A Little Colonel Of Truth: How Sanders Turned KFC Into A Global Success
A Little Colonel Of Truth: How Sanders Turned KFC Into A Global Success
Branding: Sanders did not think he was a particularly handsome man, but he knew that associating his company with the character of a southern Kentucky Colonel would mean big bucks for business. Indeed, Sanders’ image has been so successful for the company that its logo has undergone only five minor changes in its decades of operation.
Marketing: Who would have ever thought that there could be so much appeal to knowing the recipe for fried chicken? The answer? Colonel Sanders, for one. He knew that by keeping his special blend of 11 herbs and spices a secret, more people would be induced to try it. Sanders was a brilliant marketer who knew what it would take to lure people to his food.
Determination: Few 60 year olds would be able to handle hearing rejection more than 1,000 times and keep going. But then Sanders was no ordinary 60 year old. Indeed, whether it was KFC or one of his prior failed startups, Sanders never seemed to care about what was standing in his way. Instead, he only focused on clearing the obstacles on the road to success.
Quality: Practices such as being able to see into the kitchen of a restaurant have become somewhat mainstream in today’s world. But, in Sanders’ time, such things were unheard of. He was one of the first entrepreneurs to promise high standards and allow customers to judge for themselves whether or not he was telling the truth. It was that demonstration of commitment to keeping high standards that kept customers coming back for more.
Resourcefulness: Sanders is proof that you do not need a large amount seed money to get a company started. Nor do you need to have a proven track record of success. Armed with little more than an idea and a recipe, Sanders started small and began to scale up. Taking things one step at a time, one franchisee at a time, and one gas tank at a time, Sanders proved that you can in fact build something from nothing, and that something can be great.
Sanders was proud of the company he started, and despite his regrets about selling it off, he remained involved with KFC until the day he died. Indeed, he continued to travel approximately 160,000 kilometers every year, visiting KFC franchise outlets on a regular basis. He also spent much of his time devoted to charity, and became particularly known for his adoption of 78 foreign orphans. After all, “there’s no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery,” Sanders once said. “You can’t do any business from there.”
A Little Colonel Of Truth How Sanders Turned KFC Into A Global Success
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“Life as I have known it has been Finger Lickin’ Good.” That was the title of Sanders’ autobiography. Indeed, for this entrepreneur who started off on the brink of poverty, life seemed to have gotten a whole lot better for him. After numerous failed startups, Kentucky Fried Chicken would be the one to finally stick. Today, the company has one of the most recognizable brands in the world. How did Sanders turn a little service station into the international fast-food franchising success it is now?
Branding: Sanders did not think he was a particularly handsome man, but he knew that associating his company with the character of a southern Kentucky Colonel would mean big bucks for business. Indeed, Sanders’ image has been so successful for the company that its logo has undergone only five minor changes in its decades of operation.
Marketing: Who would have ever thought that there could be so much appeal to knowing the recipe for fried chicken? The answer? Colonel Sanders, for one. He knew that by keeping his special blend of 11 herbs and spices a secret, more people would be induced to try it. Sanders was a brilliant marketer who knew what it would take to lure people to his food.
Determination: Few 60 year olds would be able to handle hearing rejection more than 1,000 times and keep going. But then Sanders was no ordinary 60 year old. Indeed, whether it was KFC or one of his prior failed startups, Sanders never seemed to care about what was standing in his way. Instead, he only focused on clearing the obstacles on the road to success.
Quality: Practices such as being able to see into the kitchen of a restaurant have become somewhat mainstream in today’s world. But, in Sanders’ time, such things were unheard of. He was one of the first entrepreneurs to promise high standards and allow customers to judge for themselves whether or not he was telling the truth. It was that demonstration of commitment to keeping high standards that kept customers coming back for more.
Resourcefulness: Sanders is proof that you do not need a large amount seed money to get a company started. Nor do you need to have a proven track record of success. Armed with little more than an idea and a recipe, Sanders started small and began to scale up. Taking things one step at a time, one franchisee at a time, and one gas tank at a time, Sanders proved that you can in fact build something from nothing, and that something can be great.
Sanders was proud of the company he started, and despite his regrets about selling it off, he remained involved with KFC until the day he died. Indeed, he continued to travel approximately 160,000 kilometers every year, visiting KFC franchise outlets on a regular basis. He also spent much of his time devoted to charity, and became particularly known for his adoption of 78 foreign orphans. After all, “there’s no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery,” Sanders once said. “You can’t do any business from there.”
A Little Colonel Of Truth How Sanders Turned KFC Into A Global Success
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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