Dynamic Solutions in action...
Hotels and Catering

Improved motivation that doubled on-board refreshment sales

Background
A train operating company running mainly long distance, “Inter City” travel. Catering was conducted by the company itself rather than franchised out, through on train buffet facilities and trolley service. Existing practice, however, was not proactive, with minimal announcements informing potential customers, and passive “they’ll come to us” selling techniques.  Refreshments and snacks were still of the old-fashioned, “British Railways” style, while competition from station outlets before passengers even boarded the train was fierce. Before training took place, the existing spend per passenger was around £1.

The Issue
In order to boost revenue a whole new range of snacks, sandwiches and drinks was devised with new packaging and point-of-sale advertising. “Death to the BR Burger!” was the Chairman’s intention.  The ultimate target was to increase the average passenger spend by at least 25 per cent.

The Method
Before new customers could be enticed, sales teams had to be motivated and brought on board. Sales personnel were invited to a prestigious venue on a day’s training course to understand and be enthused by the new products, to improve their selling skills, to recognise and pre-empt potential customers’ needs and “sell up” where an initial sale had taken place.

The Results
Selected sales personnel took the training back to their own on-board staff to develop motivation throughout the organisation. Targets and incentives were set. The average spend per customer increased by over 50 per cent.