Routinely train servers.
Upsell to uncertain customers.
Predetermine items and times for upselling.
Do not annoy the customer.
Provide useful suggestions.
Make assumptions as well as suggestions.
Mention your takeout.
Make the upsell enticing and convincing.
Encourage customers to bring something home with them “to-go.” If customers are too full for dessert, you can recommend they take dessert home with them. For example, Perkins Restaurant often encourages customers to take home one of their signature pies. If customers are not interested in dessert, you can still offer them a take-out and delivery menu to take home with them when they leave. This could result in future take-out and delivery sales, if they enjoyed their experience.
Upselling should seem like good service rather than a sales pitch. For this reason, it is best that the server know everything about menu offerings so they can practice good consultative selling and make appropriate suggestions. They should also have significant knowledge of wine and food pairings and techniques for reading customer behaviors and signals. That way, servers can offer a wine suggestion to go with a particular meal, or a dessert suggestion when they see that the customers are not quite ready to go. Such upselling techniques will be viewed not as a sales tactic, but as quality service.
Servers should be knowledgeable and seem excited about the things they are selling. For example, servers should not just ask, “Would you like a dessert?” Instead, they should mention the benefits of getting a dessert and make the dessert sound enticing: “Would you like to end with something sweet? Our special today is dark chocolate cheesecake with a tart raspberry glaze.” Remember, a lot of people really do want the item you are upselling, but perhaps they are hesitant to overindulge or spend too much. All they need is to be convinced.
The best time for servers to upsell is when the customer asks for their opinion. Then, they can suggest whatever you want them to. Otherwise, they can typically only pitch 1 or 2 upsells without annoying the customer. It is important to be subtle with your upselling techniques. Otherwise, the customer will feel pressured. Getting a few extra dollars from the customer does not do any good if you permanently lose that customer due to pushy upselling techniques.
Customers who look at the menu a long time or seem indecisive about what to order or hesitant in any way are most open to suggestion. Servers should be trained to read body language and attitude, so they can identify the customers who might respond well to suggestions.
Train your servers to always upsell certain menu items at certain times. For example, if your Thai tea is a profitable item and is usually well-received, you could tell servers to mention the Thai tea when they take customers’ drink orders. Or, if you run a Mexican restaurant, servers could always ask customers if they would like chips and salsa to start off.
For example, when a customer asks for a cocktail, assume they want the more expensive liquor by asking, “Do you have a vodka preference? We offer Grey Goose and Smirnoff.” If the customer says, “Grey Goose, please,” then you have just converted a well-drink sale into a high-end drink sale, adding several dollars to the check. Another example is the “nod” technique. If a customer orders fries, the cashier should look them in the eye and say, “A large fry?” while nodding. Most likely, customers will reply in the affirmative, even if they were originally planning on ordering a medium fry.
Each server should taste test all menu items and memorize ingredients and preparation for all dishes. Servers should also be aware of good food combinations, like wine and entrée pairings, as well as what is and is not available at any given time and which items are most profitable for the restaurant.
