How to Start a Restaurant Business Successfully

Starting Your Restaurant, Keeping it simple

Recent researches into new restaurants and cafes all around the world indicate that around 89 percent of dine-in businesses fail within the first five years of their inception. Hospitality industry is certainly one of the most lucrative industries, but the hardest part here is the survival during the beginning phase. So, before you step into this business, you need to learn how to start a restaurant business successfully.

Here goes your step by step guide.

The first step begins with extensive research and preparation for the business. In fact research is the foundation on which businesses are built. The research should be both at the micro as well as the macro level. This means, everything about the hospitality industry in your locality (where you are going to start your restaurant soon) should be at your disposal. This will help you formulate a plan for the success of your business.

The location of your business is also crucial. A novice would certainly assume that if a place is already full of restaurants then they should set up their restaurant business a bit farther than the existing throng of restaurants. But this concept is completely wrong. You should be amidst competition to succeed in the competition. You should set up your restaurant exactly where the other restaurants are. This will take you one step ahead People will themselves notice that a new restaurant has come up.

After this comes the design of the restaurant. This is crucial as everybody knows the importance of first impression. The design of the restaurant should be very practical. It should reflect the needs of the customers. The environment of the restaurant should be such that it attracts people. Too much color or glitzy things should be avoided. Also your restaurant should not look pale. Instead, the design should be such that it gives a feeling of freshness to the customers.

The next thing that you need to remember when you are setting up a restaurant business is your restaurant staff. Often this aspect gets unnoticed or is not paid much heed to. But it is as important for the success of your business as other factors. You need not to be very careful in choosing a staff. In fact you should handpick each and every staff member of your new restaurant on own.

Remember it is the staff that represents your business and can also increase the sales. Staff members that you select should thus be hardworking, honest and motivated. There should be some experienced people in the staff as well; so that they can reflect the vision of your restaurant business to your customers. As, they would be in constant touch with the customers.

So these are some of the factors that answer how to start a restaurant business. Successful implementations of all these factors will surely leap bound your business.
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Starting Small Business - Family

So They Want It Cheap?

Recently, the creators of SPIN Selling have published a new book entitled "Escaping the Price-Driven Sale", and it just shows how much suffering the price issue has been inflicting on the majority of sales people that the authors have to contribute some ideas to alleviate part of the pain.

By the way, it is also perfect marketing sense to write a book where there will be billions of potential readers buying it.

In any case, what I would like to do in the following paragraphs is to provide some concise and street smart outlines that you can read in the next 5 minutes and get to the core on how you can deal with price issues effectively.

"How can I Make a Difference when I'm Only the Sales Guy?"

If we were to pick sales people at random, and ask them what they feel needs to be done so that they can get more sales, the most common answer will be, "if we can just lower our prices"

If you were to ask the same people what needs to be done for customers to buy at higher prices, you'll get responses such as:

· "But price is the ONLY thing they care!"

· "But we don't have the best quality/ technology/ product!"

· "But we can't provide guarantees!"

· "But we can't provide those high service standards"

· "But we don't have that kind of relationship yet"

· "But if we increase prices, they will just buy from our competitors!"

· "But this how sales is done here!"

Somehow, the responses you get tend to start with "but..." most of the times.

However, studies conducted by HR Chally Group shows a completely different picture. In fact, it is reported that "39% of a customer's decision to buy from your company is based on the effectiveness of your sales representative"

Even when selling low-value and non-strategic products such as photocopy paper, sales people can make a difference by finding out:

· If the customer would like to have different types of paper for daily printing and those needed to print formal proposals

· If the customer would like to have optimal re-ordering schedules to maintain constant supplies of paper, without committing too much valuable office spaces for paper storage;

· If the customer would like to have the sales person personally accountable to deliver any urgent requests to replenish paper supplies

And the list goes on. The point is buyers have a lot more to consider when making buying decisions besides price, while most sellers just assume that price is their greatest concerns. Having the above understanding of customers' needs may be the difference between a deal and a no-deal, or a no-sell to an up-sell.

Are There Any Concerns Besides Price?

While price is still important, it is still one of the many considerations a customer have when making buying decisions. If those other concerns are not addressed, then customers may not buy, even when you have the lowest price.

Effective sales people will be those whom can find out what these other concerns are, and usually through asking customers some critical questions. While there are many questioning techniques and frameworks suggested by sales experts and consultants around the world, here's one that is meant for sales people to ask themselves while they proceed along their sales pipelines. It has an appropriate acronym too: C.H.E.A.P.

· "C" stands for "Current-Future State". That means as a sales person, do you know where the customer is currently, and what will be their desired situation in the near-future?

· "H" stands for "Highlighting Their Pain and Implications". What will be the customers' "pain" if they don't take actions now? Will there be further implications as such?

· "E" stands for "Expected Outcomes". That means, on the brighter side, how much can the customer gain if they were to heed your advice and take the actions to buy from you?

· "A" stands for "Associated Risks". How can customers be so sure that your products and solution will work as promised? What other alternatives or recourse do they have if things don't work out as planned?

· "P" stands for "Providing Assurance". Sometimes, customers feel very uncomfortable, and even paranoid about buying high value items from a new vendor, or for new products and solutions. Hence, what is it that you have been doing to soothe their fears, instill confidence unto them, and make them trust you?

These are some of the questions that you may not have all the answers to in the initial stage of customer meetings. However, these are useful guidelines to remind you what are those key issues that customers want besides price.

Price is What You Pay, Value is What You Get

Ultimately, the uninformed customer will just ask for the lowest prices if she does not see the value in your offering. As sales people, your greatest value may just to become your customers' trusted advisor, more so than any product features and quality.

No, customers generally don't want it cheap... ....Rather, what they demand from you is to get more value for the money they pay. As an effective sales person, you can make all the difference.

In any case, if you would like to me to provide you with specific insights on how to provide unique value to your customers and be their trusted advisors, simply e-mail info@psycheselling.com or call +86-136 7190 2505 or Skype: cydj001 and arrange to buy me a mocha. All information shall be kept in confidence.
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How to Make a Sale Almost Every Time!

Making a sale is not the easiest thing to do. It takes skill, technique, knowledge, and persistence as well as many other skills. This article will help you improve your sales by focusing on one technique. Used correctly, your sales will skyrocket.

The best way to make a sale is to remove as many barriers as possible. I heard a story told by Bill Myers about how a World War II hero made a record flight, destroying several enemy planes single-handedly.

When interviewed, the pilot revealed how he had accomplished this outstanding task. He said it was simple. The enemy planes were all in rows, still on the runway. That's how you'll want to set up your sales: aim for targets that are easy to hit!

To make a dramatic increase in your sales, simply find out what your customers want and give it to them. It's that simple!

Why try to sell your customers something that they don't want or something that you have to persuade them to buy? Doesn't it make more sense to offer your customers something they already want?

Here's a story I'm going to share with you. I love to use self-development courses on CDs.

I'm eager to learn new things. I receive offers in the mail all the time, even though every time I finish a course, I say, "That's it for a while." The first step I take when I see a new offer in the mail is to open it and 50% of the time, I'll order the course. Some of the sales letters for these courses are 12 pages long. Do I read them from beginning to end? No, not really. I already know if I want it or not. I look over the benefits and the price, and I decide to buy it or not. I don't need a salesperson to persuade me. I don't need seven e-mails spread out over time telling me the benefits. I don't expect to have the offer shown to me. That's it. The company that sends me the offers has an automatic moneymaking system. All they need to do is get the offer to me. Their sales are steady, they have a satisfied customer, and their return rate is low. For me, it's been zero returns since I've been buying these courses.

Now, if everything this company did was the same, except the product they offered was in a different category, they would have a zero percent response from me; because I don't want the product. If they sent this new offer to people like me, they would get a zero response rate. They might close the company, they might spend thousands of dollars to see what's wrong, and it's as simple as finding out what people want and giving it to them. Some business people spend thousands of dollars on products and services that no one wants. Then they spend thousands of dollars trying to market these products and services. Why go through all that trouble and spend all that money and waste all that time? Give your prospects and customers what they want! It's the best way to make solid sales, get lifetime customers, and streamline your business.

You need to focus on one issue and make sure you don't get off-track. Give your customers what they want and nothing else. Stay focused on the needs and wants of your prospects and customers, and your business will prosper!

Action Steps to Make More Sales:

1. Find out what your customers and prospects want.

2. Provide products and services that your customers and prospects already want

Important Points to Keep in Mind for Making More Sales:

*To make a dramatic increase in your sales, simply find out what your customers want and give it to them.

*Why try to sell your customers something that they don't want or something that you have to persuade them to buy?

*Some business people spend thousands of dollars on products and services that no one wants. Don't guess, investigate!
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Business Ideas in Life

When you decide to start a business the first thing to do is to come up with a good idea. That is probably the most important thing and you have to do it the right way. If your idea isn't good enough than, probably, your business will not be good either.

There are a lot good ideas that aren't discovered yet. Of course, it can be very hard to find them. Much often you will find (or come up with) a bad idea. So, if you want to avoid failure be sure that your idea is great or at least good enough.

The best way to find out if you are on good track is to ask. Talk to the people, describe them what are you planning to do and listen to them. If they all say it's a bad idea, than it probably is. Just try to come up with some interesting and useful stuff that people will like.

Your idea doesn't have to be great from the start. It can be just average but with time you can improve it until it becomes great. Some of them give up the moment they figure out it's not great. Don't be one of them, if you don't try you will never know.

Most people on the world are poor or with average wealth. Do you know why? Because they are afraid to make the next step. They think that they aren't good enough or that they can't do it, or that they don't have enough money etc. Do not be like them. Do not waste your time thinking what and why can't you do something, think about things you can do. There are people who are rich and successful and the only weapon used on that road to success was their knowledge and a computer. Do you have a PC? Do you know how to use it? Well, that's a start. The internet is full of useful information so start searching and learning today. There are millions of things that you can do from your home on your PC, you only have to discover them and learn how to use them.

Hiring Your First Employees - How To Start Smart

You've decided that you need full-time employees for your small business--Congratulations! If you are like most, the instinct is to dive in--write that job description, advertise, and wait for the flood of responses from applicants. While this common practice provides an immediate sense of satisfaction, when it comes to building a professional staff, it is wiser for the small business owner to invest in a process and materials that will draw the caliber of individuals she expects--now and in the future.

To be on the successful hiring path, attract a viable pool of candidates, and ultimately have the right person on board, you'll want an advisor and a consultant who can take the burden off you. However, should you insist on going it alone, these steps will help frame your approach:

* Examine the role(s) you will need based on your true business goals and align your hiring decision accordingly. Although it sounds simple, you'll want to look closely at your perceived need and how it relates to your ultimate goal. For example, if the invoices, word processing, mail, and phones are leaving little time for you to focus on critical tasks, such as increasing your customer base, you might decide to hire an administrative assistant. But, through some tough introspection, you might discover that, even with front-office support, you'd still be without a clearly defined plan or the expertise to gain more customers. Given your most pressing goal--more customers--and this new perspective, there is a wider range of hiring possibilities now (e.g., an entry-level inside sales, marketing, or business developer position, etc.) to meet your true need head-on and result in a better investment of your hiring dollars. Because a company's true needs are varied and sometimes hard to see from within, a trusted external advisor can help you to identify them.

* Determine a competitive salary based on market expectations and your budget. Market research is your best approach, but you will also want to consider the scope of the position. If it is too broad and your salary is too low, it may be a losing battle. Scrutinize the description for tasks that can be outsourced at a lower rate and what tasks might be tackled with existing resources. Without research, you may be overestimating your salary offer, thereby missing out on cost savings. Web sites like salary.com and payscale.com can help you determine appropriate pay ranges for specific skill sets.

* Write a professional, targeted job description. Ensure your job posting speaks the language--and meets the expectations--of its intended audience. If you aren't sure, conduct market research or seek out this specialized knowledge.

* Develop an assessment checklist for phone screening. This is an important tool to systematically determine who you will interview. After all, your time is precious and you'll want to reserve it for the best of the best!

* Approach your hiring project from all angles. If you've followed the advice above and put your needs out there, you're opening the doors to all applicants. You'll also want to reach out to pre-selected candidates who meet your requirements to provide a counterweight to the process. Be as proactive as possible. Determine what your future and ongoing needs may be and network. Use tools like LinkedIn, XING, and ZoomInfo to meet potential candidates, or outsource this data mining and cultivate the results. Join users groups and associations where potential employees for your organization might be. This can also mean proactively seeking candidates by perusing the job boards for employment-seekers if you have access. The value is that you are saving a step by prequalifying candidates; the only consideration is how much wiggle room you have in salary negotiation, should you find the perfect fit. This recruiting process also can be achieved with outside resources. "Hiring the right people at the right time can make or break a company, especially a small business. Recruiting is an ongoing activity - you should always be recruiting even if you do not have an open position," advises Tami Heyden, Partner at Louis Heyden Group.

* Create a timetable for the tasks above to ensure you stay focused and on track. All too often our good intentions become lost in the face of conflicting demands, and actual implementation of our goals is a distant memory. If you set deadlines, delegate, and hold yourself and everyone else accountable, you will have a better chance of following through.

Michael Port - small business marketing coach