One of the least-used and yet most-effective on-the-spot marketing techniques in the world is the upsell. The words sounds bad: It has the beat and rhythm of a nasty trick. But Upselling isn’t – or doesn’t have to be – a negative. It can, when practiced correctly, be a positive experience for everyone involved – the customer is introduced to something new they enjoy, the restaurant makes a little more on that specific meal, and a certain menu item gets promoted.
However, there’s an art and a technique to upselling, and upselling can certainly go very, very wrong if it’s not practiced with a certain amount of skill and strategy. The good news is that’s upselling isn’t an arcane art with mysterious rules. There are a few simple guidelines that can be followed to make the upsell an easy art for all of your servers.
The Basic Rules of Upselling
The first and most important rule of upselling is that it’s a soft sell. The harder your upsell technique is, the less effective it will be – and the more potential damage it can do. The most important thing to consider is your timing:
• DON'T immediately assault customers trying to upsell items.
• DO recommend upsell starters they probably haven't considered.
• DON’T try to upsell when they’ve made their menu choices.
• DO be available and prepared with suggestions if the customer asks while looking through the menu.
The idea here is to determine when you believe the customer wants some guidance (and when they don't) and to match your upselling strategy to their circumstance at the time.
Always Be Helpful When Upselling
Remember when upselling to actually be helpful in your suggestions. Blindly throwing more expensive items or slow-moving items at patrons will be pretty clearly marketing-motivated, and your customers will resent it. In addition, there will be no future trust between the server and their customers when the customer realizes that you're more worried about profits than you are about their positive experience.
Your servers should be very thoughtful in their upselling suggestions. When a customer asks for guidance, they should be ready to match their upsells to the customer’s obvious preferences, the appetizers and/or wine choices, and their possible knowledge of the customer’s history. Click here to find more about restaurant online reservations.
Don't Forget Downselling Works Just as Well
Upselling is often seen solely as a way to increase profits – that’s a mistake. Ideally it would be viewed as a great way to improve a customer's dining satisfaction. Part of that has to include downselling as well – if your server attempts an upsell on a bottle of wine, for example, and the customer refuses due to the cost, they should be trained to be able to offer a more moderately-priced option that will also satisfy the palette. Remember that down-selling is a gain - not a loss: the alternative is to sell no wine at all.
Upselling requires careful training and thought, but it’s a powerful day-in, day-out tool that can really boost not only your sales, but your reputation.
However, there’s an art and a technique to upselling, and upselling can certainly go very, very wrong if it’s not practiced with a certain amount of skill and strategy. The good news is that’s upselling isn’t an arcane art with mysterious rules. There are a few simple guidelines that can be followed to make the upsell an easy art for all of your servers.
The Basic Rules of Upselling
The first and most important rule of upselling is that it’s a soft sell. The harder your upsell technique is, the less effective it will be – and the more potential damage it can do. The most important thing to consider is your timing:
• DON'T immediately assault customers trying to upsell items.
• DO recommend upsell starters they probably haven't considered.
• DON’T try to upsell when they’ve made their menu choices.
• DO be available and prepared with suggestions if the customer asks while looking through the menu.
The idea here is to determine when you believe the customer wants some guidance (and when they don't) and to match your upselling strategy to their circumstance at the time.
Always Be Helpful When Upselling
Remember when upselling to actually be helpful in your suggestions. Blindly throwing more expensive items or slow-moving items at patrons will be pretty clearly marketing-motivated, and your customers will resent it. In addition, there will be no future trust between the server and their customers when the customer realizes that you're more worried about profits than you are about their positive experience.
Your servers should be very thoughtful in their upselling suggestions. When a customer asks for guidance, they should be ready to match their upsells to the customer’s obvious preferences, the appetizers and/or wine choices, and their possible knowledge of the customer’s history. Click here to find more about restaurant online reservations.
Don't Forget Downselling Works Just as Well
Upselling is often seen solely as a way to increase profits – that’s a mistake. Ideally it would be viewed as a great way to improve a customer's dining satisfaction. Part of that has to include downselling as well – if your server attempts an upsell on a bottle of wine, for example, and the customer refuses due to the cost, they should be trained to be able to offer a more moderately-priced option that will also satisfy the palette. Remember that down-selling is a gain - not a loss: the alternative is to sell no wine at all.
Upselling requires careful training and thought, but it’s a powerful day-in, day-out tool that can really boost not only your sales, but your reputation.