Well shit, I was wrong.

In fact, I’ve been wrong for way too many years.  

I’m been spouting off at the mouth about the importance of building your brand through your marketing.  I’ve been passionate about the opportunity that exists today with social media and digital marketing as a whole.  We are in the greatest time ever to market and I get excited.

Then recently I was asked by one of our employees “why has one particular client done SO WELL with what we’re preaching.  What is it about him, that has him bought in 100%?”

That was a thought provoking question, and knew the answer.  

That client had freed himself from being occupied by daily nuances most restaurant owners have, operational challenges and financial needs.  When you couple that with a drive to do more, you get what I consider to be our #1 client ever.  

It was literally the first time I’d ever thought of it at that level.  It was the first time I went deep into the WHY he was able or willing to do what he did to grow his restaurant by millions. 

So that got me thinking.  If it took that perfect storm of the right person, the crazy drive and finely tuned operations, then why in the hell do I think others will follow me?

But more than that, am I creating ideas and strategies that apply to the 1% and if so WHY?  

Our company’s mission is simple, “to help restaurants double their sales by finding more frequent customers.”  

And I know it’s 100% possible, but what if I’m teaching at too high of a level.  What if my expectations of what an owner should do NOW are too focused on a result that will come in 2-3 years.   They might not be here then.

And that’s when it hit me…I WAS WRONG!  

I was wrong to overlook the main thing everyone needs help with NOW.  

So with that we tweaked our messaging and a renewed focus is being placed on ONE big initiative.

DRIVE SALES

I realize it’s my duty to help restaurants DRIVE SALES and then build brand.  

Yes I still 100% believe you should aim to build a brand that sells itself, but if you never get there, then who gives a shit.  

YOU NEED SALES, and you need them now!  

And I get that.  

As I was having this conversation I  began to internalize it.  “I asked myself, Matt, why aren’t you obsessed with everything we do for restaurants having a systematic trackable system to drive sales?”  

And the answer was pretty simple and the same as you.  I am obsessed right now with our company’s cash flow and operational challenges.  I have no choice, I have to make sure we MAKE it to the other side.  That’s one of the big reasons I’ve not been as focused as I could be on our core goal, driving sales.  

And I think the reason this was an easy thing for me to see when the question arose was due to the fact that I’m in the same place so many of our restaurant customers are.  Yes, I’m in a unique position where I’ve carved out a large chunk of our weekly cashflow to help us build a massive brand with America’s Best Restaurants and Repeat Returns, but me taking that risk has forced me to focus on 3-5 items vs 1.

That 1 item should be without a doubt an industry best platform that is one dimensional, it predictably drives sales for restaurants.  But because I’m in the trenches with certain day to day items, it’s hard to have the level of focus or OBSESSION you need on that 1 time.  

So with that simple question about one of our clients comes my renewed focus.  

And it also brings a deeper level of symphony for our clients.

SCREW branding and everything that gets you there. 

Let’s focus right now on DRIVING MASSIVE SALES!  

Let’s focus on helping you increase your weekly sales so that you have breathing room.  So that you have the ability to start thinking about other items that will make your restaurant a legacy brand, a local institution.