training them on, it was looking for candidates who were like, yeah, absolutely, I'm excited by that. I want to be a part of that. That sounds like a great place to work. And then it was through this process that I realized that there were a couple more elements within this brand clarity piece that we needed to define. So out of the interview process came this understanding that we also had a specific work style, that the way that we operated within our environment from day to day, how our store felt, how our meetings felt, how our operations felt, had a specific pace and structure and vibe. And not everybody thrived within it. And so I had to understand well, what is our environment and how can I communicate that to a candidate and make sure that they know what they're getting into so that they can be set up for success, or they can actually self-select out and be like, that's actually not the kind of environment that I want to work in. And then I realized that there were also like non-negotiables. There were traits that really did not work well within our industry and how we operated. And so being very relationship-driven, we were always focused on like going above and beyond and doing what it takes to solve the problem. So a trait like someone just only doing the bare minimum, that created a lot of friction and frustration and tension. And I was like, oh, that's actually a non-negotiable for us. Like, we can't have people in this specific environment where they're not willing to step up and help. Like they have to have that drive in them. And if they're not, that ends up being something that causes enough problems and frustration that it doesn't end up working out. And either they end up leaving or we end up having to let them go. So non-negotiables, having things, sets of behaviors or traits that outside of something blatant like lying or theft, there are other behaviors and qualities in people that actually violate what it is you value. And by bringing clarity to that, you're actually creating a stronger filter. And when I think about this, I think about how the Bible talks about the fruits of the spirit, and it defines like what that looks like in our life. And so we know what fruit in our life looks like. We know that we want joy and peace and patience and kindness and seeing those in our life are from the spirit and we want more of that. But the Bible also then defines our sinful nature and it talks about greed and lust and selfish ambition and anger. And so it calls out the specific attributes and characteristics in a person and in our life that we don't want. And so the more specific we are, the more clear it is about what kind of behavior is good and what kind of behavior is bad. And so we actually want to bring that same level of clarity into our business and into how we operate so that we know as a leader and our employees know that these are the types of behaviors that we allow and that we encourage and that we want more of. And these are the types of behavior that are hurtful and harmful and that we will not tolerate. And I realized that as we defined what we valued in order to figure out if a person valued that, we were actually looking for specific traits in that person that were easier to pinpoint in someone's character or in their stories when we were going through the interview process. And so the more clear and specific we could be about our behavior, our expectations, how we operated, the environment that we operated in, the better and better we were able to identify the right type of candidates because we were able to steer our conversation through the interview process to actually filter for and verify that this person aligned with these values, with these characteristics, with these attributes.

Align People Process And Messaging

Amy Dardis 15:50

So as we got clear on this and we started hiring more and more and more of the right people, I also started seeing how not only was it who we were hiring, but it was also ingrained into how we operated and it gave us clear direction into how we made decisions and into the processes that we built. And so it affected our sales process and it affected our hiring process and it affected our service process because we had this clear purpose, we had this clear vision, we had this clear idea and expectations for how we operated as a business. And so then we started just acting more and more like that and getting rid of the things that kept us from that. And so it ended up being that we were aligning our people, our process, and our messaging. So people in alignment, we were aligning who it was that we hired as well as who it was that we attracted. And we did this through our messaging. So our messaging was what we were putting on our website, it was what we were putting in our social campaigns, in our ad campaigns. It was what we were saying in our conversations, not only to our customers and sales conversations, but we then started seeing our conversation swift in how we talked to each other and how we recognized each other and how we lifted each other up and how we talked to our vendors, and seeing that in our messaging our people and our processes, and then making sure our processes, like how we operated and how we made decisions, actually aligned with the things that we said, with the things that we did, with the things that with the people that we hired. And so this aha moment came to be like, oh wow, this clarity, the more and more clear we are on this, the more it drives everything else that we're doing. It's driving our hiring, it's driving our culture, it's driving our service, it's driving our messaging and our marketing. And that's where it created this alignment. So we had this clarity piece of figuring out, okay, what specifically do we need to clarify? And I actually break this down. I have it as a resource on my website. If you just go to Clearauthenticbrands.com slash resources, there's a brand clarity elements because it was about really focusing in on like what are the what's the key 20%? What are the key elements we need to know that really drive 80% of what we do in a business? And I'm all about minimalism, I'm all about like less is more. And so I've spent the last five years figuring out what really needs to be defined and knowing that every single one of these things shows up in every other area of our business. And if I ever define something that I felt like I didn't end up using, I chucked it, I tossed it. I was like, what really matters? And so the brand clarity elements download on the website actually is everything that I've I use it, I know how it's used, I know where it's used. And then it ends up bringing into this accountability piece, which is really just staying consistent. It's staying authentic, it's not allowing opportunities or distractions to compromise on what we have clarified as our brand identity and what we believe and what we value. And so there's specific rhythms and systems that I recommend implementing from a weekly basis, a quarterly basis, and an annual basis. And again, those are very simple, very streamlined in understanding that we all get distracted. It's it's easy to veer off course if we don't find a way to build things into our life and keep them at the center. So after I had this aha moment over, you know, a course of a few years with working inside of a business with a lot of employees and a lot of locations and a lot of moving parts and seeing how well it impacted it, seeing hiring in a competitive market, hiring a brand new

Testing The Workshop And Final Challenge

Amy Dardis 20:30

CDL division through 2020, seeing how we were attracting more and more of the right people, seeing year-over-year growth. It was amazing. It was phenomenal. And I was like, man, I think this is it. Like, I think everything starts with this clarity piece. So, what I did to test this theory is I actually went back to a lot of my web design clients that we'd known for years. And I went to them and I was like, hey, I know we built your website five years ago, eight years ago, but I've learned a lot over the years about business and about this process. And I would love to sit down with you again and go through this brand clarity workshop and see what else comes to the surface. And so it was fascinating. And I did this with realtors. I did this with like four or five different realtors and real estate brokerages and seeing how companies that all did the exact same thing, like 100% did the same thing. Each one of them had a very unique and different approach and they valued different things. And it was so interesting to see how that came to the surface. And we actually ended up redoing a lot of websites through this process because it was like, oh wow, we missed out on these concepts before. And now I'm seeing how important it is to bring this front and center and re. Rewrite this messaging so that your website aligns with everything that we just talked about through this process. I did this with guided fly fishing. I did this with a property management company. I did this with multiple different construction and contracting type agencies. And it was every single one of them. There were things that were coming to the surface that was like, oh wow, this is this is what we need to focus on. This is what we need to make sure is on your website. This is what we need to make sure is in your marketing and your ad campaigns. And then this is also what I would make sure you're interviewing for. And we create a abilities checklist because now we know who it is that we're looking for and who would thrive within your organization. And here are the questions that we would ask in order to find out if that person is going to be a good fit for your company. And it was so fun to see that not only did this work for a company that I was inside of, but it didn't require me being inside of an organization to be able to go and do this brand clarity process with, as well as implement the same clarity alignment accountability framework and see how it helped all types of people-driven service-based businesses, not just one. And even in the distribution industry, I mean, every distributor sells the same thing. They all buy their products from the same manufacturers, they all get their molecules from the same plants. So when it comes to distribution, the only differentiator you really have are your people, your service, and your process. And so being able to set yourself apart in a very clear, distinct way is really important. And so with all of these different clients that we went to, I was focused on figuring out how I can pull out their brand story in a clear, efficient way. And I realized that it didn't take two days. I mean, I think when I first started doing this process, it was like a whole day event. And then I started splitting it into two different four-hour sessions and taking time and walking people through the process. But then I was like, I don't, I didn't honestly in my life have time to do that with all of my clients for as many people as I wanted to test this with. And so I figured out a way to do it virtually and I got it down to a 90-minute phone call. And within 90 minutes, if I knew exactly what I was looking for, if I knew exactly what questions to ask, I could pull it out. And the reason I could pull it out is because this was not a process of creating anything. Like the brand is there. Every brand has their brand. It has these elements. And it's connected to the people who make the decisions. It's based on our own values, our own experiences, the things that we've lived through, the skill sets that we have. They affect how we make decisions and the companies that we start and the businesses that we lead. And so it's a matter of just drilling into the story, knowing what to look for and to pull out, and being able to package it in a clear way that says, okay, here's what it is, here's what makes you different. Now, here's how we would apply it. Here's how we would align our people, align our messaging, align our processes. And then here are the systems that you would want to use to just maintain that accountability. And in my own story, I was facing this painfully because it all comes back to this clarity piece. And I had been struggling for years to look at my own story. It is very hard to do this for yourself. It is very hard to read the label from the inside of the bottle. It is helpful to have an outsider's perspective looking at you in an unbiased way without having your own voices in your head or going back and forth. And so that's why I was able to do it so quickly for them. And also why I struggled so much to do this for myself and realizing that because I didn't have clarity, my messaging wasn't aligned, my people, my processes weren't aligned. And every time I shifted vision, I shifted direction, it then affected everything else. And the more I changed it, the more I went back and forth, the more confused I became, the more confused my customers became, because they're like, why are you not staying the same? Why is your website changing all the time? And it just ate at me. And I realized that if I was ever gonna do this right, if I was ever going to have alignment and be an authentic brand, I had to first be clear. And I forced myself to go through and look at my story and ask the questions that I ask and just pull it out because it is there. Because God orchestrates it all, He directs it all. It's in your experiences, it's in your wiring, it's in what you're passionate about and what you believe and what you feel called to. And it's just a matter of pulling it to the surface. But that clarity piece ends up being the most important foundational part. And what I found is for businesses that struggle to hire, struggle to market, struggle to redo their website or write their website or have a website that converts businesses that are struggling with culture, businesses that are struggling with turnover, a lot of times the first thing that is missing is clarity. There might be a lot of other things missing too, but if you don't have the clarity piece, then everything else will never fix the problem. Clarity ends up being the root issue. And so once we get figured out around that and we are clear on who we are, how we operate, who we serve, how we're different, those things we have to have clarity around that. Only then can we align. Only then can we create alignment with who we hire and who we serve, what we say internally and externally, how we build our processes to ensure follow through. And that creates consistency. And over time, when you attract the right people and you consistently deliver exceptional experiences, that and only that is what builds authenticity, trust, loyalty. And it all comes back to this simple framework. And so I want to just leave you with like, where are you at today? Are you struggling with marketing? Are you struggling with hiring? Are you struggling with culture, turnover, lack of direction, lack of clarity? Look at the brand, the brand clarity elements. Just go to Clearauthenticbrands.com slash resources. Look at all the elements that need to be defined. If you are missing clarity in any of these areas, if you don't have it clearly laid out, clearly defined, we can help you with that. This is we do a brand clarity workshop, less than two hours of your time, walk you through, give you the clarity you need. Because I know how hard it is to read the bottle from the inside. But check out that download and then know that hey, we're no matter what you do, no matter what you try, no matter how many consultants you hire or how many frameworks you try, if you don't start with this clarity piece, you will always go back to this. You will never get it figured out. You will always be blown and tossed by the wind. And I'm saying that just knowing that, having lived that from my own experience of knowing that it has to come back to clarity. It has to be the starting point. And once we have that, then we can build, then we can create alignment, then we can move forward with confidence. So go to Clearauthentic Brands.comslash resources, check that out. That is all for this episode. I will see you next time.