Raise Your Prices

You cannot try to compete on Price. You must compete on what makes you superior to the competition:

• Compete on the Quality of the Food.
• Compete with Superior Service.
• Compete with Extra-Ordinary Plate Presentations.
• Compete with Warm Friendly Employee Personalities.
• Compete on the Ambience and Atmosphere of Your Restaurant.

The most important thing that you can do is to take exceptional care of every customer. If your restaurant has been price-orientated, you need to educate your employees, as well as your current and potential customers on the Value that you give at your restaurant. The Guest Dining Cycle will give you the opportunity to have a planned series of contacts and events that will allow you to exceed the expectations of your guests. Customers are looking for VALUE First. When a customer visits your restaurant you are under obligation to offer the customer the best products and services you have.

Structuring Your Menu for Profitability

• Menus Are Important, Menu Worksheet Example
• Analysis of Your Menu
• Individual Menu Item Evaluation Worksheet
• Take the Anxiety Out of Menu Pricing
• Is a High Food Cost Bad?
• Plan the Menu for Profit
• Eye Movement Chart
• High Profit Specials, Additional Menu Ideas
• Menu Engineering Principles
  • SuperStars (Reason and Reflect Before Making Any Change)
  • Stars (Retain / Refine)
  • Loss Leaders (Reprice / Revise / Restructure / Remove)
  • Sleepers (Reposition on Menu / Reduce Price Slightly)
• Food Preference Questionnaire
• Lunch Dining Cycle
• There Are Six Basic Priorities
• Combine Priorities
• Menu Pricing Psychology
• First Menu, Changed Menu
• The Restaurant Menu
• Example Specialties of the House
• Menu Trends
• Common Menu Mistakes

This Video below can be used as a Training Workshop for Your Management Team and Your Key Employees.

The "Structure Your Menu for Profit" Video and the manual will give you great insights to ensure the profitability of your restaurant. Once you identify your most popular and most profitable menu items, then you need to plan the easiest and most effective way to ensure that your guests order them.

When selling the most popular/profitable items, you have the best of both worlds. You are ensuring that the guest will order one of your most popular menu items, such as the "House Specialty" that your competition cannot duplicate, and one of your most profitable menu items which will put more money into your bank.

The manual is filled with many worksheets and guidelines to maximize the use of menu engineering principles. There are examples of menus that were planned to maximize profit opportunities using the Profit Matrix as a guide.

The exercises in the manual and the Video will teach you how to classify every one of your menu items (with and without sales mix) into five marketing classifications and will tell you how to handle each classification to maximize your profit.

There are complete instructions in the manual and the Video which will guide you through the Guest Dining Cycle with specific suggestions and priorities for outstanding service. It discusses guest check averages and overall profit contribution, how to establish "Specialities of the House," how to eliminate common menu mistakes and how to effectively apply the correct pricing psychology.

Defining Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

The only effective way to steal guests from your competition is to have superior food, outstanding service and to develop a personalized one-on-one relationship with each guest. Then, communicate with the guest, find out what they like about your restaurant and give them more of it.

This is the power of the USP Workbook. It will help you and your entire management team to fully understand each of your restaurant's Unique Selling Propositions. You must create in your mind and in the minds of your guests the "Points of Differences" between your restaurant and your competition. You must distinguish yourself from your competition, if you are going to dominate your market area.

This workbook will allow you to do this quickly and easily. In addition, you have a workbook with example answers. Finishing your workbook will be a lot of fun and will pay big dividends to your restaurant - as you make your restaurant "The Restaurant of Choice" in your market area.

The workbook will take you and your management team through many thought provoking questions. You will define your Unique Selling Propositions and then prioritize and work on the most important ones first. Once completed, you will know how to train your employees to ensure that your guests recognize that you are superior to your competition and they will never be satisfied with dining anywhere else.

Defining Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) with Answers

• Defining Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
• Your "Inside Reality" and "Outside Perception"
• Step 1: Understanding What's Important to Your Guest
• Step 2: The Decision Matrix
• Step 3: Define Your Target Markets
• Step 4: Defining Your Unique Selling Proposition
• Step 5: Define Your Competition
• Step 6: Putting Your USPs to Work
• Step 7: Conduct Competitive Evaluations
• Step 8: Writing Menu Headlines and Descriptions
• Step 9: Creating the Offers for the Guest

Food Cost Control Strategies

• Controlling Your Food Cost by Managing Better
• Theoretical Food Cost ... Actual Food Cost
• Foodco Cost Control Systems
• A New Approach to Profits
• Planning Your Profit
• Using the Targeted Ideal Food Cost %
• Ideal Menu Price and Current Menu Prices
• Theoretical Food Cost with Sales Mix
• Inventory Usage - Theoretical Vs. Actual
• Establishing Control Over Food Cost
• Profit Contribution on Menu Items
• Push Your Most Profitable Menu Items
• Menu Revamping Can Mean Big Bucks
• Cost Categories and Inventory Group
• Daily Tracking of High Cost Items
• Waste and Theft Controls
• Selling With Suggestions
• Buffet and Salad Bar Analysis
• The Control of Food Cost is Based on Planning
• This is a Profit-Making Organization

The manual on Food Cost Strategies will allow you to plan and focus directly on the areas that will help you build your strengths and correct weaknesses concerning the food cost practices of your restaurant. Food cost is the only flexible cost of doing business and must be used to ensure the maximum profitability of your restaurant.

Hiring, Training, Motivating and Keeping Very High Performance Employees

• Do You Have a Hiring Problem or a Retention Problem?
• Are Your Current Employees Satisfied?
• The Process of Hiring SuperStar Employees
• "An Atmosphere of Greatness!"
• Employee Rewards / Incentives
• Your Mission Statement
• Communication & Training
• Structuring "Pro-Active" Company Policies
• A Training Schedule for a New Employee
• The Process of Hiring and Training SuperStar Employees
• Employee Satisfaction = Guest Satisfaction
• Example of Employee Recognition Board
• 4 Steps of "WOW" Service
• AIMHIRE - Employee Selection System
• Personality - A Predictor of Success
• Comparing the Applicant with the Job
• Results are the Only Thing That Counts
• Are "WE" Part of the Problem?
• A Manager Has to Live With the Results of His Training
• Know What your Employees Really Want!
• Flowchart - AIMHIRE SuperStar Employee Selection System

Creating "Best in Class" Procedures for Training Service Staff

The most important role of management is training! You must develop your own "Signature Service": Service so good that once the guests are "served" at your restaurant, they will never be satisfied with the food and service they will get at any of your competition. Creating "Best In Class" Procedures for Training Your Service Staff will give you the competitive advantage in your market area. This material is filled with examples, worksheets, evaluations and checklists to accomplish your goals and the training objectives of your restaurant.

Training Service Staff

• Step-By-Step Employer Training Tips
• Training Effectively
• Being Profit Minded
• The Process of Hiring SuperStar Employees
• Hire / Interview
• Training: Management's Most Important Responsibility
• The Process of Individual Employee Excellence
• Training Individual Employees by the Management Team is the Key!
• Setting the Climate for Success
• Steps in Giving the First Hour Quiz
• Skill Training Checklist
• The 4 Step Method of Training
• Training Plan of Action
• On-Going Training
• Sample of a Role Playing Evaluation
• Training Session Evaluation Sheet
• The Training Evaluation Chart
• Our Employee Conditioning / Training Program
• We Care About Our Employees ... The Key to Our Future!
• The Hospitality Promise
• Guide to Guest Service
• How to Build a Great Training Team
• Self Evaluation Quiz for Employees
• Example of Employment Flowchart

Up-Selling for Fun & Profit

• Necessary Selling Traits
• Objectives of Up-Selling for Fun & Profit
• Rewards for the Server - Definition of TIPPS
• Factors Affecting Up-Selling for Fun & Profit
• Believe in Your Selling Ability
• How to Develop Enthusiasm
• 5 Stages Steps of Up-Selling for Fun & Profit
• Up-Selling for Fun & Profit Presentation
• Different Types of Guests
• What's In It For Me?
• Analyze Your Personal Suggestive Selling Approach Traits
• Analyze Your "Up-Selling for Fun & Profit" Traits
• Develop the Positive Traits of Up-Selling for Fun & Profit
• Quiz on Up-Selling for Fun & Profit
• Up-Selling for Fun & Profit Training Evaluation Chart
• Up-Selling for Fun & Profit Cheat Sheet
• So Where is the "Fun?"
• How to Sell Appetizers
• How to Sell Desserts
• How to Sell Non-Alcohol Specialty Drinks
• How to Sell "Go-Alongs"
• Food & Drinks That "Go-Along"
• Quiz - Appetizers, Desserts, Specialty Drink & "Go-Alongs"
• Cost of Losing One Guest
• Recognize First Time Customers

The Up-Selling Guidebook has been designed to use as a training manual to train your service employees. The manual is 44 pages full of "scripts", sales knowledge, cheat sheets, quizzes and illustrations of effective customer approaches. Here are four basic rules:

RULE #1 - Ask the Guest Questions. Questions can help you determine what kind of food the guest is in the mood for and/or their preferences in food. Questions help you determine the guest's needs.

RULE #2 - Give the Guest a Choice. Once you have determined the type of food, you can give the guest a choice of two great selections he is sure to enjoy. Analyze each guest and structure your suggestions to fulfill their needs: "May I recommend the New York Steak or the Filet Mignon tonight?"

RULE #3 - Never Ask a Question that Can Be Answered With a "No!" "And what would you like to drink?" "May I recommend either French Fries or home-made Onion Rings with your Burger?"

RULE #4 - Always Suggest at Least 2 Items the Guest Did Not Originally Order.  This is easy to do and to understand. It is the measuring stick that every server can measure. Servers know whether they are suggesting two items or not. Two items is certainly not high pressure. But, if servers consistently suggested at least two items, this will make a big difference in their tips.

The 12 Master Marketing Strategies

A Blueprint for Successful Marketing

Use the 12 Master Marketing Strategies as a checklist. Evaluate over 100 critical components. How many of these techniques are you already using at your restaurant? The more techniques that you use in your restaurant, the faster you can increase your sales and profits.

After "break-even" 40-60% of each sales dollar goes right to profit. The chains know this, that is why they focus on marketing. You will not be able to match marketing dollars with the chains, but, you can out-market the chains and all your competition by effectively using the 12 Master Marketing Strategies.

Bring in current customers more frequently, celebrate the guest's birthdays and anniversaries, recognize first-time guests, make them regulars. Email is a profitable part of restaurant marketing, but learn techniques to market to the 80% of your guests that don't read your emails. 

Celebrate all holidays at your restaurant. Plan marketing promotions throughout the year.  Fifty-five percent of all people eat out on their birthdays. Figure a return-on-investment for each marketing promotion. Eliminate wasted advertisement and worthless marketing at your restaurant. Involve your employees in your marketing. Have "How-To" manuals for every marketing campaign. The number of dollars that the customers in your market area are going to spend are limited. To get more business than your share you are frankly going to have to take it away from your competition.

Keep your restaurant filled to capacity, when other restaurants have slow days or nights or seasonally slow periods, you can stay full all the time! There is never an excuse for an empty seat.

The Newest Marketing Innovations LIMITED-TIME OFFER CALL Toll-Free 1-888-PROFIT4U (776-3484) 8 a.m. To 5 p.m.MST OR Order on-line at: Profit4Ustore.com MARKETING is the Key To Your Success!

14 Restaurant Marketing Secrets

• What 93% of Independent Restaurant Owners Don't Know About Winning the Battle with Chain Restaurants
• Why Did the Top Chains Become So Successful?
• What is the Secret to Out-Marketing Chain Restaurants?
• How You Can Use Low-Cost High-Powered Marketing That the Chains Can't
• How You Can Dominate Your Market Without a Mega-Budget
• Why Some Restaurants Thrive During a Tough Economy
• What is Your Competitive Advantage?
• Why Isn't "Word of Mouth" Advertising Packing Your Restaurant?
• How Does Your Customer Know You Are Better Than Your Competition?
• Why Successful Restaurant Owners Have More Time and More Money
• How Do Some Restaurants Develop Fierce Customer Loyalty?
• How Marketing Can Become a "Quick-Response" MONEY MACHINE
• How Your Marketing Can Be Wildly Profitable - Every Time
• Is There Any Way This System Can Fail?
• What is the Most Effective Action for You to Take?

Delegating to Employees - Special Report

Delegation is the Key to Management's Success

Work "On" Your Business -- Not "In" Your Restaurant Delegation is just another word for management: "Getting things done through people". Delegating is also essential if a manager is to "grow" in his job. The training process should be designed to encourage responsibility and delegation to employees. You should immediately delegate small on-the-job matters to even new employees. Give them responsibility and be impressed with their performance.

The training process is set-up to ensure that the new employee obtains the knowledge and work skills to do an outstanding job. You delegate the responsibility for the employee to acquire job knowledge, and through studying the training manuals, they acquire the knowledge they need about their job. Once they have the knowledge, you delegate to them the opportunity to learn the work skills associated with their position. When an employee has been taught the correct principles, it is an easy thing to go one step further and have them use their own good judgment to help solve any problems that may occur. You can now delegate to this employee.

Bonus Training Manuals

Making Your Restaurant A Customer-Pleasing, Money-Making Organization

As you watch this Video you will gain insight into the ideas and concepts that have worked so well for high-performance restaurant owner/managers. This Video is designed to allow owners/managers to enjoy success, happiness and fulfillment in all areas of their life, not just in business.

The complete library of knowledge that is contained in The Restaurant Reference Encyclopedia will teach you proven techniques that you can use immediately to increase your own success and that of your management team and employees. You will be able to reach your goals easily and enjoyably. This Encyclopedia of Knowledge will teach you how you can anticipate and facilitate change in your restaurant. The profit building principles contained in this material are not just good suggestions, they are tried and true ideas. They work, and they work every time. If these principles are put into action, they will have a significant impact on increasing the success and profit of your restaurant.

An Employee Training Manual

To be successful in selling with suggestion, you must have an effective management team who understands that selling is important to ensure the satisfaction of every guest. The guest must have the opportunity to enjoy "go-alongs" that enhance or complete their meal throughout the Guest Dining Cycle. Every menu item suggested must be prepared and served to perfection. Selling additional menu items is the real key to guest satisfaction. Help the guest to choose the menu items they would most enjoy eating during their meal... (appetizers, specialty drinks, highly popular/profitable menu items, signature specialities, entree accompaniments/go-alongs, after dinner beverages and take-home products.) Selling with Suggestions will have a great, positive impact on your sales and your profits.