Page 114 - Midas Touch

If you are just building your brand, or thinking about it, understand that
the integrity of your brand must speak for itself. That should be made
clear from the beginning. For example, if you are holding an authentic
Fabergé egg in your hand, or the Hope Diamond, it’s not really necessary
to give a sales pitch. Doing so might make someone wonder if they were

the real thing. Keep quality controls on your sales pitches. Desperation
never comes off well.

When I was just starting out, I already had the “only the best” attitude
going. I always had it in me, and it’s something I lived up to. Reputation is
something you can’t buy. I knew I wanted to establish my brand in the best
way possible right away. The renovation of the old Commodore Hotel into
the beautiful Grand Hyatt Hotel put me on the map as someone who did

good work. Trump Tower cemented that reputation in 1983 and, if you
visit Trump Tower, you will still see a remarkably beautiful building.

Building a brand is like building a skyscraper—the foundation comes first
and, the bigger the building, the deeper the foundation needs to be. In fact,
it helps me to think in construction terms. Do you have a blueprint for
your brand? Is the foundation deep and strong enough to support a big
structure? Don’t leave anything to happenstance. People like safety. A

strong brand gives them that safety. When people buy Gucci, they know
they’re getting high-quality design and materials. They’re not taking a
chance. If they stay at a Trump hotel, they know they’ll have state-of-the-
art accommodations and service. From the employees’ perspective, a
strong brand means pride and security. From the customers’ perspective, it

means the same thing: pride in owning a great product, and security that
the quality will be there. As Robert said, a brand name without a great
company behind it is nothing.

Set the Example
I realize that I set the example. My employees and partners see how hard
and how long I work every day. They see my standards. That allows the

brand to flourish within our company. We don’t have long meetings or pep
meetings of any sort, because they’re usually not necessary. If someone
needs to know something, he or she can come ask me. I have an open-door
policy. I’m accessible because I like to know what’s going on. People
understand that my time is limited, so they learn to be brief and to the