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Connex International Helps the Coffee Beanery Perk Up its Sales As regional director of operations for the Coffee Beanery, a national chain of specialty coffee stores, Ellen Guilford needed to boost sales in the eight corporate-owned units of her coast-to-coast territory. How could she mold a group of store managers from such far-flung locations as Rodondo Beach, California; Nashville, Tennessee; Sandusky, Ohio, and Miami, Florida into a cohesive and viable sales force? Her solution was simple but direct: regularly scheduled teleconferences through the facilities of a Danbury, Connecticut-based communications management company called Connex International, the oldest independent provider of teleconferencing services. "Because I don't have the resources to bring my managers to me each month," Guilford said, "these calls are essential." So essential, in fact, that Guilford credits the teleconferences with transforming the eight stores from sales underachievers into retail powerhouses. In the months since she initiated monthly long distance sales meetings, the performance of her stores has improved dramatically. "I am happy to report that over that period we have increased our sales by over 15 percent," she said. "If you look at industry-wide figures---which are at best two to three percent---this is absolutely phenomenal. And many companies have negative numbers." The Coffee Beanery, Ltd., headquartered in Flushing, Michigan, is the nation's second largest franchiser of retail specialty coffee. Started 21 years ago by its co-founder and president Joanne Shaw, the chain comprises 163 franchised units and 27 company-owned stores; more locations are scheduled to open in the near future. In 2000 Ms. Shaw will begin a term as president of the International Franchise Association---the only woman ever elected to that office. Guilford, a retail food services veteran with 20 years experience with McDonald's, KFC and Kenny Rogers Roasters where she was director of operations, asserts that communication is the key to developing confident managers who can increase store profits. "I think that the more information you give to someone, the more they can accomplish. What we're doing is using these meetings to listen to what works in one store and trying it in another. "I don't think the conference calls pay off just because they are conference calls," Guilford said. "It's not the call itself, but what you do with it. The conference calls are basically about training. I'm giving my managers information. Teaching them how to market their locations. How to look at different cost factors. How to hold their people accountable. Training is what makes it work. You can give people the best tools in the world but without training you'll be unsuccessful." Before each teleconference, which typically lasts from two to three hours, Guilford faxes each store an information packet. "I send out a very specific outline of the meeting ahead of time," she said. "If I have a marketing tool that I want to review, I'll fax that along with it. If there's a promotion coming up, I'll include a checklist." During the meetings managers are encouraged to speak up, share experiences and ask questions. Guilford is realistic about the challenges she faces. "We are dealing with a different employee today than we were 20 years ago. I have managers with different levels of experience. I always say that it's like gardening. You plant a seed and you water it and nurture it. You don't see the results in the first month or sometimes in the second month. But the seed grows---and we are starting to flower here." Guilford is proud of the esprit de corps of the geographically separated managers that she has carefully nurtured from the beginning. "I talk to all of my people individually every day---but it's the group thing that has the greatest effect. Most of these people had never talked to each other. They were in a vacuum. They talked to people in the office or to one of my area directors but not to each other. "They've told me that they enjoy talking to each other as a group. We also have come up with a buddy system. Every store has a big brother or big sister. With eight stores we have four groups. They have to call each other a minimum of twice a week to ask how they're doing and so forth." Guilford said that the teleconferences paid off almost immediately in increased revenue. "Our sales were down so I started the calls to try and motivate my people as a group. Our fiscal year ends July first so I told my managers that I wanted to finish the last two months on a good note. I wanted them to show the company that their region was the leader. "As a group we put together an action plan. We submitted it to the owner of the company, the chief operating officer and the vice president of operations. I asked each store to commit to what they thought they could produce. Some stores committed to a two percent increase, some committed to five, a couple committed to ten. The stores that committed to two wound up doing six or seven percent. This kind of motivation would have been impossible without the teleconference calls." After ten months of teleconferences, Guilford is more than pleased with her provider. "Some other companies ask that you call 48 hours in advance. With Connex, it's easier to set up meetings. I can call up Connex today and get a meeting scheduled for tonight. I'm handling stores in Ohio and California and I may find out something today that we need to react to immediately. I can call each store individually and I can fax them but it loses its effect unless I can talk to them as a group. Guilford said that quality of service was the deciding factor in choosing a telecommunications provider. "The Connex people are always polite. Not that the others aren't, but the Connex people seem to care. Several times after a meeting, a Connex representative has called to ask: 'Was everything okay?' I never got that from anyone else. "I will continue to use Connex once a month for what I call my power meetings. I can't change what I'm doing now---we are riding high and I want to continue that. As things continue to grow I'll probably increase frequency to include a shorter meeting in the middle of the month." |