LIFESTYLE n SERVING CLIENTS

By Dr. Rollan Roberts II

The product was sold in Complete Nutrition stores and online, but I really wanted to grow it big. We were paying ridiculous amounts of money handing out single sample packets at events and through commissioned distributors, so I had the idea— what if the customers paid US for the sample? I decided to open a high-end lounge like you’ d see at a club in Las Vegas, except we sold coffee and protein drinks! Customers would be able to taste the product with experts making it instead of buying a whole can up front and hoping it would taste better than any protein drink they’ d had. The idea was that business people could also work from a nicer environment during the day, and I could open a new brand of coffee and protein shops around the country— a sleek, clean, high-end space for professionals. This experience opened the door for me to open up coffee shops in malls and standalone drive-through locations( very popular in the northwest).

What I was selling isn’ t what I was serving. I was selling an experience. I was selling a culture. And they could buy products while they were there. The key to success in the hospitality and restaurant industries is clearly understanding what business you are in.

You are not merely cleaning hotel rooms, working the front desk, leading activities at the resort, managing a restaurant, bussing tables, or being a hostess. You do not just have the best barbeque or seafood or the friendliest staff. That is what you do, not what you sell.

Here are some questions you can ask to identify what business you are in and what you really sell:

1. What demographics are we currently attracting? You’ re attracting what you’ re attracting because of the alignment or lack thereof of your price points, ambience, type of people you hire, overall experience, and products( food, rooms, etc.). There are very few businesses in the hospitality industry that are fully aligned. They aren’ t Apple yet. Are the customers you currently have, the ones you want? Are you reaching the demographic that can afford the product you really want to sell? Are you reaching those that have the same wants, needs, desires, and pain points as you? If not, you may have created something for a target market you do not own yet.

2. Why do they choose to visit, sleep, or eat here? My dear friend invented the McDonalds Happy Meal, opened the first Ronald McDonald house, and convinced Ruth’ s Chris to offer free meals on your birthday, thus starting a hugely popular trend. After all, how many people do you know that eat by themselves on their birthday? Tom was tapping into why consumers choose what they choose. It’ s what makes you different. There are thousands of Starbucks around the world, but there’ s only 2 that write personal notes on my cup! Guess where I go 99 % of the time.

3. What do customers complain about most frequently? What about your experience frustrates your customers? It may be the food, staff, wait times, or color of paint on the wall, but you better find out. I have found more value in observing customer’ s reactions than reading comment cards. Most will never tell me that they couldn’ t stand the person at the front desk or the waiter. Most never express their real complaint. It’ s your job to figure out what they are most frustrated by and either identify that they are the wrong customer for your business or fix it. The complaints will help you quickly identify the business you are in by understanding the many businesses you are not in. The process of elimination is quite enlightening in this process.

4. How can we start selling what we want people buying? One of the things I quickly realized as CEO of a $ 250 million nutraceutical manufacturing firm was our customers were buying products we did not want to sell them. They had the least margin and were hardest on our equipment. Those products also attracted a customer base that were abusive to customer service and had an outlook on life that wasn’ t aligned with our corporate values. So I made it difficult for them to buy those products. We stopped promoting them on the website and through email communications and started promoting( selling) what we wanted them to buy. Many companies wish their bread and butter came from a different product or service, such as subscriptions or a product that stabilizes revenue and streamlines efficiency and customer experience. Stop selling what you don’ t want them buying( but still let them buy it!).

Working in the hospitality and restaurant industries allows you to get a doctorate degree in understanding people and consumer behavior. It usually isn’ t pretty. You see people at their worst, but you’ re seeing the most authentic them. People are not who they really are when everything is wonderful. You can’ t see their character in those moments. Above all, learn people. Learn how they think and operate. Learn how they make decisions. That is the most valuable knowledge you can gain from being in the hospitality and restaurant industries, and it will serve you well in everything you do. And hopefully it helps you level up and be your best you … even when no one is watching!

Dr. Rollan Roberts II is Founder / CEO of Courageous! Inc.( the Camp David for Entrepreneurs) and founder of the CEO Cruise, CEO Huddles, and Courageous! Radio, which reaches 100,000 + entrepreneurs per week. He was recognized as“ Top 100 Most Influential Floridians,” nominated to Central Command at Department of Defense, and keynote speaker at Harvard University. Connect with Dr. Roberts by visiting www. RollanRoberts. com.

COURTESY OF DR. ROLLAN ROBERTS II

22 IBA Success Magazine n VOL 4, Issue 5