Bar Tips: Everything I Needed to Know in Sales I Learned Behind the Bar

By Neil Rogers

Are you a young person struggling to find your footing and direction?

Are you thinking about a job change and considering sales?

Are you currently a salesperson looking to get to the next level?

Ready for simple, easy, free concepts available to grow your business?

During the pandemic lockdowns, I reached out to long-time friends. One day, I checked in with a friend who, after fully recovering from surgery to save his life, wrote a book on his experience and recovery philosophy. I was stunned by the transformation of the old to the new Terry. When he encouraged me to write a book, I said, "What do I have to say?" Terry encouraged me that everyone has a story to tell.

I discovered writings from my youth and more recent materials for business. Then I realized that my days spent in the hospitality business, especially behind the bar, related to the sales success that I had achieved. Hence, I began drafting Bar Tips.

At the same time as I was speaking to Terry and making progress on the book, I was mentoring a young man, Joe, who had a story like mine at his age. We worked through many of the topics explored in this book. Happy to say Joe got a great job and is marrying a lovely woman. I like to think my simple processes helped him on his journey.

I believe Bar Tips will be of service to you. This framework of basic concepts and simple language for you to quickly adapt to your activities through incremental changes in behavior and methodology to improve desired results is a roadmap for success.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798886548242

Book preview

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Bar Tips

Everything I Needed to Know in Sales I Learned Behind the Bar

Neil Rogers

Copyright © 2022 Neil Rogers

All rights reserved

Bar Tips

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any written form or by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Making of a Bartender—and Beyond

The Basics of Bartending, a Primer for Business

All Business Is the Hospitality Business

The Importance of the Proper Greeting

The Most Organized Wins

Time Management Matters

Situational Awareness

Resolving Issues by Taking Ownership

Peripheral Knowledge

Appearance—Attitude—Ability

The Proper Send-off and Follow-up

Knowledge Is Power

The Armchair Psychologist

Be the Bartender

Growing Your Business with Positive Activity™

Hospitality Happiness

Epilogue

About the Author

Editor: Lynn Thompson, Living on Purpose Communications

Contributing Editors: Lori Rogers, Carolee Miot McIntosh, Anne Carson

Book Cover: Jennifer Wahl, JD Design

ISBN 979-8-88654-823-5 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88654-824-2 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

To my Make It Happen Team: Lori, Amanda, Craig, and Cam

Foreword

Here's the thing, not many people come along who are adept at business, selling, and providing fantastic customer experiences and yet are also firmly grounded in what some might call the school of hard knocks. In contrast, others might say that their experience in the school of life got them where they are today.

Neil Rogers is one such person. He's built a successful career, helmed multiple businesses, and proven himself time and time again. He has a background that demonstrates that anyone can do it with hard work, determination, and know-how—even a bartender.

This book takes simple lessons and practical principles and applies them to building your business and your life in general. While we may know many of the concepts, Neil reminds us of how important it is for us to apply them as often and in as many ways as possible.

I've known Neil for a while and had the chance to see him in action. Through the years, I have discovered that Neil genuinely adheres to his core life takeaways. Many people write books that spotlight innovative ideas or some new, often complex system, which is excellent. However, Neil goes back to basics. He reminds us of some fundamentals that many people forget about while climbing higher up on the ladder.

Throughout the book, Neil offers unique perspectives and Aha! moments that are simple and yet powerful when implemented. He had to build a successful career and business somehow, right? Indeed, this book gives the reader insight into exactly how he did that.

I find it fascinating, as I know you will too, how Neil connects the stories from his bartending days to the more practical everyday situations that people in business or sales often face. In refreshing ways, he emphasizes habits as fundamental as making eye contact at the right moment or as respectful as being on time (preferably early).

I sincerely appreciate Neil's insights and willingness to take me as the reader on a journey from his time as a young kid behind the bar to his professional retrospective of the invaluable lessons learned now that he is a successful entrepreneur.

This book is a must-read for someone looking to improve their sales skills, understand customer service, and gain insight into a simple yet highly effective way to run a business. Sometimes the most valuable nuggets of wisdom come from unexpected sources. In this case, Neil consulted his younger self, the bartender, when it comes to offering us a way to improve situations that we otherwise might make too complicated.

—Terrance McMahon

Terrance McMahon is a Best-Selling Author, TEDx Speaker, Business Strategist, Host of the Books To Business podcast. McMahon's bestselling book, Superhero Self: Recover from Anything and Re-Create Yourself, asks readers, what is your most powerful weapon? Have you thought about what can help you succeed, grow stronger, and think smarter?

Preface

Why I wrote this book

During the lockdowns of COVID, I would reach out to old friends. One day, I checked in with an old friend who had gone through some health concerns. Terry was a wildly successful General Agent for MassMutual. Unfortunately, his success took him to places and behaviors that caused his health problems. Terry had fully recovered from surgery to save his life, and when I called, he shared with me that he had written a book on his experience and philosophy of recovery. The transformation from the Terry I knew with MassMutual to the new Terry was stunning. We talked further, and he encouraged me to write a book, to which I said, What do I have to say? Terry encouraged me that everyone has a story to tell, so off I went.

My discovery process for this book included writings I had done about my youth in the past and more recent materials I had written for business. Then came the realization that my days spent in the hospitality business, specifically behind the bar, is related to the sales success that I had achieved. Hence, Bar Tips began.

At the same time as I was speaking to Terry and making progress on the book, I was mentoring a young man, Joe. Joe had a story like mine at his age, and we worked through many of the same topics you will discover in this book. Happy to say Joe got a great job and is marrying a lovely woman. I like to think my simple processes helped him on his journey.

How this book will help you

If you are a young person struggling to find your footing and direction, I believe my story and the simple concepts outlined in the book will help. Also, for someone thinking about a job change and maybe considering sales, I think Bar Tips will be of service to you. It will help because we speak simple concepts in simple language that you can quickly impart into what you are currently doing. The overarching mission encourages the reader to make incremental changes in current behaviors and methodology to improve desired results.

Finally, what I have written in the book is about what has worked for me. It is not absolute—more of a framework that I hope the reader will adapt as needed. So please take what I write, add to it, and adjust it to be a fully produced roadmap for success.

Acknowledgments

I greatly appreciate that Bill and Brian Kittredge reinforced the fundamentals of sales. My time with the Kittredge's was the best working experience.

Jim Gallahue showed me that taking ownership when a business problem arises defuses that situation, and for this, I am eternally grateful.

Jamie Tipping, Lori Lilly, Phil Richardson, and Charlie Bletzer for sharing their time, insight, and experience that helped move this project along.

Terry McMahon encouraged me to write this book; I believe that everyone has a story to tell.

Thanks to Peter Melanson for giving me my first job behind the bar and teaching me how to pour with authority.

Thanks to Lynn Thompson, one of our valued editors, for staying the course with my vision and diligently collaborating with us to complete Bar Tips.

Introduction

There's a quote from the late Anthony Bourdain that hits home for me:

You can always tell when a person has worked in a restaurant. There's an empathy that can only be cultivated by those who've stood between a hungry mouth and a $28 pork chop, a special understanding of the way a bunch of motley misfits can be a family. Service industry work develops the soft skills recruiters talk about on LinkedIn—discipline, promptness, the ability to absorb criticism, and most important, how to read people like a book. The work is thankless and fun and messy, and the world would be a kinder place if more people tried it. With all due respect to my former professors, I've long believed I gained more knowledge in kitchens, bars, and dining rooms than any college could even hold.

I like how Bourdain categorizes work in the hospitality industry as both thankless and fun, throwing in messy to give people a real glimpse into the chaotic atmosphere behind the restaurant and bar world scenes. Yes, education is important; however, I agree with Bourdain that the knowledge and experience accumulated from years of working in a kitchen, front of house, or behind the bar amount to the learning you cannot duplicate in a classroom.

That premise is the foundation for this book. I was a bartender for ten years. I worked in a variety of bars for a variety of managers. I saw almost every type of customer you can imagine and mixed practically any drink you would ever want to try.

I am no longer a bartender. I've since moved onto an array of sales careers. I spent my sales career in several industries, including food service supplies, athletic apparel, and footwear, and the owner (who also sells) of a promotional marketing firm. I have leaned heavily on those fundamental skills I picked up years ago behind the bar in each of my previous and current positions. No lie. What are those skills I so rely on