ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - January 12, 2007

Yesterday we woke up to snow and ice on the ground -- a rarity in Washington State ... and apparently a rarity in much of the US snow belt as well this year! When northern Michigan basking in 60 degree temperatures in January, it makes you wonder what is happening to our planet. (It also makes me glad I'm not in the ski business right now!)

On Monday I'm back on the road again after almost two months at home. I speak at the A&W National Convention in Nashville on Tuesday and Wednesday, then huddle with Pizza Today magazine and my colleague, Big Dave Ostrander for a couple of days to plot the future of Pizza Insight.

The best part of all this is that I'll get to enjoy a few meals at Randy Rayburn's Midtown Cafe and Sunset Grill.

MAKING LEMONADE
When adversity hits, a common reaction is to minimize expenses, pull in your horns and try to ride it out. It is a survival response, but hardly one that will move you forward. However, a few maverick entrepreneurs will seize upon the "dire" situation as an opportunity and find a way to make lemonade from the lemons life tosses at them.

I admit that offhand I can't think of a way to open a ski area without snow ... but I'll bet there is something that can be done to tap into the pent-up passion of all those frustrated skiers before they give up and pursue other activities for the season. In the short run, reducing expenses still makes good business sense, of course, but the true entrepreneur never stops looking for the opportunities that others don't see, never says never and never takes no for an answer. They roll up their sleeves and do the work.

But even if you came up with a great scheme, you would still need a way to get your offer in front of the people most likely to be interested. That certainly makes the business case for developing and nurturing an extensive database.

For example, one of my subscribers had a serious fire -- so bad that they had to bulldoze the site and build again from scratch. They were closed for almost a year. During that time his regulars were patronizing other restaurant, of course, but he had a great database ... and he used it.

He kept in regular touch with his guests, updating them on the construction, talking about the plans for the new place, inviting them to tastings of proposed new items. They heard from him about every ten days during the eleven months of construction.

When he finally re-opened, his sales volume was 20% higher than it was before the fire. Without his database and his willingness to use it, though, he would have just been another start-up. Get the picture?

Do you have a way to contact YOUR best customers on a moment's notice?

READY, FIRE, AIM
Here is a note I recently shared with the members of my Mastermind group. I thought you might find it interesting ... perhaps even reassuring.

Part of what you will learn as part of the Mastermind Group is getting comfortable putting things in motion without having figured out in advance exactly how everything will work -- to create chaos and messes and profit by cleaning them up. "Success" is often cooked up in a messy kitchen. It is full of mistakes, uncertainties and "clean up on aisle three" fire drills.

The approach of implement, get it in motion, get moving FIRST and worry about all the answers later would amaze, (not to mention frighten and dismay) most MBA's ... but when you get comfortable with pursuing a clear goal while operating in perpetual uncertainty, massive things will start to happen.

You will start things without knowing exactly how they will proceed and be seeing results (and making money) while others are still trying to get their plans perfect. Things will happen much faster for you. You will get huge, unexpected results without actually being able to quite figure out how they happened that way ... but as Maxwell Maltz once observed, you never really get anywhere in a straight line.

Once you learn to thrive on chaos, you will be liberated from fear and leap tall income levels in a single bound!

Curious about the Mastermind Group?

A DEAL FROM THE DOC
Long-time subscriber Carl Hixon from Pensacola, Florida dropped me a note over the holidays. His parting comment had this PS attached: "Will you have your tips for tips on sale again? My supply needs replenishing."

I am a sucker for begging ... and since I was ready to offer a deal to Carl, I figured I might as well open it up to everyone. These books are normally $5.95 each but during the sale you can get 20 for $70, over a 40% savings off the single copy price and $20 less than you would normally pay for 20 copies.

(Actually, I meant to offer you this deal in December so you could give them as gifts to your service staff ... but they probably wouldn't have had time to read them anyway!)

So this is your brief window to stock up. I will only keep this offer around for another week, after which Carl will have reloaded for another year and I will have to turn my attention to the Super Summit, my new Mastermind Group and the Best Free Offer Ever. So take advantage of me while you can.

If you are unfamiliar with 50 Tips to Improve Your Tips, click here to get more information.

Take me up on the 50 Tips Sale.

TWO DAYS TO SAVE $250
The Super Summit is my annual “think tank” -- a restricted attendance event where a small group of highly successful independent operators meet for several days to explore a particular topic in depth. It is the only program in our industry that allows you this much time to reach new and powerful insights into what is possible.

This year the focus is what we are calling a 100,000- Mile Tune-Up. Noted food consultant Phyllis Ann Marshall and I will use the old town of Charleston, SC as a lab to help a few savvy restaurateurs gain specific skills, ideas and plans that will make their operations more competitive.

It is a unique opportunity for operators -- particularly those with mature concepts -- to learn how to re-energize their restaurants and appeal to new markets without losing their existing clientele.

The Super Summit will be held on February 27-March 1. Space is limited and the $250 Early Registration Scholarship expires THIS SUNDAY, January 14th ... so now is the time to check it out. Find out more about the Super Summit.

THE JANUARY SURVEY
Everybody is always looking for the next great idea to jump-start their sales, particularly during the first few months of the year. This month I would like to find out about the most unusual -- and unusually effective -- restaurant promotion you have run across. It may be something that you came up with or something you saw in your travels, but it would be a promotion that made you stop and think, "Wow, I never thought about an idea like that."

As usual I will send a compilation of the responses to all who participate. I look forward to your comments and ideas. In the meantime, you can download copies of all past EHC surveys at http://www.restaurantdoctor.com/surveys.html -- including the massive WOW Ideas collection.

Add your thoughts to the January survey.

THE PERPETUAL QUESTION
What did you learn from your staff today?

I learned that one of our teams is so internally motivated that what I was trying to "train" was already in place and was working for them. I was so focused on training something "new" I didn't take the time to really see things were already in motion. Wow what an eye and EAR opener! -- Robyn, California

Often the most eye (and mind)-opening events in your life are not anything huge ... but it is amazing how humbling it is when you have one of those "Aha" moments and realize that it isn't at all the way you thought it was.

Like Robyn, it is easy to be so focused on what you want to do that you fail to find out if your project is even wanted or needed. The best way to open yourself up to these "blinding flashes of the obvious" is just to quiet your mind, relax and listen.

Maintaining a quiet mind when dealing with another person is like being “dumb as dirt.” You have no pre- conceived ideas about who they are, you make no judgements or assumptions about them, you do not automatically assume you know what they mean by what they say. You operate from a state of mild puzzlement. It is a lot like Peter Falk’s character in the TV series “Columbo.”

When your mind is quiet and you are slightly puzzled, you tend to ask more probing questions – questions that will just naturally occur to you in the moment. Then if you stay quiet and just listen, you will learn things you never expected and be awash in fresh ideas.

Try it. You'll like it ... and so will your staff!

Never doubt that the most critical -- and perhaps profitable -- management skill you can develop is your ability to truly listen.

So what did YOU learn from YOUR staff today? I will continue to collect your answers to this important question ... and you can add comments as often as you want. Contribute your insights for the common good (and your own as well!)


© 2007 Restaurant Doctor