The Keys to Upselling in Restaurants

Developing strategies to increase revenue is an essential part of growing a restaurant business. Upselling, or suggesting additional purchases to restaurant patrons, can be a valuable tool for increasing a restaurant's profitability. It allows the restaurant to take in more money per customer, instead of having to find additional customers to increase revenue. Several key elements of upselling can help you use this practice to increase profits.

Training

  1. Training host and wait staff is essential for upselling. Your employees must be able to provide customers with information to entice them to make additional purchases. For example, providing an employee with basic training on pairing wine with food will allow the employee to make wine recommendations to customers. Training can also help an employee name ingredients and describe the taste of a dessert or entree, which can entice customers to make additional purchases.

Multiple Product Availability

  1. Provide options your wait staff can use to offer to patrons. For example, instead of carrying a house Merlot, stock different brands at varying price points. When a customer orders a Merlot, the employee can recommend two or three of the highest-priced options. Also, you can offer different portion sizes to upsell to customers. For example, if a patron orders french fries, your employee can suggest upgrading to a larger portion size.

Visual Cues

  1. Appealing to customers through visual means can help increase upsells and improve restaurant revenues. For example, after a customer has finished his meal, your employee can carry a tray with several dessert options to the table instead of simply asking him if he wants dessert. Seeing the desserts, instead of just hearing about them, can entice the customer to enjoy one of your dessert selections. Also, place high-priced wines and spirits where customers can see them if your restaurant has a bar.

Pricing

  1. Develop a pricing strategy for the items you want to upsell to encourage customers to purchase additional items. Bundling certain items can increase upsells to improve restaurant profitability. For example, if a customer orders a hamburger, your employee can offer a combination meal that includes french fries and a soft drink -- the price of the combination meal should be lower than the combined price of the individual items. Offering promotional pricing on dessert items can also help increase upsells. For example, offer a discount on a particular desert item to customers who purchase an entree at regular price.

Employee Incentives

  1. Providing employees with incentives can help motivate them to upsell items to increase restaurant revenue. Hold a contest and provide gifts or bonuses to employees who upsell a specified number of items. You can also provide employees with free or discounted meals so they can try new items -- this can help employees accurately describe items to customers to increase upsells.