well THAT was unexpected

Photo by Startaê Team on Unsplash

Last week, I spoke at a Clubhouse event. It was hosted by my dear friend, restaurant chain owner, and business coach Billy Anderson.

Sidenote: You MUST follow him on Instagram and listen to his podcast. He's easily one of my favorite business leaders to follow. 

The event topic was “Food Entrepreneurship” (I own, invest in, and advise for restaurants in addition to Honey Badger Seller). I shared strategies that my restaurants and those of my clients have used to remain relevant and thrive in this pandemic. But I realized there were a lot of transferrable mindsets and actionable steps for salespeople in general. 

first, the restaurant scene...

The pandemic forced restaurants to close up their eating areas. Because of that, a lot of the “customer experience” has changed dramatically.

People can’t experience the design, music, hustle-and-bustle energy, friendly service, and convenience that dining-in used to bring.

Ouch. 

They can’t meet up with friends, family, colleagues, and clients for a meal. And food is a big component of the human connection and community.

Ouch. 

Not only that, most customers now use third-party delivery platforms as a means of getting their food. It’s convenient, but restaurateurs are further distanced from their customers and have less control over the last mile of the customer experience.

Ouch.

This means restaurants only have a few avenues in which they can delight customers and have them repeating and referring business. 

I shared tips that have proven hugely profitable, including:

Back to basics. Do a refresher training.Make sure there are enough napkins, utensils, and condiments.

I can't tell you how many times I've received food that was missing these essential items, and it ruined my meal before it even began. 

It's not wasted time. It's directly tied to your revenue.

Have your staff slow down for one more minute and double-check. You only get one chance now to show them what a perfect meal is like. Who cares if the food arrives fast if it's missing the core items?

Repackage your containers. Right now, 99% of restaurants are having food delivered in standard, boring, thoughtless to-go bags.

I advised one of my clients to change that up, and have their container look like a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Another client repackaged their box into a luxury handbag type of container, since unboxing toys and handbags have been so viral lately on YouTube. And one client simply put their food in a gift bag with tissue paper - which stirred a smile on customer’s faces because it felt like a gift.

It's a positive association. It changes their mood. People eat with their eyes, and you've made your delivery that much more delicious. People will take videos and photos, and post them for others to see and want that experience, too. You show that you're different and that you care about the entire experience. And you're amplifying the experience by creating more anticipation. 

One-by-one. Reach out to every single one of your customers - through your newsletter database, commenters on Yelp, Instagram followers, and Facebook fans. Send them a personal message, thanking them for their support. Remind them that their love is keeping you alive through this pandemic. And ask if they could support their business by placing an order or buying a gift card. 

I've had clients who implemented this, and almost instantly they increased their revenue with catering orders of $500 a day. One also reported getting over $1,000 worth of gift cards during the Christmas season, where customers were supporting their favorite restaurants and thought it was the perfect gift for their loved ones. And I've also had clients that received messages from customers, saying they didn't even realize they were open, and placed orders. 

now, the salesperson scene

Just like the lockdowns prevented customers from enjoying restaurants the way they used to, the pandemic disrupted other businesses, too. 

People aren’t traveling as much, and having in-person meetings. Budgets are in preservation and survival mode. Uncertainty is debilitating action in general. 

You’ve got to make the most of the limited time, capacity, budgets, and confidence levels that prospects are experiencing.

You do that by being better and more value-priced, of course; but that’s not enough.

You’ve got to be different, memorable, and wow. 

Some ideas?

Back to basics, too. Revisit all of your sales and marketing processes. Brainstorm how to eliminate activities that don’t add value, and make sure customers have all the data they need to make decisions. Make the sales journey less complicated and easier to buy for the customer.

Consider meeting with your CFO and find ways to trim fat. This way, you can build up reserves for a slower sales cycle and recovery; and for opportunities to pass those savings to your customers and give them more motivation to sign up. 

Cost? Free.

 30 minutes. Build a half-hour of buffer time after your meetings (and this is in addition to your transit/prep time to your next meeting). Send a thank-you note and attach the proposal or collateral you promised, right away.

Tell them you were so excited that you could truly help them that you couldn’t wait to get back to the office, and wanted to send the proposal right away.

Why it works and is "wow"? You’re giving them a sample of how fast and attentive you would be if they were to become a client. Customers relate speed to service. And customers want to be wanted. 

Cost? Free. 

 One-by-one applies here, too.

Reach out to your best customers, and have a one-on-one conversation with them. Tell them you’re grateful for their business; and it’s keeping your team gainfully employed, able to do meaningful work, and able to provide for their families.

Ask how they are doing, and if you can help them with cost-cutting or revenue-building opportunities - whether or not it means them buying more from you or not. 

Offer to host a free webinar, Clubhouse event, or Zoom call for your B2B prospects’ customers - showing them how to save or make money in this pandemic.

Why it works and is "wow"?  You’re giving value; you’re helping your customers look good and win; it shows that you care more than the competition does, almost guaranteed; and it might turn into more business for you as well. 

Cost? Free.

 Repackage. For your prospecting calls on Zoom, consider getting a green screen, where the background is a logo of your prospect’s company,, or something that would show you’ve done research on them.

You can even customize the Waiting Room area with the same idea.

Bundle your products with other services or items that customers normally would have to go elsewhere or buy separately. Make it seem like a deal. 

Cost? Free (well, the green screen I got was $160, but I'm maxing that with creating courses and other applications). Good lighting and a clean background will do the trick!

close this up

The main point is this: There are no traffic jams on the extra mile. And when the road is closed (a la pandemic), it takes a good salesperson to maneuver the detour with your prospects. They'll come out loving you more. 

You don’t have to spend an absurd amount of money (or anything at all, most of the time) to delight customers.

All it takes is looking at the current way of doing things; and finding a way to surprise them, show them you care, and tell them they should be doing business with you.

Think about messages or actions that’ll cause your customers to respond with:

You remembered!

Can I borrow this?

No one’s ever done that for us before.

That’s super cool. 

How did you know?!

How did you do that?!