Ever meet with a prospect in Starbucks? Yesterday I interviewed a Starbucks manager after doing several presentations in my favorite coffee shop. Here’s what I learned;<\/p>\n
The person who waits on you went through an extensive training process. <\/p>\n
Before a Starbucks barista can ever serve you they must first practice making every drink on the menu….multiple times. They never read about all the ingredients, they don’t study the relative benefits, they don’t pour over coffee research, sugar research or the side effects of the 21 spices they might use. They don’t anal-yze over the benefit plan, insurance details or the percent profit on each drink or customer.<\/p>\n
They are assigned a trainer who watches and guides their every move….showing them what to DO and actually DOing it with them. There is no “try” there is only “DO” or “not DO”. They DO follow the instructions shown to them and written on the containers. They are timed. Speed is of the essence. They must sample their own creations. They are encouraged to talk about their favorite drinks. They are encouraged to invite their friends to the store. They must practice a script – multiple times – with their co-workers and manager. They follow a plan. Each store has quotas to meet and deadlines ie goals for the day, week and month.<\/p>\n
They are fired if they talk too long with a customer or give drinks away for free.<\/p>\n
In most Starbucks tips are pooled thus encouraging accountability and maybe a little teamwork. No slackers allowed. Each barista has personal goals within the store’s goals.<\/p>\n
Those are the keys to business presentations at Starbucks done by Starbucks employees selling Starbucks products. Pretty successful formula – it created 16,000 stores and a $22 Billion dollar company.<\/p>\n
Note any parallels that apply to your business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ever meet with a prospect in Starbucks? Yesterday I interviewed a Starbucks manager after doing several presentations in my favorite coffee shop. Here’s what I learned; The person who waits on you went through an extensive training process. Before a … Continue reading