by Tech Support | Mar 27, 2014 | Performance, Sales
Actually the consumer is motivated to buy. No one likes to be sold but everyone loves to buy stuff. Seth Godin talks about making things irresistible. Have you thought about your products or packages in terms of making them irresistible?
One of the crises (sounds dramatic) but I really think it is a crisis in the bowling industry, is that we equate irresistible with cheap. Think about yourself for a second. I don’t know very many people who really want “cheap things”. Typically we want to feel good about our purchase and usually that “feel good” is linked to getting great value.
If you take a moment and ask the customer who calls in and wants your “best deal”, the following question… I think you’ll be surprised at the answer.
Customer: “I’m interested in your best deal for a group event”
Bowling Center Rep: “I’m so glad you called us, we put on the best events in town! Were you looking for the “cheapest” package we have or the package that gives you the most “bang for your buck?”
I’m willing to bet that more than 90% of the people will say that they want the biggest bang for their buck. People are interested in value! Unless someone calls and says, “Hey, I’ve got $10 to spend per guest, what can I get for that?” you don’t need to worry about price! You need to focus on and present value.
OK-with that said…what can you do to create irresistible packages that have great value?
# 1-KISS: Keep it simple sir (or ma’am). When you are creating “off the shelf” packages that anyone in your center could sell, then simplicity is the order of the day. In the bowling center environment my recommendations are that you have no more than a small, medium, and large selection. And depending on the number of “attractions” you have to sell it might be best to offer only 2 packages… 1 with food and bowling and one without food. I know that really makes it simple but honestly, you are trying to make it easy for your people to sell and for the guest to buy.
#2-CUSTOMIZE: Never be afraid to qualify what the guest wants and then sell them that. If what they want fits into a package that you have, GREAT… if not, then customize the event.
#3-HOST: When at all possible, charge for and provide a host. Guests like to be taken care of. They like to feel like VIPs. If you are going to be different than your competition then the easiest way to provide a uniqueness about your facility is with the service. Creating that VIP service feel requires training and commitment to going beyond the basics. It will cost you money and it has great value that should be passed on to the customer. You can provide an individual host for birthday parties that will increase your party package about $20 for the package or $2 per person depending on how you decide to charge. (By the way, when it comes to birthdays, we really recommend charging by the package and then for add-ons by the person.) If it’s a group event, you may assign a specific host or a bartender to pay special attention to the group. Try it. You’ll notice the appreciation. You will be different than your competition. This kind of service will allow you to charge a little more and be worth a ton!
#4-BRAG: If you are creating value and the package you’ve put together has a savings, then BRAG about the savings. If you aren’t sure how to manage that I would encourage you to utilize the package builder revenue calculator that you can find on the Trainertainment website. XPRESS Training, an inexpensive, 24/7 training site that can be found atwww.trainertainment.net has a great calculator tool that allows you to build products so that you can understand the value of what you are offering.
#5-TURN TELLING INTO SELLING: Next time we will teach you how to teach your people to go beyond the friendly informative call and turn them into sales reps who can “close” the deal. It’s not enough to give people information. If they’ve called you then they have money in their pocket and they are ready to spend it.
In conclusion I would ask you to take a look at the packages that you have built. Do you have “off the shelf” items that a guest could look at and make an informed decision about partying at your place? Very simply you could take a look at the following product ideas and begin to create group packages to fit these needs:
Birthdays: Small, Medium, Large… With or without food. If you have a game room, I would always include game play. We would always recommend a dedicated host as well.
Kid Packages: Specific value driven (daytime only – Mon-Fri) day care or school field trip packages. With or without food (1-2 hours of bowling). We’ve seen centers provide a 1 or 2 hour bowling experience and then add food as an add-on. That is a very simple approach as well.
Sports Team Packages: There’s GREAT money to be made with the end of season Hockey team packages. Those packages always include family and lots of adults. They are typically in the evening and command a “peak price”. Don’t be afraid to charge what the lanes are worth and look at adding “team pizzas” or adult type appetizer trays to enhance this package.
Adult Packages: – Birthdays, Happy Hours, Reunions, and Company Parties. If you have the ability to create some simple “buffet type” items you can really build sales with this type of a food add-on. Whether you provide platters that feed up to 10-20 or Sandwich box lunches there’s a lot of business to be gained by creating a space that includes food, drink and fun.
If you would like additional information we have a comprehensive group sales course available atwww.trainertainmentonline.net. And of course, I’m happy to take a personal call or email at any time. 817.886.4840…beth@trainertainment.net.
by Tech Support | Mar 20, 2014 | Sales
Before coming to TrainerTainment full time, I had the privilege of being a teacher trainer of English as a Foreign Language. Oh it was a thrilling life of travel and excitement, but more than that I learned so much about different cultures and perspectives.
During my teacher training courses, we always discussed individual learning styles and different ways to teach to learners of each style. There are those that are visual and learn best by watching, by reading or looking at charts and pictures. Some folks are auditory learners and prefer to receive new information orally by listening to stories and instructions. And there are kinesthetic and tactile learners who learn best by moving and/or doing. What a colorful and beautiful world we live in!
The most important lesson for a new teacher to learn was that a great teacher must understand her own learning style AND those of everyone else. We, naturally, want to teach in the way we learn the best but that can really limit your impact for other learner styles? This sort of thing can show up in the following example that may happen daily at your center. If you love to get your information from listening, you may find yourself thinking “I JUST told you how to do that-in response to an employee who just never seems to get it”? Have you ever sent instructions via email to someone who responded, “gosh I wish you would just pick up the phone and call me”? That person is probably more auditory than visual and could have received the message more effectively in a conversation. It’s tricky!
As managers and supervisors, we have to be teachers (and sometimes it feels like we have to be coaches or even parents!). Are you taking the time to think or even ask about your employees’ different learning styles and needs?
As they say, variety is the spice of life, and a good training session, like a good teaching lesson has something that appeals to all styles. You’ve got to have a good blend of simple visual components, clear-easy-to-follow instruction, and learners should get the chance to get up and moving and even try to do it themselves wherever possible. It’s hard to think outside our comfort zones to provide all that in a single training, but magic happens when we do.
That’s part of the reason why I am so impressed with what my colleague, Dave Patton, and his team create every day. Dave is the head of our Virtual Operations department and the creative genius behind TrainerTainment Interactive Online Learning. Dave has been a teacher and trainer for the last 10 years and, like me, Dave spent time abroad teaching English and has learned the same lessons I have regarding the importance learning styles have on training design and delivery.
Here’s Dave’s input on the subject:
When I became an Instructional Designer for TrainerTainment, my goal was to create fun online courses, each of which would present information in a way that captures the interest of all learners, regardless of their learning style. As it turns out, online learning, or elearning, is the perfect medium for delivering information in all three styles.
Visual Learning:
Elearning, by definition, has a visual element to it, since Interactive Online Learners will be sitting in front of a computer screen and looking at the course. But visual learners need more than to just be able to look at a course that has text, audio, pictures that are relevant to the message, or any combination of the three. A well designed elearning course will have meaningful graphic representations of the material being presented. This can be a chart or graph, a picture or graphic that exemplifies the information, or an entire virtual environment that mimics the real world. Adding one or more of these visual elements really helps cement the presented information in the visual learner’s head.
Audio Learning:
Elearning can also be designed to suit the needs of the audio learner. A well designed course will be narrated instead of presenting the information in a text format only. The combination of text and audio, in fact, is most effective if all of the information is presented through narration while only showing key words or phrases in text format. In the case of virtual environments, adding subtle sound effects will add an element of realism to the course, aiding in information recall, especially for audio learners.
Kinesthetic Learning:
Lastly, elearning courses can include a vast variety of interactive elements that are beneficial to the kinesthetic learner, who learns better with hands on methods such as object and environment manipulation. Elearning satisfies the needs of these learners with interactions as simple as dragging and dropping or rearranging information or as complex as a virtual environment where your actions will be as similar as possible to your actions in the real world.
There is a lot of disagreement in scholarly circles about the validity of the theory that teaching a certain style of learner only in their preferred style of learning is better, but one point has almost universal acceptance: all learners will achieve better information recall and/or skill transfer in a learning environment where a mix of all the styles are used. Keeping this in mind, we’ve designed all of TrainerTainment’s elearning courses to deliver a mix of all pertinent information in all three styles.
Are your learners demonstrating a lack of information recall from their training? Are the skills you’re training not being transferred to the job? Why not look, listen, and interact with TrainerTainment’s Interactive Online Learning courses to see, hear, and feel how they can benefit your organization. Take it from us, we’ve been there! You’ll be glad you did.
by Tech Support | Mar 12, 2014 | Education, Leadership, Management, Motivation, Performance
Bandwidth has been a real issue for our team lately. I gotta tell you, I really hate the word, but we are rocking and rolling this year (which is awesome), but our talking about “bandwidth” and capacity issues has really made me think about what it means a lot more. For me personally, it has been a real issue because my family is preparing for a move to Jakarta, Indonesia and my husband is already there. So I am here balancing my growing work calendar, three very active boys and their schedules, as well as trying to prepare for the upcoming move.
I am pretty fortunate that I work for a company that understands what my family and I are going through right now. Does it mean that I get to slack on my responsibilities? No but at least they understand when I say, “I really just can’t do that right now.” And we can count on each other to share the load. When one of us has too much, or is traveling, we rally together to provide our clients and our team the service they need and deserve.
I worked in the operations side of the industry for years and let me tell you, there are times when bosses are not so understanding of all your commitments and the need for you to be Super Employee and Super Mom. Don’t misunderstand me, we are a business and we need everyone to be present to run it, provide great guest service and make our bottom line! And that we do pay them to do so. But with all the expectations we have of ourselves, our families, and each other, how do we manage it all?
The answer, in my opinion, is this: I think I am more productive, will work better and harder when I have someone that understands and has empathy for what I am going through. It is that mentality of “They actually care about me so that makes me care and work harder for them even more.” Just think of how much more invested our team members would be in us and our business if we showed a little compassion and took some time to actually care for them. We all like to feel that we mean something and that giving extra time and hours actually count for something.
We talk about connecting with the people we are selling to all the time, but what about taking the time to connect with the people that work for and with us? Trust me, as a manager some things my employees told me were TMI (too much information!) but I was glad to know what was going on in their lives. It helped me be a better manager because I could foresee scheduling conflicts, handle situations better, know how to speak and react to them and so much more. But in return, my employees felt that I was invested in them and they always rallied as a team to go above and beyond for me and the business.
So I challenge you, I know it is spring break and you are busy but just think of the teens that are giving up their spring break to make your business better; take some time and connect and talk with them. Show them that you appreciate their efforts. I bet it will be one of the biggest returns on your investment.
Share with us how you are connecting with your team members and how that is affecting your day to day operations.
