Part 1: Up-Selling for Higher Sales

When we teach servers and their managers about suggestive selling or up-selling, we’re often asked “How much of a difference does it really make?” Our answer is that it makes a big,
big difference.
    There is no reason to re-invent the wheel, so why not imitate the most successful businesses? How do you think fast food leaders do it with “Would you like fries with that?” or a movie theater with “Would you like a frosty Coke with all that popcorn? Or would you like the large popcorn for only $1 more?”
    All the big companies use these everyday. Why don’t you pay attention to how many times people use this approach on you this week?
    The fact is, If you really want to improve your sales, get your
staff to focus consistently on making simple suggestions to your guests. It’s the single easiest way to increase the average check. 

Interaction
    Kimberly Gaiser, area supervisor of The Beer Sellar, JB Fins and Hooters of Newport, Ky,, has some great things to say on the subject.
    “Up-selling has been a customer service tactic of ours for years,” she says. Whether it is the recommendation of a specific dipping sauce for your wings or buffalo shrimp or add-ons to your sandwiches, upselling is a Hooters Girl’s best friend. It makes her money and the guest happy, with a more enjoyable experience with us.”
    I want to stress the importance of interacting with your guests as opposed to just taking orders. One of my favorite sayings is ”The more you talk to your guests, the more money you make.”
    “My formula is really pretty simple,” says Joe Frisch, bartender at Aces & Eights nightclub in Warner Robins, Ga., “The more positive energy you give your customers, the longer they stay. The longer they stay, the more they spend. The more they spend, the more you and your bar make. A happy customer becomes an advertising agent for your bar, and you can’t pay for word of mouth, it has to be earned everyday.”
    People really appreciate it when a staff member, the perceived expert, takes the time to actually talk to them and suggest something that they believe in.
    For example, I was in Jamaica last year teaching for the Sandals organization. When I ordered a beer, the waiter was extremely enthusiastic about his country’s best beer, so I had to order it. He presented it with passion and a smile saying, “You gotta have a Red Stripe, my friend. It’s the best beer in the world, mon.” It really was great — not so much for the actual beer but for the genuine camaraderie that was shown to me in the presentation of it.
    This guy really understood another one of my favorite sayings: “If you don’t take care of your customers, someone else will.”
    Another reason to use suggestive selling is to impress your customers with your vast knowledge of all things. Bartenders are supposed to be wise and all-knowing, so a suggestion of something different is appreciated and an easy up-sell.
    “When a customer orders a beer at The Beer Sellar, they expect us to know our business,” Gaiser says. “We have 60 draft taps and 120 bottles. There is little room for error with such a demanding public. We often have customers who are regular domestic beer drinkers, and it is our No. 1 priority to ease them into the popular world of import beers.”
    Frisch says, “When you use suggestive selling as a tool to interact, you get your customers involved in the process. That makes them feel like they’re a part of what’s going on, and everyone wants to feel included.
    Compared to most places out there, when you use these skills, you really stand out from the crowd and make a strong connection with people.
    “It’s like you’re willing to do something for nothing,” Frisch says. “Take a little time to talk to them and try to make them happy. It’s the cool thing to do. people appreciate it, and I have a way better night because people are friendlier to me. Everybody wins.”
    Next month, we’ll tell you how to do it. See next month’s issue for Part 2 of this article and find out about our Suggestive Selling Challenge and how you can win a free DVD, “How To Be The Life of The Party. It’s three hours of bar bets, tricks, challenges,riddles, puzzles and brain teasers.            NCB


Scott Young is president and founder of www.extremebartending.com and travels around the world teaching bar staff. He has created 25 training videos and is a regular speaker at “The Show.”