Day 8: Coaching Case Study / Results

Yesterday your ONE THING was learning about taxes to minimize your position.

Kinda boring but it can make for an exciting bank balance.

Traditional coaching school will tell you “your client already knows what they need to know… you just need to draw it out of them…”

But I live in the real world, if your coaching clients don’t see positive financial impact as a result of your coaching…. they’ll shortly cancelling.

The end.

Yes, some clients want holidays, work/life balance (does that actually exist?! Doesn’t “work / life integration” make a little more sense?) but I deal in percentages.

Let’s not be the broke snowflakes singing Kumbaya and make your clients some money and hit reality HEAD ON.

Your ONE THING is to create a successful roadmap BEFORE you even meet the prospect.

If you had a list of 20 bulletproof ways to help a restaurant… think you might be a little more confident?

Stare deep into their soul, like when two new lovers meet, and say this with your piercing stare “I’m going to positively change your life and you don’t even know it yet!”

Umm… cheque please.

When a new business coach gets started with my online lead generation system… do you think we all huddle together and say “OK… holy smokes Dave Smith said yes to us helping him build his coaching practice! I’m excited but very nervous and confused… what do you guys suggest we do next with Dave Smith and his coaching business…?!?!”

Hardly.

My system is bullet proof and new coaching clients are ready to go…. We just add water.

Plus the systems keeps improving with additions like software, membership sites, legitimate passive revenue opportunities etc…

Anyhoo…

Here’s a 15-year-old case study I created for a restaurant I coached. I was looking through it for ideas for this email and realized half of it was ahead of its time and most would work for any restaurant today.

So, hullo copy / paste.

Not everything here worked… but they were VERY happy, profitable, clients.

Restaurant

Issue: 20-year-old restaurant with business / revenues in a slow downward spiral needs a “reboot”.

Strategy and Initiative used: Try to model business on clientele rather than ‘what had worked in the past’ (outdated) and create the local “place to be”.

Research: Step one of ANY marketing plan is always research. Found hot buttons of clientele to be: quality food, service, hygiene, atmosphere and price.

Message: (Romance and fresh daily pasta are decided to be the message). Daily Homemade Pasta in a romantic dining atmosphere for reasonable price. Logo becomes man and woman slow dancing, pasta is made fresh on the spot and can be seen as you enter the restaurant.

10 Outstanding Reasons to Choose – Our Fine Pasteria

1. Romantic Atmosphere
2. Daily Homemade Pasta
3. Award Winning Chef
4. Original Italian Recipes
5. Excellent Wine List
6. Two Décor Choices Patio or Romantic
7. Professional Service
8. Romantic Dinner Specials
9. Romantic Music and Live Violists Play on the weekends
10. Complete Satisfaction or dinner is on us!

Market: White collar with upper middle income living in the affluent suburbs on the Westside. Clientele came from the entire city but this is the market we targeted with direct mail and advertising.

Package Deals: An Evening to Remember: Candlelight table, professionally trained waiter, red rose, wine, two songs played by violinist, entrée, dessert and much more – all for one surprisingly low price!

One Price Business Professional Lunch: Eleven Choices for ONLY $12.95.

Business Cards: All staff were given business cards with their name and title. Waiting staff, kitchen staff etc… were given clever titles like Pasta Engineers and management were Fine Pasta Consultants. The business cards all had a perforated edge with 2 Romance Dollars (completed by a graphic designer and remained classy). Everyone loves their own business card.

Direct Mail: Sequence of three letters (all businesses should have a sequence of three letters) for purposes of direct mail to targeted list (past customers and local target market).

Pricing: Hadn’t raised prices in a long time with increased costs (lower profits every years with same revenue). They raised prices 10% across the board (no one noticed – result was zero extra overhead and an extra $50,000.000 PROFIT).

Continuity: Created a Pasta Club where members received ‘Pasta of the Month’ in the post with recipe each thirty days. Membership was $25 up front and $30 per month on going. (*Waiter/waitress got the first month payment as bonus and it was tracked each month on a public board in staff room). Members of the club were invited to Italy (members had to pay – for every 25 airline tickets booked you get two freebies. Owners charged a small premium and therefore made money off this initiative) for a week and one member received a free trip for two as enticement to sign up now.

Highest performing staff member was taken at no charge.

Guarantee: Complete Satisfaction or the meal is on us (this was already in place but they didn’t tell anyone – why not make it public). Guaranteed seating within 10 minutes of reservation.

Competition: Staff – Pasta Club Membership sales were tracked in the staff room daily and the winner each month received a prize.

Staff – Alcohol sales (high margin and an indication of people having a good time) were tracked the same way and at the end of the month a prize was awarded.

Joint Ventures: Sponsored the local soccer club, hockey club and the Italiané Association (notice club theme – more members than a tennis club where its an individual sport) with the agreement the end of year party and award ceremony was held at their restaurant. All parents were encouraged to join the ‘Pasta Club’ and the team received the $25 charge and the first month as sponsorships monies.

Local Realtor (the area superstar) is provided FREE meal vouchers to give to his clients that move into the area. The vouchers are specifically labeled as a free meal courtesy of John Smith (the realtor).

Similar relationship formed with a lady that short term leased very expensive inner city apartments. Clients tended to be wealthy and likely to dine (they had no groceries).

Irresistible Offer: Free Bottle of Wine with Dinner on Wednesday Nights (their slowest night). After some simple research it was discovered on average regular customers came in every 60 days… therefore each customer received a FREE appetizer with a 30 day expiry.

Theory was to get them ikn the habit of coming in more often.

All media personalities were provided a Free six-month membership to the Pasta of the Month Club.

Sales Training: Paid $1,000.00 for a professional waiting consultant to come in and teach staff how to maximize service and tips. By encouraging bread as people sit down (they are there because they are hungry), red wine with meal and dessert afterwards the average sale (table of two) went from $52.57 to $61.02.

Prior to shift, waiting staff were presented the specials and a script by the chef.

All staff were provided a FREE memory course (amazing for staff morale) on DVD.

Centre of Table: This is prime real estate that usually goes unused. A classy brochure in a wooden frame was placed in the centre of the table… the info changed regularly and promoted things such as ‘Story about the Chef’, History of the Restaurant, Pasta facts, Benefits of The Pasta Club, specials nights like Wednesday etc…

Social Proof: Prospects with leverage (These people were targeted through a lady who short-term leased very expensive inner-city apartments and offered a free meal. Some of her clients included famous actor(ess), professional athletes and successful businessmen – they received free dinner and a guarantee of no longer than a ten-minute wait) were photographed with manager and hung in the entrance. Testimonials about the Pasta of the Month Club were placed in menu and in the middle of the tables.

Nike pay Michael Jordan to wear their shoes for a reason…. A restaurant can cover meal (food, not alcohol) of well-known people (waiting staff should be notified and let customers know where appropriate. “We get a lot of famous people here… we try make it ‘the place to be’ That’s Mike Ditka from the Chicago Bears over there.”) and profit wildly from the notoriety.

Menu: The look of the menu was changed monthly (important – just like retail stores should move their inventory regularly) and a professional copywriter was used to name and describe meals: Spinach Salad became Tantalizing Spinach – A mouth watering arrangement of fresh spinach leaves combined with white button mushrooms, crisp chips of bacon, and tomato, with our superb bacon and maple syrup dressing. Fruit Salad became ‘Gourmet Fruit & Berries – A colorful array of fresh local berries, bananas, strawberries, pineapples and raspberries surrounding big scoops of frozen yogurt on a palate of cantaloupe with our finest Maple Syrup pored over top.

Special Lunch Menu targeted at Professionals in the area.

Email Signature: Every email they send out always had a signature and phone number moving forward.

The signature talked about the upcoming events and had a series of testimonials about food and pictures of famous guests (social proof).

Patio: The patio was very popular place and the average sale value was $9.00 higher per table (high margin alcohol) of two. Replaced old tables and chairs with smaller replacements and took the fountain out. Extra six people now seated outside.

Advantage provided: Business now portrayed romantic image local clientele (successful professionals) resonated with.

These initiatives provided a powerful dynamic of ‘the place to be’.

Waiters and waitresses were encouraged to use the saying “the place to be” when talking to the customers.

Taxes: At our advice met with accountant and went through creative, legal and intelligent ways to minimize tax position now and in the future. *Had never done this before in 20 years of business.

Mastermind: Towards the end of the year discovered the power of coaching / consulting and started a mastermind (rather than join one – we organized it) with 9 other non-competing pasta restaurants across the country.

They paid $1000 per month to be in the mastermind and brainstormed secrets to success. The KICKER… he learned a TON from the other 9 restaurants as they shared ideas every month.

We got referrals.

Result: Profits doubled in 12 months and well on their way to creating “The Place To Be”.

Not everything above worked but plenty did.

If you had this ready BEFORE you started with the restaurant… think you might have a slightly better chance of KNOCKING IT OUT OF THE PARK with your clients and not having them cancel in 90 days?

The coaches that work with us have 125 “turnkey marketing systems” pre-created for them. Many of the marketing systems are $50,000 marketing funnels ready to go.

If you were trying to get the chiropractor / dentist to become your client and you were competing with one of my coaches… and they had a $50,000 marketing system READY TO GO for the chiropractor… who do you think the client is going to work sign up with and pay handsomely?

And… which coach do you think the accountant will partner with?

That’s the POWER of having all this created BEFORE you start with your client. Tomorrow I have an extra special treat for you if you like making a TON of money for restaurants and want to get clients with ease.

Obsessed with your business coaching success,

King Karl

PS.Holy smokes am I tired.

PPS. If you’re a business coach and you do not have a membership site in 2019… you’re a JOKER.

Carry on.

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https://thesixfigurecoach.com/subscribe/

 

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