The hospitality market
Restaurants, cafes, bars, and hotels represent a massive market in Australia. The industry employs over 900,000 people and there are tens of thousands of individual venues, each with needs ranging from point of sale systems and booking software to insurance, cleaning supplies, and marketing services.
For independent sales agents, hospitality is an attractive vertical because the businesses are numerous, accessible, and constantly looking for ways to improve their operations.
Understanding hospitality owners
Hospitality owners are a unique breed. They work extremely long hours, often 60 to 80 hours per week. Their margins are thin, typically 5% to 15% net profit. They deal with high staff turnover, unpredictable customer demand, and constant regulatory requirements.
What this means for your sales approach:
Respect their time ruthlessly
Do not call during service hours (typically 11am to 2pm and 5pm to 9pm for restaurants). The best times to reach hospitality owners are mid morning (9am to 11am) and mid afternoon (2pm to 4pm) on weekdays.
Lead with savings or revenue
Every dollar matters in hospitality. Your pitch needs to clearly show either cost savings or revenue generation. "Our booking system reduces no shows by 30%" speaks directly to their bottom line.
Keep it simple
Hospitality owners are not tech experts. They want solutions that work out of the box without complex training or configuration. If your product requires a 90 minute onboarding session, that is probably 80 minutes too long.
Products that sell well in hospitality
- Point of sale systems
- Online ordering and delivery platforms
- Booking and reservation software
- Staff scheduling tools
- Accounting and inventory management
- Insurance products
- Payment processing solutions
- Marketing and review management tools
How to reach hospitality owners
Walk in visits
Hospitality businesses have physical locations, which makes face to face prospecting possible. Visit during off peak hours, introduce yourself briefly, and leave your card. A short, respectful visit is more effective than a cold call for many hospitality owners.
Industry events
Food and hospitality trade shows, supplier expos, and industry association events are excellent places to meet owners who are actively looking for new solutions.
Online communities
Facebook Groups for hospitality professionals are very active in Australia. Contribute helpful advice and build your reputation before making any sales approaches.
Referrals from suppliers
Suppliers who already sell to restaurants (food distributors, equipment suppliers) can be valuable referral partners.
Building long term relationships
Hospitality is a tight knit community. A great experience with one venue owner will spread to others in the area. Focus on delivering genuine value and providing excellent post sale support, and your hospitality client base will grow through word of mouth.