The Empty Table Problem
Restaurants have hundreds of customer phone numbers and never text them. SMS has 98% open rates - email has 20%.
98% open rate vs 20%
$3-5
Campaign cost
$297-497/month recurring
Per client
25 minutes
To find leads
Independent restaurants
Target audience
Find restaurants sitting on customer data with no SMS marketing. Sell text-based loyalty programs, VIP lists, and review generation through GHL. SMS marketing ROI is $36-40 per $1 spent.
The Math
How this playbook turns into money
Spend
$4.50
Find
500 restaurants
Response
5% reply rate
Close
8 clients at $297/mo
Earn
$2,376/month recurring
Step-by-Step Process
Find independent restaurants
Target non-chain restaurants that make their own marketing decisions.
- Search by cuisine: "italian restaurant [city]", "mexican restaurant [city]"
- Also search: "brunch [city]", "bar and grill [city]", "cafe [city]"
- Filter OUT chains (no Chili's, Applebee's, etc.)
- Look for 4.0+ stars with 100+ reviews (established and quality)
Pro Tip
Restaurants with 200+ reviews but no obvious loyalty program are perfect targets.
Check their review generation
Find restaurants that could use more reviews and better communication.
- Look at recent review frequency
- Identify restaurants with declining review velocity
- Note any "wish they had a loyalty program" comments
- Check if owner responds to reviews (shows they care about customers)
Pro Tip
Restaurants that respond to reviews but have slowing review velocity = care about customers but need help generating more.
Verify they lack SMS marketing
Check if they're already doing text marketing.
- Visit their website - look for "text us" or "join our VIP list"
- Check their social media for SMS opt-in promotions
- Look for Toast, Square, or POS loyalty programs
- If no SMS presence, they're a perfect target
Pro Tip
Restaurants with a "Sign up for our email list" but no SMS = they understand marketing but are missing the best channel.
Get owner/manager contacts
Find the person who makes marketing decisions.
- Scrape contact pages and About pages
- Look for owner/chef names
- Get email addresses
- Note any personal story (family-owned, chef background, etc.)
Pro Tip
For restaurants, showing up in person during slow hours (2-4pm) often works better than cold email.
Personalize with SMS vs email data
Make the case for SMS marketing with hard numbers.
- Upload leads with restaurant name, cuisine type, owner name
- Generate opening lines referencing their specific restaurant
- Use SMS stats: 98% open rate, 45% response rate, 90% read in 3 minutes
- Calculate: 500 phone numbers x $25 avg check x 5% response = $625 per text
Pro Tip
Focus on slow night fill - every restaurant has Tuesdays and Wednesdays they struggle to fill.
Send SMS marketing outreach
Lead with the 98% open rate and slow night angle.
Pro Tip
Send at 2-3pm when lunch rush is done but before dinner prep. Avoid weekends entirely.
Close with SMS loyalty package
Sell the GHL SMS marketing and review system.
- SMS VIP Club setup + monthly campaigns: $297/month
- Add automated review requests: $397/month
- Full SMS + reviews + customer database: $497/month
- Setup includes: VIP signup landing page, first 3 campaigns written
- Guarantee: "Get 100+ VIP signups in 30 days or money back"
- Powered by GoHighLevel - trusted by 15,000+ restaurants
Pro Tip
Offer to write their first 3 SMS campaigns for them. Restaurant owners are busy - done-for-you sells.