Hey, 👋 Scott from The Sales Mastermind here.

Today’s edition only takes 2 minutes.

Happy extra-long weekend for those who celebrate Easter.

And happy three public holidays in seven days for my ANZ readers.

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Storytime:

The owner of the 50th-best-rated restaurant in the world wanted to move up the list. So he took his main staff to New York to visit the number-one restaurant in the world.

During the visit, most of his team pointed out all the elements the best restaurant was doing better than them:

• The napkins were folded a certain way
• The food was presented slightly better
• The scripting around each dish was impeccable

But the owner needed to switch the conversation:

And he is right; they run a great restaurant and are ranked 50th worldwide for a reason. They would only move up in the rankings by reverse benchmarking, finding elements the top restaurant overlooked.

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Instead, the conversation shifted to coffee. At the best restaurant in the world, the coffee was fine.

So instantly, they appointed a coffee sommelier to create an experience when it was time for coffee. They would ask about the customer's palate and style preferences, recommend one of 10+ specific coffee beans, and present coffee as a top restaurant presents fine wine.

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Then, the conversation shifted to beer.

Even in the world's best restaurant, beer drinkers were given limited choice and little respect. Every restaurant does wine pairings, yet most will have one beer on draft and ~4 beers in bottles.

So the 50th best restaurant owner appointed a beer sommelier who would provide pairings based on the customer's food choices and create an experience around the beer:

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With two simple changes, the 50th best restaurant stopped trying to complete only where other restaurants succeeded. Instead, they changed the rules of the game.

Good coffee is hard to find at the best times, yet it is at the end of the meal and is often the last taste in the customer experience.

Beer drinkers are used to getting next to no attention, so a beer sommelier surprises and delights both beer drinkers and other patrons. They'll almost certainly think at many tables,

Within a few years, the 50th-best restaurant was ranked significantly higher by focusing not on what everyone else did but on finding a way to be different at critical moments of the customer experience.

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The lesson is don't be better, be different.

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PS This story is borrowed from Rory Sutherland. When it comes to the value of marketing, the value of brand, and how to invest in marketing as an asset, there is no one better. Check out his podcasts with Chris Williamson, The Uncensored CMO, and We Have a Meeting for more.

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Until next week,
Scott Cowley

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