Train Servers to Sell More Wine
As traffic builds toward Valentine’s Day, give your servers a refresher course on your wine sale strategies. Remind waitstaff that wine sales are a great boost to check averages and tips! There are at least five optimal times during a meal to sell more wine — do your servers know them? Here’s a re-cap for your next pre-shift meeting:
- During the initial greeting of the table. “Can I start you off with a cocktail or a bottle of wine?” Then, mention specials, specialty wines or personal favorites.
- When the entrée order is taken. Make sure servers are well-schooled in how to pair wines with specific entrée items.
- In the period between soup and salad and serving the main course. This is a good time for a refill or to see if customers would like a glass with their meal.
- When the entrées are delivered.
- After-dinner. Many chocolate desserts go great with red wines and some white wines are desserts in themselves.
Wine to go? Many states have laws that allow patrons to take home their open bottles of wine. That’s good for everyone: the guest (who won’t now feel pressured to finish the wine so it won’t go to “waste”) and operations (there’s really no reason not to get a bottle if you’re enjoying the wine). If your state allows to-go wine, make sure your servers are trained to mention this benefit during their wine sales dialogue.
Looking for an easy way to train servers to increase wine sales? Check out the Real-World Selling: Wine DVD. See below for a special clip!
This Year: Plan to Improve Sales (and Create a System to Make It Happen)
We run our pre-shift meetings and we tack up specials and we talk about high-profit items and in the end, we wonder “Why aren’t our sales increasing?” And—if we continue to “push” our servers—will we become the food-industry equivalent of a used car dealer?
This year, take a new look at the system behind your sales. Have your salespeople adopted a knee-jerk reaction to customers and their orders, a kind of “you want fries with that?” approach? And, if so, what have you done to encourage this? Do you typically make sales contests that focus on the most popular items… or the most profitable? Do you talk about profit margins or making guests happier?
Zig Ziglar, the sales guru, once said, “You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Often in sales, the key is finding out what that other person wants. In the hospitality industry, it’s simple: to have a good time your guests need good food, good service, and a good atmosphere.
The first step to giving people what they want is setting up a system that marries service with sales. Here are some tips to get started:
- Get everyone on the same page (including you): Good service happens when customers make good selections. Role-play repeatedly with your team to determine what guests are interested in, what they like, and make sure the chefs clearly communicate ingredients and preparation techniques. Make it mandatory for new employees to sample everything on the menu.
- Create accountability, not blame. Instead of insisting on a sales number per shift, make sales goals that span a longer time frame. This shows servers that as they develop their skills of determining what guests want and fulfilling those needs, their sales will increase as well.
- Award service AND sales. If you truly want to communicate that the goal of your operation is to make customers happy—and suggestively selling customized items is one way to reach that goal—then you must evaluate service as well as sales. One way to measure this is to tally the percentages of tips a server received in the last month. Your best servers—and sellers—will consistently be at 20 percent. Acknowledging that—and rewarding it—is critical to your success.
Boost Gift Card Sales This Holiday Season
Yes, you’re going to be busy this season. Employees will be maxed out, customers stressed out and many shifts will feel like a drive-by attack, instead of an opportunity to thank guests for their support. But there are ways that you can offer guests extra perks while building sales and improving service. Gift cards—with promotions that pamper guests—can bring you additional sales when you need them (after the holidays). Here are a few ideas to maximize gift card sales this season:
- Free appetizer right now – Offer guests a free appetizer or a dessert with their purchase of a gift card. Use signage in your operation and on your website and coach your sales team to remind guests of this promotion as they’re taking orders.
- Party perks – Large groups are captive audiences and if you offer 5 or 10 percent off an entire order (with the purchase of gift cards that can only be used at a future date), you’ll motivate them to buy cards that at least equal your discounts. Before you call it a “wash,” consider your absence of advertising costs and the opportunity to reach additional (even new) customers and the fact that gift card users are more likely to purchase additions (appetizers, sides, desserts, premium drinks, etc.) than those who aren’t using gift cards.
Other ways to show appreciation and boost sales include:
- Free coffee all month – Your shoppers will appreciate the sentiment and you’ll provide servers with the sales opportunity to suggestively sell desserts.
- Wine while you wait – As the line grows, your tired customers may opt to skip the 45 minutes of standing and head home (or somewhere else). A bottle of house wine (or even a jug) can make the wait seem worthwhile. A tray of appetizers that you pass around also spreads good cheer, while boosting sales when guests are seated.
- “Our gift to you” – Be sure to acknowledge regular guests with freebies when you see them (desserts to take home, gift cards to use later, free appetizers tonight). It’s a great way to reward their loyalty, boost their word-of-mouth advertising and, hey, it is the season for giving, right?
Capitalize on Carryout Sales
When customers call full-service or family dining restaurants to order carryout, they often don’t have a menu. Even those who look up on your menu online may still need some help making a decision. Use this opportunity to guide them to making choices they’ll enjoy – and increase your carryout sales – by training your phone team members and ensuring they know the menu.
Customer, calling: Hi, I’d like to place an order, but I’m not sure what I want.
Employee, on phone: Great! Have you eaten here before?
Customer: Oh, yes. I just don’t remember what I had.
Employee: What sounds good to you tonight? We have a pasta special, a fresh grilled salmon and a new fried chicken salad that I’m crazy about!
Customer: Well, my husband likes your ribs so I’ll take that and I’ll try the salad.
Employee: Great! Can I get you an order of breadsticks or onion rings to go with that? We also have peach cobbler that the chef made this morning. It’s amazing!
Customer: You talked me into it!
The Appetizer Sales Zone
After returning with the beverage order, assume your guests want an appetizer. You may hear “no thanks” from a four-top when you suggest something, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try again with another four-top.
In “assuming the sale,” you’re confident that not only you can sell, but also your customers want to buy. It’s a fact of life that salespeople are in the business of assuming success, not failure.
Listen to the assumption used in this dialogue:
“Have you had a chance to look over the appetizers? Which can I bring you?”
If the table declines, you haven’t braved rejection for nothing. Those guests might be interested in an appetizer the next time they come in. You’ve planted the seed now for a sale later. When making suggestions and assuming the sale, try not to ask questions that can be answered with a yes or no. Example:
1. “Anybody want something to start?”
2. “Would you like an appetizer?”
Let’s re-phrase these inquiries as open-ended questions:
1. “How about our spinach dip or an order of our award-winning onion rings to start?”
2. “The buffalo chicken wings and the calamari are really popular. Which one can I bring you?”
While you’re in the Appetizer Zone, keep in mind the other sales strategies you’ve learned. Offer a choice (“The potato skins and smoked trout are both very good”), then recommend your favorite (“But my favorite is the chicken Caesar salad.”)
The Power of a Dollar
Here’s a simple exercise:
- Write down your approximate daily customer count.
- Now write down the number of days you’re open.
- Multiply number two times number one.
- Add a dollar sign to the left of your answer to #3.
Look at that last figure long and hard. How’d you like to see that number added to your gross sales this and every year without raising prices or doing any advertising? That’s the Hidden Treasure of Lost Sales in your restaurant: the result of adding only one dollar to your per person check average! You don’t have to be Indiana Jones to find it – it’s hiding in your staff’s ability (or inability) to effectively merchandise your menu.
Selling Servers on the Soft Sell
Mention the word “sell” to many people and watch them run screaming from the room. (Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but suffice it to say, most people are afraid of and/or unwilling to sell.) Here are some tips to share with your servers to motivate them to become experts at the art of soft selling:
- Suggest, suggest, suggest. To be successful in sales, you don’t have to push items on customers, but you do have to recommend specific menu items. By telling a customer about your favorite dishes and making pairing recommendations, you’ll improve the level of service you deliver… and you’ll create more satisfied customers. After all, most menus have over hundred items to choose from and most guests appreciate a little guidance!
- Let the food sell itself. When you describe items well, you sell those items… without any direct sales talk. Listing ingredients, telling guests how the chef prepared the dish and describing those details with vivid language gets the guest excited about the dish… and gets you the sale.
- Ask questions. Sometimes just asking if a guest has any questions will easily open up the conversation for you to recommend items and add-ons. Then, ask your own: uncover preferences and make recommendations that will best please your guests.
- Relax. The main challenge most salespeople have is to convince a customer to buy something. You already have a customer that you know if going to buy something. Your job is just to help the customer find what he or she will really enjoy and to create an entire dining experience.
- Be sincere. Customers can tell when you’re trying to “sell” them or “serve” them. If you don’t genuinely want to make customers happy, get out of the hospitality industry.
5 Sales Mistakes Pros Make (How Are Your Servers Doing?)
If you want your servers to act as salespeople, you need to treat them – and train them – as salespeople. Here are five typical mistakes that salespeople in all industries make. How do your salespeople add up?
Sales Mistake # 1: Allowing a prospect to lead the sales process. Do your servers lead the sales process or do they take orders? By asking about preferences, special events, etc., they’ll create opportunities for sales.
Sales Mistake # 2: Not doing the research. How many times does a server need to “check” on ingredients, promotions, specials or items that are no longer on the menu? One visit to the back signals to guests that they are not dealing with a professional.
Sales Mistake # 3: Talking too much. Sure, we’re supposed to entertain our guests, but do we ramble on about specials or do we ask what guests want to know and then tell them?
Sales Mistake # 4: Not being prepared. Pre-shift meetings focus employees and pass along critical information (specials, etc.). Then, it’s up to your salesperson to take the initiative and be ready (have the wine opener in the jacket, anticipate that extra napkins will be needed, bring out the silverware before the salad, etc.).
Sales Mistake # 5: Neglecting to ask for the sale. If you want additional appetizer, drink or dessert sales, you have to ask for them, but many present items without ever uttering these five critical words, “Can I bring you one?”
For ideas on how to motivate your severs and reward their sales behavior, check out Playing Games at Work: 52 Best Incentives, Contests and Rewards for the Hospitality Industry
Increase Sales with Suggestive Selling
Many servers have acquired a negative impression of suggestive selling. Often we hear:
“I don’t want to be pushy! ”
Suggestive selling is just that — giving your guests all the options that they have to enjoy a well-rounded dining experience.
“I have a lot of regulars and they know what they want.”
Many regulars do know what they want, but they also rely on you to keep them informed of things that are changing.
“I am too busy to suggest all those items.”
Good dialogue fits right into what you’re saying anyway and doesn’t take but a few seconds. Look at the results and the money you can make by just spending a few minutes a night with your guests.
Make suggestive selling fun and easy to implement in your restaurant. Give your servers dialogue that they can customize and make their own. The last thing you need is a group of servers that sound like robots, saying the same lines to each and every table.
Check out this clip from Real World Selling: Start to Finish to see how real servers use suggestive selling to increase sales and tips. Click here for more information.
Add Up Increased Restaurant Sales
Suggesting extras such as bacon on a burger or guacamole with nachos not only builds check averages as much as 50 cents per guest, but also improves the perception of your restaurant’s service delivery. Customers feel taken care of when servers suggest items that enhance the meal.
Your waitstaff, however, can’t sell what they don’t know. To test their product knowledge, design a fill-in-the-blank quiz with appetizers, soups and salads, entrées and desserts listed on the left and space to write in the appropriate extras on the right. On the back of the quiz, have servers write down examples of suggestive selling dialogue pertaining to add-ons. Award lotto tickets to those with the highest scores.
Need more employee incentive ideas to help increase sales? Click here to check out Playing Games at Work: 52 Best Incentives, Contests and Rewards for the Hospitality Industry
