Chick Fil-A Drops the Mic On You Fools! (If you’re in sales you should pay attention.)

Addendum: Donald Miller runs a podcast called “Story Brand.” Do me a favor (do you a favor) and listen to the podcast. You will not be upset that you listened, and it will make you a better person/professional.

I’m not going into depth of, Story Brand, but I will say if you subscribe to what they preach you will benefit greatly.

Imagine you’re driving down the street and you see three restaurants coming up. Two are on the same side of the street (McDonald’s and Burger King). The third is Chick Fil-A (opposite side of the street from where you are.) Which do you end up choosing? I bet I know!

The better question is, How did you feel when you saw the Chick Fil-A versus McDonalds or Burger King?

Whether you know it or not, there are things going on in your brain that you aren’t consciously aware of, but Chick Fil-A is, and if you’re in sales you need to pay attention!

CFA has figured out something that we as people, professionals, and leaders need to better understand. They have built their brand around a story. Why? Have you ever forgotten a great story?

Assume I know nothing about Chick Fil-A but I see it packed constantly. Naturally I ask you what’s so cool about Chick Fil-A? What will you say?

Most likely you’d say something like, “Well, the food is great but what’s really cool is you go in and it’s not like a fast food restaurant. People are nice to you, the customer service is awesome, it’s clean and everyone is happy.”

Guess what? You just retold the exact story CFA wants you to tell. THAT, is a Story Brand, and if you brand your company, or even yourself, in terms of having a great story you’ll have a huge advantage over competition.

Proof in the Numbers:

• Average Chick Fil-A customer spends $7.65 per visit vs the average McDonald’s customer that spends $6.25.
• Average Chick-fil-a store $3.1million. Average KFC $960,000 per store, Jason’s Deli $2.7 million per store, Panera and McDonald’s $2.5 million per store (Business Insider.)
• ACSI: Chick Fil-A Ranked #1 in U.S. Based Food Chains. McDonald’s Last!

By the way, Chick Fil-A does all of this open one less day a week!

How does Chick Fil-A create this incredible story in a shorter amount of time?

People operate in simple terms. We have things that we want (like a new car) and things that we need (air to breath). They can also be broken down into internal problems and external problems.

1. External Problems: You’re hungry. Basic and Easy… you want food and Chick Fil-A seems like a great place to fill that need. More importantly, the chicken is the bomb yo!

2. Internal Problems: This is more of a desire to feel like you’re doing a good thing by going to Chick Fil-A. You aren’t a bad parent for taking your kids or spending $8 on breakfast. It’s Chick Fil-A! Value driven organization and that can’t be bad.

To make Chick Fil-A even more attractive to people they also fill a philosophical need.

3. Philosophical Need: The feeling like you’re part of a greater good. When you go to Chick Fil-A you’re doing something positive for the world. It may sound ridiculous but it’s almost as if you’re doing charitable work….it’s not about you.

Chick Fil-A’s Mission Statement and Purpose

Chick Fil-A hasn’t figured out how to sell chicken better than everyone else. Chick Fil-A simply connected their mission as a company to the customers they serve. They didn’t build their story around numbers, but instead built them around our needs and wants.

Time and time again we’ve been told, “It’s not personal, it’s business.” Chick Fil-A has gone in the opposite direction. Business is extremely personal to them, and we should all take a page out of their book.

Here’s the deal. I’m not going to tell you how to sell or how to sell better. What Chick Fil-A does clearly works, and it’s not rocket science. You know that whole, “People do business with people they like.” Of course they do, but “liking” someone versus being “invested” in someone are totally different items.

You cannot fake being a genuine person. You either care or you don’t….. so care! Think about how Chick Fil-A goes about their daily grind in the quick service industry.

Chick Fil-A’s Mission Statement: “That we might glorify God by being a faithful steward in all that is entrusted to our care, and that we might have a positive influence on all the people that we might come in contact with.”

You can believe what you want to believe. I don’t particularly care and it’s none of my business, but the last piece, “that we might have a positive influence on all the people that we might come in contact with.” That, my friends, is genuine. They care because they care and NOT because they want to make money.

So, simply put: Be genuine. Care about your customers, and constantly strive to better yourself. (It also might not be a bad idea to bring them Chick Fil-A for your next meeting….it’s delicious.

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