Teach the team to think like an owner does. Reinforce to the crew daily how low the profit margin is on the foodservice dollar, show them how to minimize costs and equipment repairs, always recognize and reward them for demonstrating this behavior. To see a free one minute You Tube video lesson from Jim Sullivan on how to teach the team to think like an owner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L1rGuGoynk

Spend less money than you make. Companies don't go out of business because they run out of money, they go out of business because they spend their money on the wrong things. In times like these you thrive on strong controls.

Merchandise the Menu. Remove all internal obstacles to selling more. Make a list of potential obstacles by asking your managers to fill in this blank:  "Our customer-facing team tends not to sell because..." Examples may include slow ticket times (work with the kitchen team), perceived POS slowness (practice order-entering for busy times), lack of inventory, faulty prep, operational and throughput bottlenecks during peak periods, kitchen issues, supplies, and employee attitudes, all of which can and will inhibit higher sales slow down selling. Now do what it takes to eliminate those obstacles.

To get a FREE podcast detailing 21 ones to raise sales every day in any business http://www.sullivision.com/podcasts.cfm

Make room for talent to grow. Holding out for talent assures a company that the best people are working for you and not against you. Give a lot, expect a lot, and if you don't get it, prune. Watch this 60 second free fun video on five reasons to get rid of low performers. It comes from our best-selling DVD called 60 Second Lessons in Leadership. Groom em or broom em!

Make pre-shift meetings mandatory not optional. If you don't give your team a plan they'll presume you don't have one. Before every shift invest in energetic 3 minute pre-shift meetings to share sales goals and practice suggestive selling techniques. Get our FREE Pre-Shift Meeting Planning Template and use it every day by clicking here: http://doclibrary.com/MSC5/DOC/Pre_Shift_Planning_TemplateJune20074619.pdf

Underpromise and Overdeliver. I'm not talking about the customer. I mean your internal customers; servers, kitchen crew, greeters, cashiers. Respect The way we treat our employees determines how they'll treat our customersand if you're not serving the customer directly, you'd better be serbing someone who is!

Be a thermostat, not a thermometer. A thermostat manager controls the temperature and energy of each shift. A thermometer manager reacts to circumstances based his or her prevailing mood. No one respects the hot and cold supervisor. Choose your attitude, and FYI: "cranky" is not an option. As philosopher Ronnie Shakes says, "I was going to buy a copy of The Power of Positive Thinking, and then I thought: What the hell good would that do?"