What’s a Number Anyway?

Eat. Drink.

May 15th is soon approaching. I posted a blog 7 weeks ago stating that we needed to be ready for work when that date arrives. Why did I pick that date? I figured by May 15th, it would be 8 weeks later and we would all be itching to get out of quarantine. We would all be ready to get back to business. The shock and sadness of the economic & emotional damage of COVID-19 would be less severe and we would want to get back to normal as soon as possible.

I shouldn’t even say get back to business, because we have always been in business. Our business will now be different moving forward. So, let’s get to work. It’s time to focus on what we will do for the rest of the year.

How do WE do this?

Think this way. If you were a $10 million company at the end of 2019, what will you be now? A $4 million company? If you were a $1 million company at the end of 2019, will ending the year at $500,000 be okay? It is imperative to make this numeric decision for all other decisions (i.e. budgeted expenses, human resources). Sure, it is somewhat of a guess but you have to start somewhere.

Inspire.

I started my new position as Vice President of Sales one month prior to the 2008 recession. Within my first three months, I had to re-forecast the sales revenue for 2009 based on how 2008 was shaking out. I also had to decide what human resources were necessary in order to achieve that new revenue goal (as well as several other things). This re-forecast number affected all other departmental decisions as well.

We had to make tough calls to come through that financial crisis. We made things lean and started to build back up methodically. Times were not always easy and the team needed to trust me. If 2007 was my yardstick for the last “normal” year, we set a goal to hit that “normal” by 2012. We knew 2009 would be tough but we made the three-year commitment and stuck to it. Our goal-setting was effective; we exceeded each previous year’s revenue goal, but most importantly, we actually became more profitable.

I say to all my clients, “a revenue number is just a revenue number.” So many people see a large revenue number as guaranteed success. I help them look at this differently. I would easily prefer a 20% year-end profit on $2 million versus 10% profit on $4 million. It’s the same bottom line with a different hustle. It’s time to look at your company and get back to numbers that make sense moving forward. Use this time to make your company stronger than before the pandemic.

Selling is New for Some of Our Salespeople

I started my business three years ago. The typical phone call I get from a potential new client is, “Can you teach my salespeople how to sell and stop being order takers?”

Owners, managers and company leaders, we have done a disservice to our sales teams for the last two decades with poor sales and business development decisions we have made:

• We call some salespeople “salespeople” when many are truly “account managers”  

• These “account managers” are used to handling inbound leads and have never attempted an outbound new business call their entire career

• Lead distribution has fooled these “account managers” into thinking they have been “selling” all this time

• We have become reliant on external venues and third-party websites to provide leads and have forgotten how to find new business

• Leads are expected. Leads should not be expected. I call leads GIFTS.

• What we considered selling in “our day” is different than what happens today

Sure, salespeople and account managers need to be skilled in relationship building, listening, knowing their product and understanding their client’s needs. That type of selling is very important and I am not minimizing it. I love when salespeople take a $50,000 client and turn that client into a $250,000 client. That is an imperative expectation of individual sales growth. However, that doesn’t mean they have been fulfilling your expectation of selling; they have been nurturing and growing existing business. 

Once we return to planning gatherings over 10 guests, we need to recognize something; the phone ain’t going to be ringing as much as it did for the last 11 years. We need to get our hustle back on.

So now we will see who is

a real salesperson, right? 

When we all return to the office post-COVID-19, your sales team should have more time to sell. I bet some have never done this before. I can actually guarantee this, as I have owned my business for three years and have worked with several salespeople who have told me as such. This is a skill set that needs to be taught, re-taught, audited and developed. Do not assume your team knows how to sell. Provide them the tools and coaching to make them comfortable as many need to start at square one.

Seven Initial Ideas for Leadership Coaching:

• Have honest, individual dialogues with each one of your team members

• Ask them if they have ever called on a new client

  • What made them feel good? What made them feel bad?

• Define your actual expectation for what a “call” is

  • Phone vs. Email?

  • Is tackling your stagnant client base a good start?

• Look at a sample outbound email to see how they introduce themselves

• Look at what collateral materials are readily available following the initial call

  • Be prepared for immediate follow up

• Pretend to be the potential customer so the salesperson can practice

  • Ask questions back/email responses back

• Provide resources for research

  • Stagnant- Invoice Reports, Revenue History

  • New Biz- Trade Publications, LinkedIn, Google Alerts

As a former catering salesperson, the luckiest thing that happen to me was not being at the “big dog” company. I had to be scrappy and creative to find new business. I had to have guts to call on previously proposed lost business. Have that mindset now no matter what your company’s size and resources. Everyone is in the same doghouse now.

Sales Leaders — What Do We Do Now and Next?

I am trying to remember what happened post — 9/11 and post — 2008 recession. I was a Director of Sales managing four salespeople when the unspeakable horror hit NYC, DC and Shanksville in September 2001. I was a Vice President of Sales managing 32 team members when the financial disaster hit our entire country in September 2008, newly hired one month prior. 

Of course I remember these tragedies both in different ways; the first from a human perspective with sadness and disbelief; the second from a business perspective of what the hell just happened and do I even know who I am managing yet? For the life of me, I do not recall specific tactics and plans that got us back, but I do remember one thing, I had to be a leader.    

Did I know what specific steps I had to take as a leader to get revenue rolling in again? No; it was the first time these two different things happen to me in a management role. But I did know I had to inspire and lead the team to find our footing again, move forward and eventually return to booking events again. During this drought, I had to develop a strategic sales and human resources plan for when it was time to get back to business.

This is where we are now — right? Kind of. What is weird about this disaster is how fast it hit and the unknown end date. This is agonizing for us all; we are expert planners that like every detail finalized, all logistics in place and timelines followed to the minute.

Sales leaders, step up now, because this unknown cannot hold you back.

We are hospitality wizards. My entire career, I approached every event thinking, “I am going to face at least one challenge that will require a decision on the spot; let’s just hope it’s at the beginning of set-up and not while the guests are walking in the door”. Well, guess what, this is our set-up.

Start tackling this challenge now with your remaining sales team members so when your clients are at your door again, you know what you are offering next.

Leaders To Get to the Next….

Finalize your Business Focus

• Review business that has postponed and confirm new status

• What products and services are you offering moving forward? What is changing?

  • Recognize we are not going to be 100% the same business as before

• Think Differently – How do we adapt and what are the most profitable lines of business?

• Get pulse from sales team on annual repeat customers for Q3 & Q4 events

  • What will be their revised sales projections for May-December 2020?

  • Have you developed a new revenue goal and related expense budgets?

• Have you updated your P&L projections?

• Owners…Do you feel good about all this?

Develop New  “Life of the Sale”

• Think Through the Customer Experience from Inquiry through Invoice

  • Based on each business line

• Measure the Path — Who and What is Needed at Each Step and When?

Be “Sales” Ready

• Be Ready for First Inquiry- Can you follow up with pricing and a proposal in an hour?

• Develop and Share Event Ideas- What types of events will clients be asking for?

  • Employee Appreciation? Team Building? Fundraising?

  • What Venues are available and make sense for these event types?

  • Non-Saturday weddings?

• Update all Marketing Outlets — Website, Social Media, etc.

Develop an Operational Timeline

• Look at Event Calendar — what has postponed and when does the first event kick in?

• When can you start rebuilding BOH operations?

  • What are the financial thresholds for this ramp up?

• What information do you need from the sales team to help you make these decisions?

Communicate to the Team

• What is the best method of communication? Group or Individual?

• Recognize “What does this mean for me?” is top of mind for most employees

• Are you ready for all the questions?

• Remember to be honest and open

Take a moment to reflect on who you would consider the three best leaders in history. If your three are similar to mine, each historical figure brought their people back after a significant crisis or tragedy. They faced adversity but persevered through determination and grit. As a sales leader, adding strategy, planning and hustle into the mix means you are focused on the next. Do it. Our community, staff and customers are all looking forward to it.

May 15th NOW is the New Year

I have always been in control of my destiny my entire career. As a salesperson, the more I worked, the more I made. There were very little outside factors that affected my success in my 25 years of sales other than 9/11 (which was extreme) and a few economic recessions (inconveniences in my opinion). 

This Coronavirus pandemic has put us all into a state of shock. A week ago, it seemed to be an over-hyped lead news story by every media outlet. Now, this pandemic has become a tsunami, hurricane, tornado and earthquake all at once.

Several caterers are closing their offices for the next eight weeks in order to reserve funds for when we all may be ready to serve again. This corresponds with the CDC recommendation for no gatherings larger than 10 guests. This is scary, yet provides hope with the possibility of an “end date”. As owners and employees, it is imperative during this time to buckle down but look forward. While you have operational “down” time, I implore you to use these weeks to work through proactive strategies so you will be ready to get back to business.  Let’s make May 15th a reality NOW.

Next 8 Weeks — Critical Stage

Week 1-3

•   Review Existing Team Members and Continue to Employ Those Critical to Client Management

•   Furlough or Layoff Team Members Until Operations are Back in Order

•   Make Your Clients Feel Safe — Keep Communication Lines Open

•   Strategize with Venue Partners on Future Date Availability

•   Determine Monthly Break Even Number for Fixed Expenses

•   Stop all Unnecessary Expenditures

Week 3-5

•   Revisit Legal Client-Facing Contracts/Agreement for Necessary Updates

•   Reissue New Contracts for Existing Postponed Event Clients

•   Update In-House Event Calendar and Project Staffing Needs

•   Get to Know Your Local Competitors Better-We are in this Together

•   Revisit Vendor Partner Financial Relationships

Week 5-8

•   Restructure Revenue Goals and Re-Forecast Budgets for Remainder 2020

•   Revisit Marketing Collateral, Website and Social Media Outlets

•   Assess Pace of Client Interest and Market Segment Inquiries for New Business Bookings

•   Brainstorm on New Lines of Business

•   Work on Tabled Projects

May 15, 2020- Reset Stage

Let’s look at May 15th NOW as a new beginning. This will be our new calendar year. We need to work proactively and positively to get our team catering events again. Taking the steps above is a great start.