Welcome back to the Guest Getter Podcast. I’m Kyle Guilfoyle, and today we’re diving into how you can grow your restaurant, even on a budget. One of my favorite book titles is Jay Abraham’s ‘Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got.’ If you look closely at most entrepreneurs, they often don’t have a work ethic problem; they have a leverage problem. This is particularly true in restaurants, where the front and back of house teams—your servers, bartenders, cooks, and bussers—are often under-leveraged.
Give these folks the structure and opportunity to help the business grow beyond their typical duties, and you’ll see a big difference. But for whatever reason, many of us don’t consider that our teams can work in this capacity. A systematic way to engage your teams in growth is to hold regular sessions—weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly—where everyone discusses growth strategies.
I like to simplify growth into its core components. Let’s talk offense first: How do we attract more guests? How do we make them stay longer? How can we get them to spend more per visit? Track your revenue metrics—last month, last quarter, last year—and strategize where you want those numbers to be in the future. Orient the entire team around these metrics because, at the end of the day, it’s all about generating more revenue.
Now, let’s talk about retention, which I call re-invitation.
Simply put, this means inviting your current guests to return. Always have a reason for your team to engage guests: “Hey, we’ve got a cool event coming up. Would you like to come? Here’s how to RSVP.” Or, “We’re running a great new offer. Do you want to claim it on your next visit?” Keep seeding the next visit, the next action.
If you rally your team around playing better offense and re-inviting your current guests, you will see your business grow.
Your front of house team is closest to the money; they have their finger on the pulse. Start tapping into that, and you’ll see your numbers rise. So, start leveraging your team more effectively and watch your restaurant grow.
