Sales To a Restaurant -How to Sell

Ron Musgraves

Exterior Restoration Specialist
Staff member
Sales To a Restaurant -How to Sell

Fast Food
Family
Fine Dinning


What has me answering this and Talking about this today is that Most guys here are Curious how to sell these.

Here’s My first tip- Define and establish from the Word Go is this a a MOM & POP , Franchisee Or Corporate Location.

This First step if Vary Crucial in the process, heres why.

If we have a MOM & Pop place the decision Maker is Likely on premise . You think that this means sale would be easier. Like Residential Sales Owners Seem to Never see the benefit of Staying clean. because they are onsite they Handle this or think we Can just call you when its Needed. ( I do not Like these) How ever its a Different approach to Sell.

Heres the Biggest thing you Over come in the MOM & POP

1.Its his Money the Bottom line Will Effect his Vacation.
2.Partner ( there is always one ,Or they will Tell you there is)
3.More Uncertainty ( you will need to earn trust more)
4.Making them understand they cannot Achieve the clean you can.


UpSide to Selling a MOM & POP

1. He or She is onsite and Reachable.
2.CASH on the Spot when service is Complete
3.Loyalty and there will not be a New person in the place Next week. They usually Stick around.
4.They will Use ad on Services More than a Corp Location.
5.They Feed you every time you walk through door.


MOM & POP I list second on my list or eating Establishments I Target.


Franchisee

These Locations here is your Up-hill Battle and this will be vary Similar in Corp Locations. So this Method Transfers to them as well.
The Decision maker May or may not Be onsite, your Job is to Find out who the person is who Actually Does the Hiring.

How to Determine this: ASK them first and for most. If someone ever tells you they do not Make the Choice and someone at the Office Makes its Immediately Ask for that Persons contact info. When Talking to a Franchise GM remember Its Different than Owner, Often the Management Layers are Thin. (Meaning Easier to Reach the Guy who Makes the Decisions.) NOPE thats a Lie, do not Buy into this, keep in mind the Franchise Operator this is just and Investment. Someone Sold him a Dream of Flipping Burgers into Millions of Dollars. Unlike the Guy who Started his own Restaurant the Franchise Operator Has a Play book. This Play books says you have to Be on our vendor List. Sometimes they will Listen to you, talk to you. Waste your time and even Use you once or Twice or Invite you to Eat at there place Making you think you are becoming Buddies. Franchise Locations do not Have Training Locations.( NOTE for Later Use) The Franchise Operation Large or Small has a Office. Contact with the GM's are Great and you can get in the door here. I prefer to go Straight to the Corporate Location Meaning the Franchisees Corp Location if they have Multiple Units and Sell the Owner or the Operations Manager. I have Found that Talking to GM in Franchisee Operated Locations is not as Successful as going straight to the Head Quarters.


Corporate Locations

By far My favorite Stores to Sell, this is why?

The GM is always the Decision maker 95% of the time regardless to what they tell you. DM will Seldom interfere with the GM decision unless the management Tier is Poor.

This is the First step:

1. Find out Management layers. ( meaning who is the guy who make the Decision) In a Fast food it will be a GM in a Family or Fine Dinning it might be the KM. (Kitchen Manager)
This Determining the way the Restaurant Operates is Crucial Step in the Selling process. No there is no Book on how the Different Groups work.

Here are a Few Ways to Find out
1. Ask, this sometimes however will not Get you the Truth. Many Times in Places Like Outback Steak house above the Door reads "Proprietor" This is a Complete Lie, this is a Management style like McDonalds Back in the 80's Making everyone a Mananger to feel Important. OSI (Company acronym OUTBACK Steal INC.) They Actually Have a Management Company in Most Markets. www.fmfacilitymaintenance.com This Company Controls the requests for service. Some will tell you they work directly with the Place to provide service. This can Be true in some Markets. This is exactly the Point here I need to make. That Even in these larger Companies Management style can Change between the districts. Some of you now are Lost, you are telling us that it might be different and that all OSI propertys do not operate the same? NO


2. I have found the Management Style and I'm ready to make a call. Some of you see me call Darden Places (Olive Garden , Red Lobster , http://www.darden.com/restaurants/ . I already know these Places all handle there own Powerwashing. I also know they control there own Store Budgets and the Regional Manager wants me to Deal Directly with them with His Blessing. My relations is with the person who handles the west Coast, not once in 20 years have I ever had him pick the phone up and call me. The closest thing to him giving me a sales is he told all his GM at a regional meeting he didn't like Seeing gum outside the front door and he know I could help them but it was there choice to use me or not. I learned quickly this was the management Style I was looking forward to selling because it was the easiest. Unlike OSI they actually had a GM onsite that was responsible for the (UNIT. Restaurant Groups Lingo for Store) Every location has a Number associated with the store. Below is my Cloud of Carrrabba locations here in the Valley. (OSI group)
ScreenShot2014-01-12at31647AM.png



In My mind if your Going to Target a Eating establishment you need all the Pieces to the Puzzle. I mean we are not really going to be Satisfied with group are we? Or even one restaurant?

Controlling and Organizing info Stinks. You think I will google info and BAM I have it. How much of that info is wrong? Plus most Conpanies Do not Just give you lists? DO THEY? HUMMMMMM


Price-list- so when you go to a Store and want to buy something say a Cheese burger do you ask the guy to give you the Cheese burger Half price?
MCCRestaruantPriceListPostCardLegendFront.jpg


Warning the prices on this Card are not Correct, this Card is Very old, bi & Weekly are Flipped also. Let me see if I have the right version.


Inspections :

This is a Great time to get in the door.

1. the sales are easier when they have Inspections
2. Increasing Existing customers at ingestion time is also a good move.
3. We can also solicit Upper management more effective with this strategy.

Strategy for Inspections are best through Email or Faxing.

The reasons restaurants have Fax Machines or Computer Fax like E-fax are because they order stuff.
This is a great time to Blitz them. USPS is to slow, often these come up in 24 to 48 hours.

Keep in Mind a corporate Tour is a Different thing, some will think they are similar because often they react the same way.

Will talk more about this , i’lll try to stay Focused.

I will let the Cat out on numbers


Its easy for a Single operator to Build a Route of places like these and make 219,000 annually
 
Last edited:
Really looking forward to these tips and marketing help! I completely agree with the mom&pop "we take care of this" attitude and it's really hard to proceed with a sale after that because often times it comes off as an insult to their abilities. Trying to tell someone that you can do it better, more thorough, and more efficiently is tough. I feel like some restauranteurs have a little bit of an ego too, makes it even more difficult.
 
great info, thanks Ron. is there any kind of numbers on increased profits or revenue from upkeep. maybe a study on the correlation between a clean exterior and an increase in revenue. long shot i know but when I'm selling things i like having selling points

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Trey I have thought about that and I dont think its necessary. I think it would be impossible to prove with numbers. You need to appeal to the easier fact. If they care anything about the restaurant they don't want it to look like trash. They mop their floors, so they can be more profitable. Not really. I dont think a manager has ever looked at an excel spreadsheet to determine the cost benefit of mopping.
 
Bump .....
Sales To a Restaurant -How to Sell

Fast Food
Family
Fine Dinning


What has me answering this and Talking about this today is that Most guys here are Curious how to sell these.

Here’s My first tip- Define and establish from the Word Go is this a a MOM & POP , Franchisee Or Corporate Location.

This First step if Vary Crucial in the process, heres why.

If we have a MOM & Pop place the decision Maker is Likely on premise . You think that this means sale would be easier. Like Residential Sales Owners Seem to Never see the benefit of Staying clean. because they are onsite they Handle this or think we Can just call you when its Needed. ( I do not Like these) How ever its a Different approach to Sell.

Heres the Biggest thing you Over come in the MOM & POP

1.Its his Money the Bottom line Will Effect his Vacation.
2.Partner ( there is always one of excuse to there is one)
3.More Uncertainty ( you will need to earn trust more)
4.Making them understand they cannot Achieve the clean you can.


UpSide to Selling a MOM & POP

1. He or She is onsite and Reachable.
2.CASH on the Spot when service is Complete
3.Loyalty and there will not be a New person in the place Next week. They usually Stick around.
4.They will Use ad on Services More than a Corp Location.
5.They Feed you every time you walk through door.


MOM & POP I list second on my list or eating Establishments I Target.


Franchisee

These Locations here is your Up-hill Battle and this will be vary Similar in Corp Locations. So this Method Transfers to them as well.
The Decision maker May or may not Be onsite, your Job is to Find out who the person is who Actually Does the Hiring.

How to Determine this: ASK them first and for most. If someone ever tells you they do not Make the Choice and someone at the Office Makes its Immediately Ask for that Persons contact info. When Talking to a Franchise GM remember Its Different than Owner, Often the Management Layers are Thin. (Meaning Easier to Reach the Guy who Makes the Decisions.) NOPE thats a Lie, do not Buy into this, keep in mind the Franchise Operator this is just and Investment. Someone Sold him a Dream of Flipping Burgers into Millions of Dollars. Unlike the Guy who Started his own Restaurant the Franchise Operator Has a Play book. This Play books says you have to Be on our vendor List. Sometimes they will Listen to you, talk to you. Waste your time and even Use you once or Twice or Invite you to Eat at there place Making you think you are becoming Buddies. Franchise Locations do not Have Training Locations.( NOTE for Later Use) The Franchise Operation Large or Small has a Office. Contact with the GM's are Great and you can get in the door here. I prefer to go Straight to the Corporate Location Meaning the Franchisees Corp Location if they have Multiple Units and Sell the Owner or the Operations Manager. I have Found that Talking to GM in Franchisee Operated Locations is not as Successful as going straight to the Head Quarters.


Corporate Locations


I will Continue this Series as I can get to it.
 
Nice bump on an 8 hour old thread. Great info found here on pwi. One great thing about restaurants is they're great practice on speaking, with a low consequence factor for screwing up, which can really help build confidence.
 
Nice bump on an 8 hour old thread. Great info found here on pwi. One great thing about restaurants is they're great practice on speaking, with a low consequence factor for screwing up, which can really help build confidence.


Thats Why we Train all Our Sales People on Restaurants First.
 
Thats Why we Train all Our Sales People on Restaurants First.

And minions! Lol.

The time I spent in 2008 on restaurant sales calls with Ron was worth thousands.

Thanks Ron!

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk
 
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