The power of upsell - at every opportunity

The Case for 'Upsell' over 'New Sale'

As the old adage goes, it's far easier to sell to existing clients than to gain new ones! This is particularly true in hospitality, where you have customers already sat in your bars and restaurants, spending, but perhaps unaware of what else you have on offer for them to enjoy.

It's down to your front line staff to take advantage of these opportunities, but it's YOUR responsibiltiy to ensure they know how, and to motivate them to do so!

Think about it: an upsell of just £5 per customer to 100 customers per day equates to over 60 wage hours paid at the national living wage ... just for selling an extra cake or dessert!

Here are three quick wins that can help you maximise revenue with minimum extra effort.

Three easy wins...

Here are three easy ways to deliver great customer service whilst adding a small incremental amount to the bill. 
WIN 1 - The assumptive botttle of water! The weather is glorious and your customer arrives hot and thirsty. Your first question: "What a lovely day - you must be hot. Whilst you're deciding what to order, how about some water -  still or sparkling?"

WIN 2 - Pastries go naturally with coffee! Customers invariably 'pop in for a coffee'; don't lose the opportunity to offer pastries or cakes to accompany beverages. REALLY sell them - talk about the pastry chef's latest creation, or perhaps he's won a prize for a particular piece. 

WIN 3 - Know all about stunning desserts! Assume customers would like to see the dessert menu! As you hand it to them, find out what they like, then demonstrate great product knowledge and engage emotively: "The chef's speciality is a delightfully fresh lemon syllabub, would you like to try it?" Who could refuse?

REWARDING GREAT UPSELL

Upselling isn't difficult, but staff may need an incentive to make it part of their standard operating practice.

Why not introduce a competition? Offer a bottle of wine to the individual that sells the most, or the opportunity to go home an hour early one day...

It doesn't have to cost the business much at all, but can make a significant impact on revenues. 

Keep encouraging your team, help them stay focused and celebrate the wins together to keep all your team engaged and on-side. You won't regret it!