Learning About Your Competition

·   Check out their websites closely.

·   Ask common vendors, like your party rental dealer, about your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

·   Mystery-shop your competition, almost everyone does it! It would be a wonderful world if you could just walk into a competitive caterer, introduce yourself as a competitor and then pick up the information you need.

·   Chat with any of your staff who may have worked for other caterers in your area.

    Attend public charity events that competitors are catering, to see them in action.

Some Cool Scripts!

“I’m sure you’ve given this event a lot of thought. What are some of the items on your wish list for the event? What will make it a success for you?”

“To make best use of our time together today, do you mind if I ask you a few questions first?”

“Before we begin today, I’d like to tell you why I decided to join the sales team at ABC Catering."

“It’s really difficult for me to describe the benefits of the room I have available for your upcoming wedding; you really have to see it. I suggest we get you here as soon as possible because the date you’ve chosen is a very popular one. I’d like to be the one who shows you the space. Are you able to meet with me at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, or would 3:00 p.m. Saturday be better?”

The Importance of Being Unique

Catering companies tend to copy or clone each other. Many catering businesses are opened by professionals who have already worked for one or more caterers in the same city where they have their own new operation. Because they tend to use many of the same policies, procedures and menus they learned while at the other companies, the new catering business is often built in the image of these other companies.

When buyers call four or five catering companies to gather information and find what they get is that similar, they are unable to find a reason to select one caterer over another. What if all the companies they call have the same deposit, refund and guarantee policies, with pricing methods that are similar if not identical and using exactly the same sales scripts and rules? Because one caterer seems to be the same as the others, the shopper can concentrate only on price.

Concentrate on talking, acting and being different than the other caterers in your city in as many ways as possible so shoppers can clearly see the differences and advantages of your company over the others. If other companies tend to charge for delivery, then consider building the delivery charge into the price and offering “no delivery charges.” If other companies require a 50 percent deposit, charge 30 percent to create an advantage for the shopper where it counts.

To create differences between your business and others, you need to do some investigation of the other companies. Consider this to be a form of competitive analysis. As long as you are gathering your competitor’s information in a legal manner you are on firm ethical ground.

Roman On Successful Salespeople

Successful salespeople have one thing in common: They don’t wing it or make up their selling presentations as they go. They create and then test a series of scripts that help them stay on track. These scripts are very much like those an actor uses on the stage or in a movie.

Like an actor, a salesperson needs to memorize and rehearse the scripts, then use them in real selling situations to verify their effectiveness with prospects. If they help win sales, the scripts are kept in the “performance.” If they don’t bring positive results, they are reworked or replaced. This cycle of practicing, adjusting and confirming is a constant with winning salespeople.

A successful salesperson doing three sales presentations to three different prospects on the same day, will say exactly the same things to each one. Each prospect will hear the same opening, questions and closing that the others heard. This discipline and repetition is the cornerstone of greater sales success.

Think of your scripts as a recipe for victory. Chefs, after perfecting a recipe, follow it to the letter to insure continued success. So, too, should a salesperson follow proven scripts.

As you go through the book, you’ll realize that there is too much for one salesperson to use all at once. That’s not a problem. Select two or three scripts from each section to create your own selling performance. You may find it helpful to transfer your favorite scripts to index cards, so you can study and rehearse them easily.