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Sell Yes? Hell Yes.

What is a special request?

Its a momentary fork in the road, something that jumps up unpredicted, and can catch any of us off guard. That can scare, vex, and distract you, which is precisely why so many react with a negative emotion that is best indicated by a single two letter word. NO.

That’s the temptation which envelops and holds back so many, the magnetism of the ability to say no.

Let’s teach them a lesson. Who do they think they are? Who would want it that way?

Chefs do you recognize this emotion? Who else literally works in front of fire, dealing with randomly placed and unpredictable orders, some of which have at best half-witted requests on them?

Sell Yes.

That’s right, if you can say yes, just say yes. Then turn someone else’s weird taste, relative ignorance about flavors and combinations, or just boring preference into a profit for you and your co-workers.

It is literally just as hard if you say no, in fact, the tension it creates actually makes it worse when you refuse.

Now, I get it, sometimes it comes at the worst most stressful time. Here is what the best Chef’s I know do, they laugh at the absurdity, or post it on the wall with a collection of absurd requests, etc.

We open the door, we don’t control who walks through it.

When we sell yes, we enjoy our lives more, and make someone’s weird cravings go away.

Win. Win. Win.

I am Spirocks on Twitter.

Trust and Permission – Gatekeepers and Goals

Lets take a pre-meditated turn off of our beaten path, and forge a new direction that creates surprise, builds trust, and forges connections.

road trips

You are the marketer, the story teller, the ambassador, the person responsible for the way your restaurant interacts with the public. You have lots to share, and lots of motivation for your community to love your place. So how can we improve our ability to break through, to create lasting loyal customers out of those that we encounter with our message? (P.S. it doesnt matter if online, in person, or in print)

We get there by building trust, and getting permission. 

Think about it, how can we invest the time/energy/money in producing a piece of marketing material, whether a website, email, or old media ad without having cultivated an audience that wants to hear about it. The days of barging into peoples attention span are over.

The Art of the Want

Everything your business does to communicate with your community is intensely personal to you, but not to the community, don’t forget that. It is really not about what you want, if it was you would just send out a postcard to everyone’s house that said; “I want you to come eat at my restaurant tonight.”  The want we are after is the want of a guest to hear more about what you are doing, to hear about what you are doing in the future. You have to earn that want, by delivering what you promise in a way that builds trust.  Everyday my goal is to build trust, forge connections, and create surprise in the way my businesses interact with our guests. That goal is the fertile ground where the want that drives my business grows. 

Forge Connections… Why use the word forge? I say that because once you create them they are iron clad, for good or for bad, these are the stories that people associate with you and your business, they are the stories they tell their friends and family, but most importantly they are the stories they tell themselves.  Recently a woman called the restaurant early in the morning while I was doing some work in my office, when I answered I could tell she was stressed. She had forgotten to order a gift certificate for her Boss’s sister’s birthday that was that day. She was going to try and get someone to come get it from the restaurant and deliver it for her, and wanted to make sure we were there that early. So I said: “I can tell you are stressed, I hate that feeling, why dont you let me deliver it for you.” She was stunned, relieved and thrilled. I got the information for the delivery address and her address to mail a receipt. I took a ride and delivered the certificate, then swung by the woman’s office and delivered her a gift card valid for a martini on my tab that read: “I think you could use this today.” She was floored, and a connection was born. I guess you can say I forged a connection and created surprise all at the same time. With that I had permission to communicate with her in the future, and the best part? It was fun. You have to do something different, something original, something you create, for it to resonate and help you reach your goals. 

So today I suggest you invest in your creative soul and use it to help you build Trust and Permission. They are intertwined, and they represent the gatekeepers to your goals.

I am Spirocks on Twitter.