This week's episode, Marketing Like Jesus. Welcome back to Theology of Business, the show that helps marketplace leaders to integrate their faith into their businesses to make a greater impact in society and in eternity. If you want to learn more about how to partner with God in your business, this show is for you. This is a podcast by Christian business leaders for Christian business leaders. I'm your host, Darren Shearer, author of the book Marketing Like Jesus, and founder of High Bridge Books. High Bridge Books offers professional book publishing services for inspiring thought leaders. If you're interested in publishing a book to spread your ideas, I have two free author training videos that I want to share with you. One is titled How to Write a Great Nonfiction Book, and the other is 12 Ways to Sell More Books. You can get the links to view both of these resources by requesting them at hybridgebooks.com. If Jesus taught a class about marketing, what do you think he would say? Considering that one out of every three people in the world claims to be a follower of Jesus, without a doubt, Jesus is the most effective marketer. He's the most effective strategic influencer in history. So whether you're a business person trying to sell more products or services, or you're working in the nonprofit world trying to recruit donors and volunteers, or a pastor trying to get more members, or a politician trying to get more votes, or as a thought leader trying to gain acceptance of an idea, Jesus has a model for you laid out in the four gospels in the Bible that can help you to make a profound positive impact on the world. So why did I start exploring this topic of marketing like Jesus? And actually, as I mentioned just a little bit ago, I have a book titled Marketing Like Jesus, subtitled 25 Strategies to Change the World. I started to write this book because I realized that no function of an organization is more important than marketing. I mean, whether you're trying to communicate an idea, sell products or services, get members, raise donations, get votes, it all comes down to marketing. And also because we need an example of a non-sleazy, non-manipulative marketer. And then based on my research and experience and seminary, I found that this aspect of Jesus has gone largely unexplored. And also I started to write this book because I realized that Jesus is the most effective marketer in history. I'm going to break this down a little bit more. So marketing is critical to every organization. What do I mean by marketing? It's strategic influence. And so whether you're talking about advertising or branding or sales, direct sales, all of the different kinds of subsets of marketing all kind of fall up underneath that umbrella. Marketing at its core, regardless of whether you're what form you're doing it in, it's about leading the way toward a mutually beneficial exchange with another person. That's what marketing is. It's about seeking a response. It's not just about putting your stuff out there, it's actually about putting it out there in a way that you're trying to get a res get people to respond in a certain way to whatever it is that you're offering. And then without marketers, because of the role they play, nothing gets done without marketers because no one gets involved. Nobody hears about it, nobody's interested in it. So that's why marketers they truly bring a sense of purpose and mission to their organizations and to society as a whole. The other thing I mentioned was that we need an example of a non-sleazy, non-manipulative marketer. Unfortunately, marketers have been largely viewed as takers, yet, Jesus was the most generous person in all of history. And you might say, well, Jesus didn't require anything from people. His invitation in every case, it was to follow me. Follow me. That's what Jesus, that was the invitation, it was an imperative invitation that demanded something from the person. So he asked professional fishermen to drop their nets and follow him. He asked a rich young ruler to sell all of his possessions, give the proceeds to the poor and follow him. He asked large groups of people to leave their closest family members to follow him. Not only was Jesus interested in marketing this invitation to humanity, it truly was his entire purpose for coming to the earth. According to the Bible, he descended from heaven to earth to bring a message. The Bible says that the that the word became flesh, the message became flesh. Jesus was the message, God's message to humanity. It was a message of love, a message of hope, and a message of freedom. And and so if you're thinking that, well, Jesus didn't demand anything or he didn't expect anything in return, well, that I think misses the the gospel because the gospel is an invitation, it's good news, but it's it's an invitation to an exchanged life. Because the cost to accept what Jesus was marketing and to follow him was everything. And as a marketer seeking to influence people strategically, Jesus he felt the pain of rejection. He felt the joy of seeing somebody that uh that accepted his message. He felt the joy of getting his point across and seeing a life changed, knowing that people were buying into his message. I also mentioned a minute ago that I found that this aspect of Jesus as a marketer has been largely unexplored because usually when we talk about Jesus, we're talking about what he was marketing, which was the gospel, and then why he was marketing his message ultimately to bring glory to his father in heaven. But but this I'm trying to focus on how he marketed. That's what marketing like Jesus is about. So we're talking about in this episode today. How did he do his marketing in a in a tactical, practical way that you could take and apply some of these strategies in marketing in your own business? And and and how have others used these strategies in their own context and and also how can you do this in your own business? Also mentioned that I started to research this concept of marketing like Jesus because I realized that Jesus is the most effective marketer in history. I mean, nobody even comes close, nobody has influenced the world more profoundly than Jesus. Yet I hadn't found any books or podcasts about how to apply his marketing strategies to my own organization. I mean, his followers number between like one and a quarter to two billion people. I mean, of course, we can argue what exactly is a Christian, and uh, and to be sure, a lot of people that think they're Christians aren't Christians, but that's probably another uh discussion to have on probably another podcast. Uh actually, we may end up getting into that on this podcast. But but there's no question that approximately one and a quarter to two billion people in the world identify, at least identify, even if in name only, as Christians, as followers of Jesus. And what's interesting about this massive group of believers is that it's decentralized. So it's not like all of the believers are in the same kind of hometown where Jesus lived. No, it has spread all over the world. About 70% of people that claim to be followers of Jesus live in the southern hemisphere, South America, Africa, and the East. I mean, the calendar system that we use, at least in the in the Western world, is marked by the day of his birth. I mean, BC is before Christ. And then, of course, our calendar marks from the the point of his birth, approximately. And then the best-selling, most read book in the history of the world, not any of the Hunger Games books, not Harry Potter, not any of these other best-selling books, the Bible has sold an estimated six billion copies, uh, or X an estimated six billion copies have been printed in about 2,000 languages and dialects. The most watched film in history is the Jesus film. I mean, Campus Crusade for Christ has taken this film not just in theaters, but in that will go into a remote village in Africa, set up a projector, and show it to the people in their own language. I mean, it is the Jesus film about Jesus' life, is the most watched film in history. And then despite all the attacks, I mean, just hearing the news recently about these men that were beheaded uh for their faith in Jesus, uh these these Egyptian men have made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of Christ and giving up their own lives, refusing to deny their relationship with Jesus. And not only has Jesus made an impact in all of the world, Jesus has made an impact in our own many of our own personal lives, especially if you're listening to this podcast, you you probably have a relationship with Jesus. If you don't, I invite you to find out what this is all about. Who is this Jesus? Because he was he either lied, he was either a liar, he was either crazy, or he was who he said he was, which is the Lord of everything, the maker of the heavens and the earth, and and the son of God who laid down his life, who demonstrated the ultimate act of love by dying for the sins of humanity, because a price had to be paid for our sins, for every way in which we have violated our Creator, and He made a way to have a relationship with our Maker, with the God of the heavens and the earth when there was no way. He is the way, the truth, and the life. So if you're looking for truth, if you're looking for the way, if you're looking for answers in any aspect of life, it's found in the person of Jesus Christ. And that impact, that revelation has just completely transformed my life. I mean, I went from a backslidden preacher's kid that had no purpose, no hope, uh to getting on the road toward fulfilling God's purpose for my life, and he filled me with joy, he filled me with peace, and and he filled me with purpose, which I'm now carrying out today uh in one way, as being the host of this podcast. So Jesus has made an incredible impact on the world and in many of our personal lives. So, so how did he do it? And we're not just talking about what was he marketing, but how did he do it? And and in my book, Marketing Like Jesus, I talk about 25 strategies, 25 specific ways in which Jesus did marketing that you could take and apply in your own business to market your own products, services, and ideas. And in the book, I divided them as I saw them kind of emerge into five core uh uh tasks, if you will, of marketing. One is to serve, number two is to target, three is to connect, four is to lead, and five is to multiply. And we don't have time to talk about all of the different strategies today, but I want to focus on one on this this week's episode, and this comes out of the target category, and the strategy is to define your target group. So, although Jesus' vision was to spread his message throughout the entire world through his followers, of course, that's what the Great Commission was all about, he didn't try to reach everyone with his message during his his own personal three-year public ministry. Instead, what he did was he targeted a specific subgroup of people within a specific ethnic group. And you see this when a non-Jewish woman, uh known as a Gentile woman, came to Jesus to request a miracle for her demon-possessed daughter, Jesus said to her, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And he did end up granting that woman the miracle that she requested, but he still made his point about his targeting strategy. So even though he loved everyone, he chose to spend nearly all of his time ministering to those that were Jewish, more specifically, those who were on the fringes of this first century Jewish society. For Jesus, targeting the down and out of Jewish society wasn't just about being humble and going after the least of these. It was about, it was also about targeting a specific group of people because it was strategic. I mean, you look at his career choice as a blue-collar worker, he could have been one of the Pharisees, he could have, he could have gone to the top schools, he could have uh kind of risen to the top of the social hierarchy, but instead he chose to become a blue-collar worker, a carpenter, because he wanted to establish common ground with this target group. And the ordinary Jewish people were the ones that he spent almost all of his time with, and they ultimately were the ones that would constitute his core marketing team, known as the 12 apostles. So have you defined your target group? And more specifically, do you have a target person in mind? I recommend that you uh first of all identify who that person is that you are most qualified, most gifted, and most passionate about helping, and become laser focused about who that person is, and then ask, am I establishing common ground with this person, with this target group? And then for your core marketing team, make sure that your target group is represented well among uh among your core marketing team. The next strategy I want to talk about is to be proud to ask big. Let's face it, it is hard to ask people to pay a high price or to give a commitment, but Jesus never seemed to hesitate when it came to asking audaciously. He once one time he said to a rich young ruler that was asking about uh following him and what do we have to do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said, Go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and come, follow me. So when it came time to close the deal and make the big ask, Jesus didn't dance around the issue. He asked for massive commitments that carried high costs, high commitments. And after all, a high value reward, it really demands a high-level commitment. So whatever you're offering, it it should be the asking should be in proportion to the value of whatever it is that you're offering. And and Jesus asked big because he was proud of what he was offering, he was convinced that it was in the best interest of people, that it filled fulfilled his higher purpose, and and because it cost him everything. I find that frequently marketers try to hide the cost of what they're offering, and and probably either because they're afraid that the cost might scare people away, or they're afraid really they just don't believe in what they're offering, or they're not even using it themselves. They're not buying into what they're uh what they're marketing themselves. But Jesus did exactly the opposite. He asked for big commitments so audaciously that at first it almost seems like he was trying to discourage people from accepting his message and from becoming his follower. But of course, we know that that's not what he was trying to do. He wasn't trying to discourage people from following him. Instead, he wanted them to count the cost of what he was offering. How difficult is it for you to ask people to commit to what you're offering? There is absolutely a season for asking for small commitments. I mean, letting people taste and see. You heard me at the beginning of this podcast, give you an opportunity to go and watch a couple of training videos that I put a lot of hours into preparing. Ultimately, I want you to learn more about the publishing services that my company offers. That's why, that's why I did that. So there's a season for that, but at some point, it's time to make the big ask. And it's it's usually easier for us to just sort of describe our product services and causes, but far more uncomfortable to ask somebody directly to take a specific action, like buy my product, subscribe to my service, sign up for this cause, donate to my charity, vote for my team, uh, you know, or vote for me, join my team. So, whatever it is that you're offering, make sure that you recognize you've properly assessed the value that you're buying into whatever it is that you're marketing. That's going to give you the courage to ask big for whatever it is that you're marketing. I want to wrap up this episode by praying for for you. Heavenly Father, God, I pray for the listeners, God, that are marketing things even today, even this week, God, that you would give them the boldness, if they're convinced that what they're offering is something that's going to help people, that's going to be a blessing to people, that's going to glorify you through service to people. God, I pray that you would give them such zeal, such passion for whatever it is, even something uh that might even seem insignificant, even something that they might not even feel like you care about, God, that you would just reveal to them how important it is that that people, that they get this thing or or this idea or whatever it is they're marketing into uh the hands of people so that it can be a blessing to them. God, I pray that you would give them favor with the people that they're marketing to. God, that people would be receptive and that their lives would be would be blessed by whatever it is that they're getting ready to experience. In Jesus' name, amen. That's all for this week. If there's a topic you'd like to hear discussed on the Theology of Business podcast, feel free to reach out to me personally on Twitter at Darren Shear or through theology of business.com. I'd love to hear your feedback and would especially love to hear a testimony of what God is doing in your business. You can also leave your comments in the form of a rating and review for this podcast on iTunes. Thanks for listening and keep doing great things for God and with God in the marketplace.