Athena Recruiting’s Post

Servers and bartenders make good salespeople. As I wrap up my 6th year in sales it has become crystal clear to me that my time in hospitality (20 years) has served me well in my sales career. Every night on the floor or behind the bar was a crash course in discovery calls, buying personas, navigating timelines, SOE, identifying stakeholders, creating ARR, avoiding churn, building referrals, processing ever-changing information, negotiating, and closing. It took me years to break out of hospitality because a lot of hiring managers didn't see the value in hospitality experience. I argue it's some of the best training I could've asked for. If someone doesn't have direct experience but has restaurant experience, give them a shot. They are highly trainable and adaptable and likely have all the skills you are looking for. Shout out to my hospitality friends as they finish another grueling holiday season. If you're looking for a different career path, sales is a great way to go. The job is very similar, albeit with less whiskey during the shift. ;)

From Waitress to Sales Rep: How My Restaurant Skills Help Me Thrive in My Current Role 🍽️ 🗣️ Communication: Learning to communicate effectively with diverse personalities and under tight deadlines in the restaurant industry has made me a clear and concise communicator, which is a valuable skill as a Sales Representative at Purple. 🧩Problem-Solving: Dealing with unexpected challenges and finding creative solutions "on the fly" in the restaurant industry has equipped me with the problem-solving skills needed to navigate complex situations within sales. 🤹♀️ Multitasking: Managing orders and customers under pressure while keeping my cool in the restaurant industry helped me to refine my multitasking skills, which are now super useful in my fast-paced sales role. 🤝 Teamwork: Collaborating with colleagues, anticipating needs, and working together seamlessly in the restaurant industry has fostered my teamwork skills, which are crucial for success in my everyday, collaborative environment. 💡 Agility: Embracing change, learning new skills quickly, and adapting to different situations in the restaurant industry has made me a very agile person, able to thrive in dynamic and evolving workplaces. #RestaurantIndustry #ProfessionalDevelopment #Sales

It’s been a while since I started my role at L'etoile MV as a Fine Dining Server, but I wanted to share this update with everyone. Understanding how restaurants operate can be incredibly beneficial for sales jobs and successful endeavors in the business world. Restaurants are dynamic environments that require strong sales skills to thrive. Professionals with restaurant experience bring a wealth of skills directly applicable to sales roles. Restaurant personnel excel in customer service and possess patience and experience in listening to customer needs while providing personalized solutions. They must be skilled in upselling and cross-selling, and enhance revenue by promoting additional products/services. Handling objections gracefully and turning conflicts into opportunities to showcase benefits is all part of the job. Experience in teamwork and collaboration ensures seamless cooperation with colleagues, while the ability to thrive under pressure and attention to detail ensures accuracy and effectiveness in client interactions. Adaptability and flexibility acquired from navigating the dynamic restaurant environment aid in excelling in meeting changing market dynamics and customer needs in sales roles.

looking for job related F&B really appreciate the support🙏

Dear Managers or Supervisors, Do you know you lose sales or revenue whenever you are not present at the lobby or Front of house during your shift? Some days ago, I was seated at the lobby like I usually do, and I saw an elderly man leaving the restaurant without getting anything. I walked up to him, greeted politely and asked him why he didn't get anything. That was when he opened up to me about how badly he was treated by one of my cashiers. I apologized and told him to come place his order, and told him I would personally attend to him which I did. I also made sure the cashier apologized to him. And she did. After he got what he needed, I helped him carry the packed food to his car outside. He was so glad about how I handled the situation and he also thanked me. I returned to the cashier, asked her why she made the man angry. she explained what she did to me and it wasn't totally her fault. It was just a misunderstanding from the customer. So I told her what to do next time in such a situation so that a customer doesn't get offended. Why am I telling you this story? Leave that office dear supervisor or manager and be in front. You are experiencing a decline in sales, spend time at the front of house or lobby and you would see something that could be a reason for your poor sales. Remember, you are there to make sales happen. Have a great weekend. #customerservice #restaurant #restaurantmanager #food.

You don't JUST have restaurant experience: You have experience working in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment while handling numerous tasks simultaneously. You don't JUST have retail experience: You have experience aligning synergies with clients to identify their needs and offer product solutions. You don't JUST have warehouse experience: You have experience managing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of inventory while fulfilling over 50 orders daily. You don't JUST have experience staying home with the kiddos: You have experience managing the household's day-to-day operations while ensuring alignment with meetings, appointments, and other crucial events. My point is: STOP saying you "JUST" have experience in something. Your experience is valid; you just need to phrase it correctly. Have the confidence to step outside your comfort zone and apply to the job you want.

You're the proud owner of a prestigious restaurant, about to host a VIP guest. The atmosphere is electric with anticipation. In this crucial moment, would you let a chef with limited skills take charge of their dinner? This analogy resonates deeply with our current sales landscape. Every opportunity we encounter now is precious, akin to serving a VIP guest at a top-tier restaurant. In this challenging environment, the skills of your team are not just an asset; they are your lifeline. They need to be at their sharpest, just like the chef's knives in our story. And here's the good news, the skill level of your team is one of the few things you have control over in these turbulent times. The volume game of “more prospecting” is always high on every companies agenda, but the “conversion” game is where companies will win in 2024. #sales #b2bsales #salesskills

It is 5x times more costly to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. Guest feedback is a literal gold mine when it comes to customer retention but restaurants don’t realize this cause solutions today stop at a one-size-fits-all survey. We’ve been obsessed over solving this specific problem and have now helped 100+ restaurants in 5 simple steps: 1) Collect specific feedback based on each restaurant's unique KPI’s  2) Track over 80+ metrics & trends 3) Trigger alerts for managers to help dissatisfied guests in real-time 4) Automate personalized rewards for dissatisfied guests  5) Track & increase conversion, recovery, and retention rate Spencer Amadon recently gave me some pretty cool ideas to take step 5 to another level and I had to immediately put that in our backlog 🙌🙌 Happy to share and learn from other experts in the industry, just shoot me a DM.