Quotable Quotes from our best-selling products.
Technology ... the knack of so arranging the world that we need not experience it. --Bertolt Brecht
I wish people who have trouble communicating would just shut up.
-Tom Lehrer
When science finally locates the center of the universe, some people will be surprised to learn they're not it.
-Anonymous
There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot.
-Steven Wright
God sends meat - the Devil sends cooks.
-Charles VI
You know it's interesting, even though a number of people have tried, no one has yet found a way to drink for a living.-Jean Kerr
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Greetings!
Welcome to the September 2009 Fundamentals e-newsletter. This month we'll discuss the basic logic behind suggestive selling. After all, your customers are there to buy, not browse! --Jim Sullivan, CEO and Founder, Sullivision.com |
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A Few Thoughts on Building Incremental Sales
by Jim Sullivan CEO
A long time ago, Grandpa Sullivan (a salesman so good that he could sell you a dead horse and when you came back to complain, sell you a saddle to go with it), told me that there are only four ways to grow a business:
1. Acquire More Customers (of the kind you want to serve)
2. Improve the process
3. Increase the price
4. Increase the average value of the transaction
Let's look closer at # 4; increasing the average value of the transaction, which means raising incremental sales along with adding value. Here are some strategies and tactics to improve profitability via service-driven selling:
--Goal: raise sales a buck per customer. This may not sound like much until you do the math:
· Write down how many customers visit your operation in a year.
· Add a dollar sign to the left of your annual customer traffic. That represents being able to increase the average spend of those customers by one dollar per visit. (Example: 150,000 customers per year equals $150,000 in higher gross sales-without raising prices or spending one more penny in advertising.) Since your fixed costs (labor
, utilities, rent) don't change, your profitability rises the more you sell.
· Now, what will generate an extra dollar per customer in gross sales in your business? A small soda, a $1.95 cup of soup shared by two people, a $4.95 appetizer split among five people, and a $10 Gift card sold to every 10th customer will get you there. It's a do-able goal. Here's what servers can do to make it happen with their guests:
1. Endorse the choice. Whenever a guest buys a product or orders a particular dish or drink, always respond "Good choice," or "You're gonna love that."
2. Shotgun Selling. This means fire at everything and something's going to fall down. Suggest an appetizer, dessert or beverage to every customer and the likelihood of more sales rises dramatically. You miss 100% of the shots you never take.
3. Show and Sell. Menus, table tents, reader boards, desert trays and buttons are powerful sales tools if used properly. My favorite sales "prop" is a button the server wears that says "If I Don't Suggest An Appetizer It's Free."
4. Always "pre-market" point-of-sale items to your service staff. Whenever you get new table tents in from a vendor, don't just put them on the bar or tables, be sure to post them in server stations, behind the line or by the time clock so servers see them every where they look. Explain, promote and "sell" the table tents at pre-shift meetings to increase the odds of servers understanding how to use them with their guests.
5. The less money you spend on training, the more you'll spend on advertising. The key to merchandising any menu successfully is training, teaching, coaching and incentives. Don't let turnover affect your commitment to training. "But what if we train our people to sell and then they leave?" you ask. I say: What if we don't and they stay?
Jim Sullivan is the CEO of Sullivision.com and a popular speaker at conferences worldwide.
Now learn how to manage your next 30 days to profitability by clicking HERE. |
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Ultimate Multi Unit Leader Package Released! 
Save $35 on this bundle! The Multi Unit Leadership Ultimate Package 3 includes the brand new DVD for Multi-Unit Leaders,the PDF companion workbook, a copy of the best-selling Book, and the 4-CD AudioBook Box for only $149 plus shipping. Read, watch or listen your way to better leadership skills and higher sales. Tough times call for better leaders and better leaders come from self-improvement. This 304 page book, 4 CD audio and hour-long leadership workshop on DVD by Jim Sullivan teaches multi-unit managers (and high-potential GMS) how to build stronger teams, acquire and maintain more customers and raise incremental sales, especially important in recessionary times. Available only at Sullivision.com order now and save $35.
Our Price: $149 List Price: $184 |
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Sullivision.com creates service, sales, training, marketing, leadership and e-learning resources for the foodservice and retail industries worldwide. Our clients include Walt Disney, Coca-Cola, American Express, TGI Friday's, McDonald's, Supercuts, Sam's Club, KFC, Applebee's, Target, Wagamama and Dunkin Brands. See our free podcasts, articles, templates and product catalog at www.sullivision.com |
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