Sales Archives - TrainerTainment

Planning to Win Requires a Winning Plan

Isn’t it wonderful to think and dream about the “thrill of victory”? Everyone loves to win. Most of us know it’s not just something that happens – unless of course, you are one of the rare few who have hit the lottery!

Experience has taught me the most productive times of my life have happened when I have been willing to plan for success. I have also learned plans may require flexibility, but that is no excuse to give up on developing a winning plan from the beginning. Every pilot understands that although a flight plan is filed, each flight may require adjustment based on the unknown.

With that in mind, wouldn’t it be great to have your own successful flight plan in place? A winning strategy is more likely to produce a successful outcome. I love how Zig Ziglar says it, “Do you want to be a meaningful specific or a wandering generality”. That’s how I think of salespeople who don’t own a winning sales plan. I don’t want the “general stuff” of the day to interrupt what I know to be the meaningful things that create success.

We think this plan is so important at TrainerTainment, that we’ve developed a SALES PLANNER for 2021 that is sure to help you be the sales superstar you were meant to be!

WHY USE THE TRAINERTAINMENT SALES PLANNER?
This planner takes the big chunks of your sales goals and breaks them into bite-sized pieces. We’ve included the best sales scripts to help build your connection, qualification, presentation, and closing muscles!
Don’t know who to call – We’ve produced targeted lists by category. The 2021 REACH CALENDAR with guides about timing is invaluable. The TrainerTainment webinar and conference calendar is at your fingertips. BEST OF ALL-you have daily tracking systems available to help you stay on track!

There are tons of good planners in the marketplace today. Maybe your phone has an app that keeps you on track…However, I know when I write it down, a real commitment is made to complete not only the task at hand but to win the game! I hope you will plan to win BIG in 2021. We have such a vision to serve people who want to grow. I would love to help you get one of these planning tools in your hand.

I hope you have a great week and better yet, I hope you are planning to win big in 2021!

Track Sales All Year to Help Crush Your Goals!

by Beth Standlee | Business Development, Sales

At the end of last year, we talked about what Scorecards are and how they can help provide clear communication, accountability, results tracking, and seeing issues before it’s too late. If this is your first time hearing about a scorecard, be sure to check out this article.

To grow your sales, you need a strategic plan. That plan is not only the thing you need to do to get there. You also need to track your sales weekly to be sure you are on track and meeting milestones along the way so you don’t get to the end of the quarter trying to play catch up. It also helps quantify your weekly activities so you can see sooner rather than later if you need to make adjustments.

Here are three tips to help you build your sales scorecard and crush your goals.

Break your big goal into smaller goals

You have come up with a goal for the year. Now it’s time to break it down into smaller chunks so you can be sure you are on track to meet your goal.

First, break it down into a weekly goal. If your sales goal for the year is $300,000, you will need $5,769.23 a week in sales to meet that goal. This will give your sales team an achievable short-term goal instead of looking at the $300,000 and wondering how they are ever going to get there.

What should you track to meet the goal?

Now you want to look at your sales process and reverse it to see what you need to do each week to achieve this goal. Everyone’s scorecard is different, but you should have 5-7 pieces of information you are tracking. Let’s look at a simple breakdown.

Let’s say your average party is $250. That means you will need to have at least 23 parties each week to hit your goal. Assuming your team closes 50% of the potential parties, you will need to have at least 46 proposals. If you know that two out of four calls/meetings gets you to the proposal stage, you will need to have at least 92 calls/meetings each week.

$5,769 Sales per Week < 23 Parties a Week < 46 Proposals a Week < 92 Calls Per week

Your scorecard would look something like this

Take time to think about what activities and key performance indicators (KPI) each person on your team should have to help you meet your goals. Have them visible so everyone is accountable for reaching the goal. Remember – accountability through visibility.

How to know it’s not working

Now that you have a Scorecard set up, it’s time to see if it’s working. If you apply conditional formatting to show as green when the goal was met or red when the goal is not met, you can easily see if the team is meeting or not meeting the goals.

If you are red for two weeks in a row, it means it’s time to take action! Look to see if your team needs a higher goal for outbound efforts. Check their sales process and shop your party booker to see if they are using the BDSQF. The key is to address the issue sooner than later.

If you don’t know where to start or just need help holding your team accountable, call or email us. We can help you get systems in place to crush your goals. 817-886-4840

Meaningful Coaching

by Robin Marshall | Business Development, Performance, Sales

Robin Marshall has worked with TrainerTainment for more that 18 months. She’s a committed coach, full of care and compassion. Several months back, I asked our coaches to send in stories about the teams they work with. When Robin shares any story about a team she’s had the opportunity to coach, her eyes light up and her encouraging manner helps me know her teams will win. The story Robin shares below refers to a team who is continuing to stay the course during this uncertain pandemic time. While formal coaching has been on pause for several months, the connection and traction continues. I hope you’ll let us help your team win as we get back into the game! – Beth Standlee

THE JOURNEY

I have had a lot of meaningful encounters with my clients since I started working with TrainerTainment. It’s hard to pick just one story to tell, so instead I want to share with you the journey of one of our clients. From the signing of the agreement between TrainerTainment and this client to the first phone conversation, I could feel the excitement and desire of the owner to move their business forward.

BUY-IN

The folks on the second call included everyone from the birthday party coordinator to the Director of the Family Entertainment Center. The call lasted about an hour, and by the end, it was obvious everyone bought in to the process. The buy in even included some uncertainty surrounding the work and changes to the way they were currently handling group and party sales!

THE PROCESS

During the next few weeks, we gathered data and learned more about their party and group programs. This process allows everyone to learn a little bit more about the business and how important it is to work together. Our program provides a two-day onsite visit, where we prioritize coaching plans with a goal of helping each organization grow as quickly as possible.

CHANGE

Once trust is established, the team can work through any new initiatives and make decisions regarding birthday parties and group events that will allow them to be more efficient and effective with each guest. It was a true eye opener for them to accept the changes, put plans in place for implementation, and work through the process, handling the bumps in the road as they occurred. These folks are intentional learners and do their homework, so our weekly discussions are meaningful, intentional, and growth oriented.

GROWTH

Providing the training and support needed to implement their changes and processes for the past six months has been very rewarding. Knowing they have the right people in the right seats is invaluable. They report their numbers, their successes, and their challenges each week and, even with all of that, don’t forget to acknowledge the effort each of them contributes. And the business grows …

They have leadership, support, teamwork, and trust that continues to build through their daily challenges and experiences. They have seen that when they plan ahead, there are less challenges. If things do come up last minute, they adjust to help support one another and the organization to make things run smoothly and seamlessly for their customers. And the business grows …

This team knows, trusts, and believes in one another. They work together diligently to be successful and are a great example of how a true team operates.

CREATE GROWTH FOR YOUR TEAM TODAY

If you’re ready (even if you’re not), why don’t you at least have a conversation with TrainerTainment and see what’s possible. If there has ever been a time to grow party and group sales, NOW is the time. Call Today to schedule a growth call.

Krista Estes and Sonya Terry Join Our Growing Team of Sales Specialists

by Robert Sax | Press Release, Sales, team

Krista Estes

TrainerTainment is pleased to announce that Krista Estes and Sonya Terry have joined the company as sales specialists.

Krista comes to TrainerTainment after eight years with Walmart as a talent manager and trainer in its Academy Operations training center. She is a third-generation amusement industry veteran, having started her career as a teenager working in her family’s Cowtown Bowling Palace in Fort Worth. Her father, Jay Trietley is a 40-year veteran of the bowling industry who taught her the essentials of customer service.

Krista was a competitive youth bowler and began her college studies on a scholarship from the Youth American Bowling Alliance. She graduated college with a B.S. in fashion merchandising from Texas Women’s University and a M.S. in organizational leadership from Northwood University.

Sonya Terry

Sonya Terry joins TrainerTainment after more than 16 years in the laser tag industry as a trainer, general manager and area manager in Texas for Leisure Entertainment Corporation of Canada. The company’s Laser Quest is one of the first manufacturers and operators of laser tag arenas. Sonya has extensive experience in training and motivating young, first-time workers in the amusement industry, which is one of TrainerTainment’s specialties.

Prior to Laser Quest Sonya worked for more than ten years in fashion retail, where her responsibilities including developing policies, procedures and best practices for Boot Town, a chain of 17 western wear stores.

“Krista and Sonya know from experience the training and operating practices that lead to the success of an amusement center,” says Beth Standlee, CEO of TrainerTainment. “They are also accomplished sales professionals who are ideally suited to helping our customers grow
their sales and service teams and make their businesses thrive.”

Motivation to Finish the Year Strong

by Beth Standlee | Leadership, Motivation, Sales

Motivation is a tricky thing.

If you are a parent of more than one child, you know that each of your children requires a different method of motivation. The same is true for your staff.

The real key to motivation is to pay attention to how motivated you are. Your team pays more attention to what you do than what you say and are motivated to perform accordingly. They watch your attitude, the pep in your step, (or not) and they follow. Management is about treating everyone the same even though people are not the same. Leading others and inspiring them to do the work is far more motivating than making sure all the boxes from your SOP (standard operating procedures) checklists get checked. Many times, “management” is not very motivating.

Leadership IS about motivating others to get the job done “willingly.”

Motivation shows up in a lot of forms. I like to read or listen to what other great leaders have to say. We don’t have to make it up for ourselves every day. There are a lot of great tools easily available to help us get motivated. Here are my three best ideas to help you get more motivated today:

I love Success Magazine.</.strong> It’s a great motivational resource. The articles are short. I think that’s important in our busy world and they include a free audio CD with amazing interviews in each issue. If you have even a little commute, I promise this CD will be something that will absolutely inspire and motivate you.
Find other owners, sales team members, and assistant managers and create your own “mastermind ” group, so that you have a network to utilize as a resource when you need that extra motivation.
Finally, tap into the TrainerTainment website, blog, or Facebook. We are full of great ideas that are sure to motivate you, help you train, and make you more money (which can always be motivating).

Building School Fundraising Programs

by Beth Standlee | Marketing, Sales

In our sales coaching program, we teach sales teams to break up their time calling various target markets. We break it down like this:

40% Companies and adult groups
30% Youth groups
20% Church groups
10% Fundraisers

People often ask how to host a successful fundraiser. If you have a student in your house, you know that almost every week there is some spirit night at your local Chick-Fil-A or the band is selling overpriced kitchen gadgets. My least favorite of all is the PTO getting students to sell $20 rolls of wrapping paper or bad cookies so they can make a whopping $2 back for each one sold.

Next up in our back to school series we want to give you five ideas about how to host fundraisers in your center that will bring business to you and to the schools who can make more money!

Fundraising Night

Allow schools or organizations to pick a night Monday – Thursday to host their fundraiser. Set specific hours and give them a percentage of all the sales during those hours. It makes it easier than reminding them they need to bring a flyer or tell the front desk what group they are part of. Work with your POS client on pulling reports or creating special buttons the front desk can use during that time. The goal is to drive weekday business and help the school make money and this is an easy and simple way to do both.

Discount Cards

Discount cards are wonderful and easy. As a parent of three boys, I will purchase a discount card over anything else anytime! There are several ways to do it – give one discount they can use one time per visit per year or create a punch card. The punch card can be good for one offer up to a specified number of uses or create various offers for one-time use. Give the discount cards to the school to sell and they can set the price point. Your return comes from keeping the offers simple such as BOGO offers, special packagings such as a family four pack, or discounted entry. More often it will be families that come in that will need to spend more to cover everyone or purchase additional food or gameplay. We love to work with spinnprint.com for all our printing needs where you can purchase 500 postcards for just $80.00. That’s just .16 cents each with you getting a big return! You can custom design a card for each group and personalize it just for them.

Online Fundraising

If you have an online reservation system, create a special link that goes to a direct fundraising page. Set the page to sell gift cards, packages, or pre-paid items such as buffets, drinks, or game cards they can redeem in the future. Allow them to run the fundraiser for a week so they can reach their family, friends, and neighbors through email and social media. The school or organization would then receive 20% back on anything purchased with their unique link. It’s easy to track and easy to sell. Talk with your POS client to get it set up in your system.

Pizza Party Fundraiser

Another great way for schools and organizations to fundraise is through food. Most can’t make lots of pizzas but you may. Have discounted prices for whole pizzas the organization can order and sell by the slice at their next event. You can cover your costs, get your name to families in the community, and they can set the price per slice. Make it a no-brainer by adding a small delivery fee and deliver to them.

Pre-Paid Game/Gift Cards

Pre-paid game cards or gift cards are a way to make sure organizations have some skin in the game. Pre-load cards with a specific amount of money and sell them to the organization for half the price. They can then turn around and sell them for full price! For instance, sell a $10 card to the PTO for $5 and the organization sells them for $10. When they come into your center, you know they are going to purchase more, and the school can make a great profit.

We hope these ideas help you with fundraising in your facility. Leave a comment, question or reach out to us at marketing@trainertainment.net. We are here to help!