Bennett Richardson came from Google, Politico, and Semaphore to become the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Less than a year into his role, he was promoted to CMO. His job: Market to three stakeholders at once - 1.5 million realtor members, Capitol Hill and policymakers, and the American consumer. And rebuild trust. In this episode, Bennett breaks down his philosophy that "building trust with a brand is just like building trust with a person," how NAR communicates at scale without hitting the unsubscribe button, the NAR Influencer Program (1,200 realtors and growing at nar.realtor/influencers), humanizing the brand by getting real people on camera, Think Again by Adam Grant and the importance of pivoting, and why his X-factor is simply loving people and keeping it human. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS0:00 - Intro: The Real Estate Industry Doesn't Hand Out Easy Moments 1:20 - Bennett Richardson: From Google to NAR 2:26 - Realtors Show Up Every Day Unemployed 3:52 - Three Stakeholders: Members, Capitol Hill, Consumers 5:05 - Putting Members First: Know Your Customer 6:28 - Diverse Communications for Diverse Membership 8:51 - Consumer Ad Campaign Launched a Month Ago 9:08 - If You're Telling Them Everything, You're Sending Too Much 10:38 - Personalization and Diversification Strategy 11:07 - Launching Broker-Specific Newsletter 12:34 - Humanizing NAR: Getting Real People on Camera 13:13 - NAR Influencer Program (nar.realtor/influencers) 15:08 - Building Trust: It's Just Like Building Trust with a Person 16:37 - How Do You Build Trust at Scale? 17:30 - Nikia Wright's Tour and Leadership 19:04 - Promises Made, Promises Kept 20:38 - How Do You Build Trust at Scale? (Deep Dive) 21:04 - Accountability-Focused Communications 22:29 - Kevin Brown Hadn't Been Home in Six Weeks 23:40 - Not Leaving Anyone Out or Anyone Behind 24:54 - Not Being Afraid to Pivot 25:58 - Think Again by Adam Grant 27:17 - Bennett's X-Factor: I Love People 28:39 - Keep It Human and Keep It Friendly 🎯 KEY TAKEAWAYS✔️ Bennett came from Google, Politico, Semaphore to NAR as CMO ✔️ Three stakeholders: 1.5M realtor members, Capitol Hill, American consumers ✔️ "Building trust with a brand is just like building trust with a person" ✔️ Show up when you say you will, do what you said, follow through ✔️ Promises made, promises kept = foundation of accountability ✔️ If you're telling them everything, you're sending too much ✔️ Solution: Personalization, diversification, segmentation ✔️ NAR Influencer Program: 1,200 realtors at nar.realtor/influencers ✔️ Humanizing the brand: real people on camera (economists, researchers, advocates) ✔️ Sharing the microphone with membership voices ✔️ Kevin Brown (NAR president) 6 weeks on the road showing up for members ✔️ Think Again by Adam Grant: importance of pivoting mid-strategy ✔️ "Realtors show up every day unemployed - re-earn that business each transaction" ✔️ Bennett's X-factor: loving people, keeping it human