A process for alkylating an aromatic compound comprising reacting (a) a first amount of at least one aromatic compound with a first amount of a mixture of olefins having from about 8 to about 100 carbon atoms, in the presence of a strong acid catalyst; and reacting the product of (a) with an additional amount of at least one aromatic compound and an additional amount of a strong acid catalyst, and optionally, with an additional amount of a mixture of olefins selected from olefins having from about 8 to about 100 carbon atoms, wherein the resulting product comprises at least about 80 weight percent of a 1,2,4 tri-alkylsubstituted aromatic compound.