What does your sign say?

What Does Your Sign Say? Personal Branding 101

The early 1990’s was a time of great global expansion for the foodservice industry. The goal was to open as many restaurants, in as many countries, as fast as possible. Working as a consultant for one of the industry leaders, I traveled extensively developing new markets and opening restaurants. As I moved from market to market and country to country, I noticed the same scenario would play out. We would have these long, drawn out, multi-departmental strategic planning sessions to align all on how best to penetrate the market and successfully grow the brand. Every department was well represented; operations, human resources, legal, accounting and finance, construction, real estate, marketing, purchasing, etc. etc. We would sit around these huge conference room tables and each department, with their silo mentality, pushing their agendas and believing that their department would form the groundwork for success. If they could only understand what I had already come to learn.

You want to know the most important factor in the success of the new restaurant? Simple, HOW BIG IS THE SIGN. In other words, that restaurant’s initial success had a direct correlation to its VISIBILTY. The more visible, the more revenue.

So what does a business sign have to do with YOU. Let’s face it, you are the CEO of this corporation that you call YOU. Besides being the CEO, you are also the Vice President of operations, human resources, legal, accounting and finance, construction, real estate, marketing, purchasing, etc. etc. YOU get the picture. If you haven’t figured it out by now……YOU are the sign!

As the CEO of YOU, your main duty is to increase revenue and grow your brand. So, what does your sign say when you meet someone or when you walk into a room? Most of you are doing a terrible job as the CEO of YOU. In fact, if you were to be truly honest with yourself, you would fire yourself as the CEO and hire someone else to do the job. Someone that will deliver increased revenue and grow your brand.

In the coming weeks, I will be taking YOU on a deeper look into “What Does Your Sign Say” and how to use your sign to:

Increase Earnings Potential
Attract Influential People
Increase Credibility
Communicate Identity
Develop Prestige
Improve Brand Recognition
Add Perceived Value

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