Upselling has long been one of the staple strategies for restaurants looking to make more money. However, restaurants also need to be careful when upselling to customers. Too many upsells can annoy diners and leave them unsatisfied with their experience with your restaurant. Upselling can be a great business strategy when used correctly. You just need to be careful not to damage your restaurant’s reputation when using upsells to increase revenue! Here are some of the best upsells for restaurants and restaurant upselling strategies for your business to use.
Successful Restaurant Upselling Lies With Your Staff
You already know how valuable your team of staff members are to your restaurant. When it comes to upselling, your waitstaff are the key to your success. Invest time in paid training for waitstaff and other service staff members that focuses specifically on upselling. Making sure that they know how to upsell to customers smoothly and without annoying them is essential.
Best Restaurant Upsells: Know Which Items to Suggest
Your waitstaff is important when it comes to upselling because they’re the ones that your customers interact and connect with when dining. You customers may ask their waiter or waitress for suggestions on drinks or dishes to order. Train your staff to know which dishes make the most profit for your restaurant. Suggesting a selection of these dishes to customers is a great way to “upsell” without being too obvious about it.
Best Restaurant Upsells: Suggest Extras
One of the most classic ways of upselling to customers is to suggest extras. This is one of the best upselling strategies for restaurants because it’s not pushy and actually contributes to giving your customers a great experience by making the meals they’ve ordered even better. One example of an extra to suggest is a breadstick to go alongside a pasta dish. You could also consider suggesting a protein, like grilled shrimp or chicken, to go with a salad that a customer has ordered. You can offer the option to upgrade from chips to fries as sides for sandwiches or wraps, too.
Suggest Take-Out as an Option
Dessert items are another option for an “extra” suggested upsell. However, many customers turn down an appetizer when it’s suggested because they’re already full from their meal. That’s where take-out can come in as a great option and tool for upselling! When pitching the dessert option to customers, make sure that your servers let them know that they don’t have to eat the dish then and there. Offer select options for desserts that will be great as take-out. This means no ice cream, but cake slices, layered cups, and other specialties are all good options. You’re sure to make more dessert sales when you offer them as to-go items!
All in all, having success with restaurant upsells is easy when you have the right options and your staff are well-trained on how to pitch them to customers. Successful upsells have the potential to be the key to success for your restaurant! Best of luck!
