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Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie · Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie-A Proverb Per Day Keeps Stinking Thinking At Bay

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 7 hits hard.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's the kind of chapter that makes us sit up straight, not just because it deals with lust.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: The entire chapter is a warning, a red flag, a flashing neon sign that says, don't get seduced.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: But this isn't just about adultery from my perspective.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the marketplace,
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  SPEAKER_00: seduction looks like discounts that violate our values,
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  SPEAKER_00: customers who care more about price than partnership,
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  SPEAKER_00: and shortcuts that steal integrity one transaction at a time.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Today, we're in Proverbs 7, 21 through 23, because it's the seventh day of the month.
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  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie,
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  SPEAKER_00: where a proverb a day keeps stinking thinking away.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, hello,
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm Ernie Lansford,
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  SPEAKER_00: and it truly is my desire to help us connect biblical wisdom from the book
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  SPEAKER_00: of Proverbs to everyday marketplace decisions.
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  SPEAKER_00: And this allows us to build relationships that outlast transactions.
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  SPEAKER_00: So grab your cup of coffee, tea, latte, water.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Let's just get started.
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  SPEAKER_00: We're focusing basically on the entire chapter of Proverbs 7 today.
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  SPEAKER_00: And it's a chapter that centers on one major theme.
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  SPEAKER_00: Do not be seduced.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, Solomon warns his son in vivid detail about a wanton woman.
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  SPEAKER_00: And yes, it's clearly about avoiding sexual temptation.
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  SPEAKER_00: But from my perspective, there's a deeper principle here for the Marketplace.
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  SPEAKER_00: When something looks good and sounds sweet and feels like a shortcut,
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  SPEAKER_00: it often leads to destruction.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, reading from Proverbs 7,
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  SPEAKER_00: 21 through 23 from the NIV, quote, With persuasive words she led him astray.
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  SPEAKER_00: She seduced him with her smooth talk.
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  SPEAKER_00: All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter.
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  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
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  SPEAKER_00: When I read that,
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  SPEAKER_00: and I've read it many times,
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  SPEAKER_00: that line stops me in my tracks because I've seen people and businesses walk right
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  SPEAKER_00: into that same trap.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I've been there, done that too.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: But let me be clear.
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  SPEAKER_00: Business can be and should be joyful.
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  SPEAKER_00: It can be relational.
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  SPEAKER_00: It should be relational.
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  SPEAKER_00: It can even be playful.
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  SPEAKER_00: But it should never be promiscuous.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's what I mean.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you're giving one-off deals to new, flashy,
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  SPEAKER_00: potentially high-volume customers at the expense of your long-term partners,
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  SPEAKER_00: you're dancing with seduction.
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  SPEAKER_00: And when you ignore your company's own pricing and policies or integrity to close
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  SPEAKER_00: a deal, well, you're flirting with destruction.
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  SPEAKER_00: And when producers get swept off their feet by rogue resellers,
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  SPEAKER_00: those who buy big but add no value, well, that's the business version of adultery.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: You see, from my perspective and my experience, these resellers do not build brands.
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  SPEAKER_00: They really do not even expand the market pie.
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  SPEAKER_00: They just take someone else's slice.
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  SPEAKER_00: They rarely pioneer brands.
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  SPEAKER_00: They rarely serve.
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  SPEAKER_00: They're what I call the click and ship type of resaler.
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  SPEAKER_00: And they leave nothing but transactional carnage behind.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's all from my perspective.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, Solomon didn't mince words, and neither will I.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's not make a deal with a seducer.
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  SPEAKER_00: No matter how big that purchase order is,
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  SPEAKER_00: the best customers are like the wife of your youth, faithful, proven, loyal.
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  SPEAKER_00: They've walked with you through product launches,
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  SPEAKER_00: market dips, price increases, and inventory shortage.
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  SPEAKER_00: They don't seduce you to grow with them.
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  SPEAKER_00: There's no seduction.
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  SPEAKER_00: There's just mutual growth.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the B2B2C channel where I've invested my life since 1971,
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  SPEAKER_00: I've learned that credibility matters.
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  SPEAKER_00: A rogue customer might look like a momentum in the short term,
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  SPEAKER_00: but they'll unravel everything we've built with our true partners over time.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is about a legacy stewardship, not just sales volume.
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  SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today's customer success code, promiscuous business is transactional adultery.
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  SPEAKER_00: Guard your pricing,
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  SPEAKER_00: your process, and your partnerships like legacy depends on it, because it does.
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  SPEAKER_00: Here's today's action points, frankly titled, Don't Take the Bait.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's get practical.
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  SPEAKER_00: Action point number one, examine your customer list.
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  SPEAKER_00: Who are your loyal partners?
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  SPEAKER_00: And who's showing signs of rogue, seducing behavior?
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  SPEAKER_00: Action point number two, define the appearance of promiscuous business.
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  SPEAKER_00: Are there any deals and discounts or decisions that violate your stated values
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  SPEAKER_00: or betray your faithful customers?
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  SPEAKER_00: Action point number three,
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  SPEAKER_00: ask yourself this, am I being seduced by volume Or am I building long-term value?
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  SPEAKER_00: Action point number four is hold the line.
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  SPEAKER_00: Please do not give in to pressure.
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  SPEAKER_00: Do not make those one-off exceptions that send the wrong message to your loyal customer base.
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  SPEAKER_00: And action point number five, respond with conviction, not compromise.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you've already been drawn into a transactional trap,
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  SPEAKER_00: Now is the time to reset your standards,
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  SPEAKER_00: realign your policies, and restore your integrity.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Lord God, hallowed be your name.
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  SPEAKER_00: Please keep me from the temptation to make a deal that sacrifices my integrity for profit.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your word tells me that the love of money is the root of all evil.
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  SPEAKER_00: You told us, Lord Jesus, that we cannot serve you and mammon.
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  SPEAKER_00: We have to choose.
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  SPEAKER_00: And the love of money is the root of all evil.
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  SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit,
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  SPEAKER_00: convict me when I love revenue more than relationships,
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  SPEAKER_00: when I chase applause instead of alignment.
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  SPEAKER_00: Keep me faithful to your path and to those you've called me to serve.
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  SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name.
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  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
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  SPEAKER_00: Well,
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  SPEAKER_00: thank you for joining me for today's episode of Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee
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  SPEAKER_00: with Ernie.
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  SPEAKER_00: I hope I have inspired you and caused you to think a little differently,
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  SPEAKER_00: but I also want to be clear.
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  SPEAKER_00: My goal is to offer practical applications from my 60-plus
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  SPEAKER_00: years of experience in
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  SPEAKER_00: the marketplace.
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  SPEAKER_00: I've been in the marketplace now.
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  SPEAKER_00: Since 1966, and I'm not here to teach doctrine.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm committed to staying true to God's Word and avoiding any false teaching.
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  SPEAKER_00: I want to focus only on how these verses guide us in serving with integrity and wisdom.
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  SPEAKER_00: So if you feel I'm teaching false doctrine, please call me out, Ernie, at Ernie.Coach.
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  SPEAKER_00: I speak number six, 24 through 26 over you.
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  SPEAKER_00: May the Lord bless you and protect you.
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  SPEAKER_00: May the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
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  SPEAKER_00: May the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.
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  SPEAKER_00: If this episode helped you think a little differently,
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  SPEAKER_00: a little wiser and lead a little better, well then please share it.
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  SPEAKER_00: And remember, success is temporal.
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  SPEAKER_00: Adding significance to others is infinite.
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  SPEAKER_00: I look forward to meeting with you again on the next episode of Marketplace Proverbs
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: and Coffee with Ernie.