The First Company to Do this Wins

With all of the brains and money sitting around at the top of the corporate

Restaurant Management

restaurant world, you’d think that they would have, as the biggest segment of
America’s restaurant industry, figured this out.
Ask any Top 50 company Vice President- “What is the single most important
position in your organization?”, and you will get one of three wrong answers:

The dashing, maverick company leader who dares to go against conventional
wisdom, braves uncharted waters with their crystal vision while sticking to their old
fashioned values.  (You’re talking to a suck up that still thinks he has a future with
his/her company.)

-The front line, hard working hourly employees, who are the first and last contact
with the almighty customer.  They turn ordinary food staples into grandiose works
of food art, provide five star service in a casual dining atmosphere, and water the
lobby plants with their over-committed, backbreaking sweat.  (You’re talking to
someone who fears for their very own employment, and hopes his employees that
can read will see this and save his sorry ass.)

-The loyal, value-conscious customer, who, despite ever escalating strong
competition, still believes in our concept, our product and our friendly service.
“They’re the ones signing our paychecks!”  (You’re talking to someone who’s
already talking to a recruiter.)

These people have reworded the same old drivel for decades, and repeat it so much
to each other that they’ve actually come to believe this crap.

The Answer

The managers.  The real operators, the ones really running the show.
You’d think they’d have guessed better – the managers are the only ones left in the
chain of command (unless some idiot said the home office staff – I guarantee he’s
sleeping with one of them).

Why would they not give this credit where it’s due?  Could be they’d have a nasty
rash of pay raise requests, but that’s not the real reason.  They would have to break
down and listen to them.  This would be the most distasteful, repulsive object of
horror that they could ever imagine.  It would throw the whole system out of whack!
How can you micro-manage them if you’ve admitted they know more about things
like :

-the products
-the menus
-the recipes
-the employees
-the local market
-what guests like/dislike
-the guests themselves
-what prices work
-what policies work
-what actually is possible

In fact, their perspective of the entire company is probably most accurate, and
uniquely positioned to view the organization from the most central view, from the
middle of the “Platinum Triangle”.  You know, that cramped place, evenly in
between the Guest, the Employee and the Company.  (More on that in another
writing – Wayyyyy too important for this rant.)

If the managers were “important”, then they would undoubtedly question the
established “authority”.  You know, those people between the unit manager and the
President, that need to constantly justify their jobs by “making a difference”.  They
don’t have many ways to do that unless they can truly motivate others to do their
bidding.  This cannot be done if those you command have been recognized as
knowing more than you do.  Why, you’d have to actually break down and spend
time in the field, getting dirty and having to deal with problems like belligerent
guests, employee absenteeism, “motivating teenagers 101”, facial jewelry,
landscaping, equipment repair for the technically disabled, health inspectors with an
attitude, payroll issues, influenza outbreaks, road construction out front, 500 item
inventories, charitable donations, interviewing, computer glitches, vomit in the
restroom, hair in the mashed potatoes, out of date milk, training outlines, next
week’s schedule, plumbing leaks, empty toner cartridges, Sarbanes/Oxley
record keeping, vacations, produce orders, personal problems, light bulb checks,
carpet cleaners, glassware inventories, employee theft, numerous “awareness tools”,
a hostess with cramps and a Fire Marshall with a bug up his ass.

Did I mention that there’s a mess in the restroom?  OK, sorry.

Who wouldn’t want to have that much fun?   All of them.   The sheer thought of
exposing themselves to this “torture” for more than a few hours at a time is the seed
of their nightmares.

Imagine a company where unit operations managers were – gasp! – revered and
respected?  Actually brought into the decision making process, represented at menu
meetings, consulted on marketing plans and gave their input on policy decisions?
What if they were publicly exalted and respected by EVERY member of the
hierarchy in restaurant organizations?  What if Vice Presidents, Directors of
Operations and Area Supervisors called them “Sir, or Madam”, or Mr. or Ms.?
What if, with necessary consultation of the legal department, managers decisions on
employee matters were the final word?  Imagine that the industry’s very best
prospects were all of a sudden opting to be Unit General Managers at this company

Imagine

THE POWER PARTHENON BUSINESS STRATEGY

Create Geometric Business Growth

Most businesses continuously rely on one marketing approach to grow and sustain their business… (The Diving Board Philosophy)

Because we are building our businesses on the internet I have used the example of a business depending on the Internet for attracting leads the PDF does of course show direct sales as the lead generation direct sales force, it could direct mail, telemarketing, referrals or many others.

And when times are good, this model can provide a stable business unless something happens. So for the Internet example, it could be that Google changes the algorithm and the website falls from the cherished number one position for the main keywords to position sixteen and traffic falls by 95% immediately. Usually our initiatives cause your business to behave unpredictably and as I explained in the beer game, sudden change can produce a series of difficulties, particularly when times are uncertain anyway.

What do we do when sales are slow is very tempting that you have special promotions to make your sales numbers i.e.“Buy now and save 10% of the price.”

Your regular customers take advantage, just as you would want and buy but next month they don’t need to buy again. You have introduced a shock to your system and you create supply problems and excess costs.

Whatever the cause, your business now has an unstable and becomes more vulnerable to economic shocks.

But when you build a Power Parthenon by adding multiple lead generation sources, the business becomes much stronger and you start Jay Abraham’s concept of geometric business growth by adding another 20% from direct mail, 30% from telemarketing…etc

What happens when that one approach becomes less effective? Your business stream diminishes and you begin to lose market share.

Each pillar of lead generation techniques builds the Power Parthenon and makes the business stronger and while I have not only included five pillars I do recommend that you add into the pillars the product sales categories from your business

Jay Conrad Levinson of Guerrilla Marketing has identified 200 Guerrilla Marketing Weapons that you can use and improve. Not all of them will be suitable but many of them could be used to bring you extra business. Now again these are

The Power Parthenon doesn’t stop at this first level.

Remember the idea of Jay Abraham’s Three Ways To Grow A Business:

1. More customers, who
2. Spend more, and
3. Buy more often

Each of the pillars can be used for difference purposes and in different ways.What would happen to the stability of your business as you begin the process of formalizing your marketing profit centers?

• Direct Sales; (internet sales)
• Telemarketing; Depends on business model (Informational and funnel?)
• Joint Ventures; Is a type of referral lead that brings the clients of two or more businesses to create a more cost effective lead source
• Referral Systems; Word of mouth one of the most cost effective lead sources
• Direct Mail Advertising Endorsements; Self Explanatory
• Developing a Back EndHost/Beneficiary Relationships; similar to the joint venture differs by elevating you to the position of expert in your field.

What would happen to your revenue level and profitability if you combined a wide array of marketing approaches? (The Parthenon Philosophy)

List the marketing pillars that your business is currently on.

There are three ways to grow business…any business.

ONLY THREE WAYS

1. Increase the number of clients

2. Increase the average transaction value

3. Increase the frequency of repurchase (Get more residual value out of each client )

Working the numbers will allow us to exactly see how and why you can grow so many different businesses profitably using a targeted action plan, time and minimal expense.

The 10% Increase

1,333 125 * 3 = $499,875 that’s a 149% increase in revenue!!!! (End Block Quote)

The 10 % increase remember the below example is theoretical the idea is to plug your business actual numbers into the appropriate area

Increase the # of Clients

Increase the Average Dollars per Sale

Increase the Repurchase Frequency Total

1000 * 100 * 2 = $200,000

1000 Increase the # of Clients 10 % = 100 more clients

Increase the Average Dollars per Sale $100 by 10%

Increase the Repurchase Frequency of 2 by 10%

The total of the three at the current level equals $200,000

Now take into consideration the 10% increase in all three

10% Increase 10% Increase 10% Increase actual calculates to a 33% Increase

1100 *110 *2.2 =$266,200

The 33% Increase

A 10% increase in each of the three areas equals a 33% increase in revenue.

33% Increase

That is truly exponential growth!!

Below are 25 totally proven, frequently unrecognized, and almost totally underutilized

ways to grow your business. This is just a start Jay Conrad Levison from guerilla Marketing has identified over 200 ways. Of course not all of these apply to every business the idea is to find the potential ideas and begin create a plan then act on the plan testing the strategies keeping the ones that work for the below 3 ways

Referral Systems

To Increase the Average Transaction

Increase purchase frequency

• Acquiring clients at breakeven up front and make a profit on the back end
• Guaranteeing purchases through risk reversal
• Host-beneficiary relationships
• Advertising
• Using direct mail
• Using telemarketing
• Running special events or information nights
• Acquiring qualified lists
• Develop a Unique Selling Proposition
• Increasing the perceived value of your product/service through better client education
• Using public relations to increase your client retention rate by:
• Delivering higher-than-expected levels of service (Fans)
• Communicating frequently with your clients to nurture them (email)
• Increasing your conversion from inquiry to sale by:
• Increasing sales skills levels of your staff
• Acquiring clients at breakeven up front and make a profit on the back end
• Guaranteeing purchases through risk reversal
• Host-beneficiary relationships
• Increasing your pricing and hence your
• Improving your teams’ selling techniques to margins up-sell and cross-sell
• Changing the profile of your products or
• Using point-of-sale promotions services to be more “up market”
• Packaging complementary products and
• Offering greater/larger units of purchase services together

Complete the Parthenon implement into action!!!!!!!!