As a FocalPoint business coach working with restaurant and cafe owners in the Bowling Green area, I often get asked how to boost revenue by bringing in more customers. My specialty is equipping these establishments with the sales strategies their staff needs to convert passerby into loyal, repeat patrons.
What I coach Bowling Green restaurant managers and staff on is the importance of not just relying on your location or word of mouth to drive sales. There are several easy-to-implement yet highly effective sales tactics cafe owners can put into daily practice that focus on engaging potential customers. This starts from the curb appeal messaging to draw people in all the way through to the check-out process.
Here are my top sales training tips for converting more restaurant and cafe visitors into paying customers:
Get the Curb Appeal Right
From signage to sandwich boards, window displays and more, curb appeal encompasses all visual elements surrounding your establishment that catch attention. For cafes, optimize window and door displays to showcase your best-selling items. Restaurants should highlight current specials or menu options using exterior signs and boards. Getting the curb appeal right brings more people in to become paying customers.
Ramp Up the Welcome Experience
As a FocalPoint coach, I work with restaurant managers on training staff to deliver exceptional welcome experiences. From the friendly greeting at the door to commenting on menu items by name as customers are seated, ramping up engagement boosts sales. I coach restaurants on having managers periodically observe staff welcome diners and provide constructive feedback to keep quality high.
Suggestive Selling and Upselling
Knowing your best-selling and highest margin menu items makes it easier for wait staff to steer diners towards them through suggestive selling, say when asked what they recommend. Servers can further increase per-check averages with strategic upselling, perhaps of drinks, desserts or side dishes. I coach restaurants on tracking these metrics to optimize suggestive selling and upselling approaches for higher revenue.
Refine Checkout and Payment Processes
You’ve nurtured diners through an exceptional dining experience – don’t drop the ball at checkout with clunky or complicated payment processes. I coach cafe owners through streamlining point-of-sale checkout with options like pay-at-the-counter or tableside tablets. For restaurants, training staff on seamlessly presenting checks and efficiently processing payments enhances the exit experience. This helps convert one-time patrons into repeat, word-of-mouth customers driving more sales.
Incorporate Customer Retention Tactics
The backbone of sales growth for cafes and restaurants lies less with chasing new customers and more with retaining existing ones. From loyalty programs to personalized messaging and special offers for return visitors, I coach establishments on easy customer retention approaches. Something as simple as addressing repeat patrons by name fosters familiarity that earns return business. Small retention efforts pay back in exponentially higher customer lifetime value.
Getting these foundational sales strategies engrained at a granular level across staff establishes a higher caliber customer experience. This directly improves key revenue metrics from higher check averages to increased table turn rates. Restaurateurs interested in boosting top-line sales through proven coaching on these customer-facing tactics are encouraged to be in touch for a free introductory consultation. Driving higher revenue starts with dedicated sales training – let’s connect on how I can help implement that for your Bowling Green restaurant or cafe.
