Any versatile salesperson has a handy collection of upselling techniques up their sleeve. These are smart ways to encourage their customers to buy a higher-priced or additional product. That could be a large coffee, a portable flask, or a better-quality bottle of wine. In the cut-throat business world, these sales could be the difference between your company sinking or swimming.
Upselling isn’t necessarily just selling a more expensive item in place of a more basic product. Remember, it can involve additional products, too, like those point-of-sales bargains that business owners line up near the checkout. It’s just about swooping in and adding value to the customer’s purchase.
In this guide, we’ll give you a complete breakdown of the ins and outs of getting more value out of your interactions. Get ready for definitions, explanations, benefits, and some strategies you can implement today. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll be an upselling pro.
What Are Upselling Techniques?
Upselling techniques are simply ways to encourage customers to increase the value of their purchase. There are numerous ways to increase the value of a buy; you could persuade them to upgrade to premium products. Alternatively, you could drive motivation for an additional purchase, creating a sense of urgency to buy relevant products.
You can increase the price tag of that original purchase or utilize a cross-selling strategy to encourage an extra item. By doing so, the value per customer rises.
An excellent example of this would be buying a laptop from a store. Not only does the customer buy the computer, but they might buy a case to protect it. After all, they’ve just spent lots of money on the laptop itself — they’re feeling conscious of keeping their investment safe. Similarly, a worker might persuade them to also buy an insurance package.
Of course, that’s all without considering the upselling a worker might have done on the actual laptop. Perhaps they’ve gone from a basic version to a more mid-range choice, a mid-priced laptop, or a real top-of-the-range item.
This strategy doesn’t just have to be related to retail. You can use it to your advantage across all industries, especially hospitality. Here are just a few examples:
- Persuading guests to upgrade their hotel rooms.
- Tempting customers to successfully look at the dessert menu.
- Offering a larger drink size or a meal deal option.
It’s a savvy way to quickly build the value of a customer’s interaction. And if you’re lucky, it can contribute positively to an ongoing relationship and customer lifetime value. It works effectively alongside a solid customer loyalty program.
How the Best Upselling Techniques Work
The best upselling techniques hinge on customer psychology. They center around scientific reasons that would drive your customer to “Yes!” and agree with your upsell. These are just a handful of the most popular and compelling reasons someone will give you the green light:
- The customer genuinely needs your product.
- A strong emotion is tied to that purchase (think of the sturdy case and the anxious laptop buyer).
- The timing is perfect, and the suggestion is relevant.
- You suggest the more expensive product but back it with hard statistics and evidence.
- There’s a sense of scarcity or urgency, e.g., they couldn’t find it elsewhere or need it right now.
If you’re targeting urgency or perfect timing, the till is a great placement for complementary items. This strategy is called POS advertising —sneaking in an extra buy at the point of sale.
Targeting emotions is much more about the sales process. How well do you read the customer throughout? What items are you actually selling? Naturally, things that invoke an investment conjure more emotions and attachment.
However, the investment could be the customer experience itself. For a couple investing in a romantic date night, a shared dessert could tempt even the most unyielding customers. Or the suggestion of a glass of champagne to toast their evening.
Speaking of engaging with customers, all staff must be on the same page with marketing. Additionally, the more professional and knowledgeable each person is, the better; it gives a positive and authoritative brand image.
Learning the menu inside out is an excellent way for individual servers to drive their profits, too, through tips or upselling bonuses. If you’re a business owner not yet using bonuses to motivate staff, take this as your sign, too!
3 Top Benefits of Learning to Upsell
So why should you learn to upsell? Why is this one of the most vital sales strategies to master when growing a business? You might understand exactly what it entails now but don’t just take our word for how great it is.
Here are the benefits of learning to upsell — from customer satisfaction to better turnover.
1. Boosts Profit
Obviously, a huge benefit is how upselling boosts your profit. Instead of simply making X amount of money, you make a percentage extra. Over time, this builds, and you start to establish a much higher average profit.
By targeting the value of each interaction, you end up increasing the baseline profit per customer. Not only does this total better profits for every person, but it also increases the average customer lifetime value.
For instance, say you offer complementary products like muffins with each coffee one morning. One of your loyal customers tries one and loves it. Instead of just buying coffee, they begin buying a muffin as well every other morning. You’ve just increased their LV.
Profit boosting works on an individual basis and creates some handy patterns moving forward.
2. Increases Staff Confidence and Motivation
Another — often overlooked — benefit of upselling is that it increases staff confidence and motivation. Your biggest weapon is a team of confident and capable staff members. When those staff members feel empowered, they perform better, so upselling can be a handy trick.
Upsells provide a clear framework for success and tangible and quantifiable measurements for staff to give themselves feedback. Far too often, it can be difficult for staff to receive regular feedback on progress. Therefore, the ability to tally things up themselves is really valuable.
It will help them feel capable and knowledgeable about their role, especially when successfully giving customers advice. Business owners can further drive motivation by providing bonuses for upsells and publicly recognizing efforts.
3. Better Customer Satisfaction
One of the biggest insecurities about upselling is feeling like it comes across as ingenuine. However, when upselling is done right, you’re actually increasing customer satisfaction levels. Why? Because you’re providing value.
That value could be a relevant product that saves the person a trip elsewhere later (“How convenient!”). Or perhaps it’s on-hand expertise to find the perfect wine of their choice (“This person is so helpful!”).
By stepping in to upsell the right way, you’re making the customer experience smoother. You should always be upselling from a place genuinely wanting to provide better or more for a customer. The right intentions are visible from a mile off.
3 of the Best Upselling Techniques in Restaurants
Trying out this strategy for the first time in a restaurant takes some trial and error. However, you’ll likely be surprised to find you’re already utilizing different types of upselling techniques. It’s probably just a case of fine-tuning your existing upsell approaches.
Are you ready for some upselling examples? Here are the three best upselling techniques in restaurants:
- Offering wine pairings and dessert menus.
- Having different tiers, be it in seating options, dining experiences, or menus.
- Investing in expert staff (e.g., a sommelier or vegetarian chef).
Let’s discuss why each of these options might work for you.
Firstly, wine pairings and dessert menus are the most convenient add-ons. These offer simple ways that a customer can elevate the standard main course experience. Wine pairings are additionally valuable because they offer luxury while eliminating the need for decision-making. It’s a handy way of setting customers at ease with what might otherwise be an overwhelming deliberation of the wine menu.
Different tiers are equally effective as you can clearly differentiate between different pricing levels. Luxury seating options could include private rooms or front tables (e.g., pay to reserve specific seats). Or you could offer an a la carte menu and numerous set menus, with prices increasing with courses.
Lastly, expert staff are valuable as they can upsell on an individual basis through personal guidance. This establishes a sense of expertise and trustworthiness. There’s a chance to upsell to more premium products while also just ensuring customers get the items they’ll love.
4 Bar Upselling Techniques You Can Use
It’s not just restaurants that can upsell; you’d be shocked at how easy it is to use the strategy in bars. We’ll quickly overview the leading strategies and then take a deep dive into each approach.
Here are the four best bar upselling techniques:
- Suggesting a premium drink option.
- Increasing the number of drinks someone buys with a special deal.
- Investing in expert staff to advise on mixes and options.
- Providing a bar food menu.
The most obvious technique is advertising premium drink options, making them clearly high-caliber. This could involve offering higher-priced, more dramatic cocktails or, alternatively, displaying more expensive liquors and spirits.
Deals are simple to upsell customers: for instance, buy three shots and get a fourth free. The person might not have even considered shots when buying their vodka and lemonade. Yet they have three friends sitting back at the table. And with that timely offer, you’ve created a deal that appeals to their wish for a fun experience with friends.
Similarly, advertising the services of an expert bartender helps to guide customers on the fence. It provides an image of authority and trustworthiness. Plus, customers are actually more likely to enjoy the drink.
Lastly, people get hungry when they drink. It doesn’t have to be a full-blown bar kitchen set-up. However, having a few snacks on hand can really transform your profits in the long term. Why not capitalize on that demand?
How Do You Upsell: Wine Techniques
What about specifically upselling wine? It’s tricky, as you want the interaction to appear genuine. Some people will just be happy with house wine, and you don’t want to appear pushy.
With that in mind, learning wine upselling techniques requires a bit more tact.
We’d really recommend having an expert sommelier in-house. You could either hire a specialist or send a passionate staff member for training. Having an expert port of call just creates a more authoritative atmosphere, creating a trusty base for customer recommendations.
Of course, with the right menu, you can actually eliminate the need for many recommendations. Display a bit of background information for each wine on the menu, and you’ll be shocked at the results.
This approach is much more beginner-friendly and experiential. Include insightful details like where it comes from, what it tastes like, whether dry or sweet and ideal pairings. When you combine this information-driven approach with clear pricing tiers, you give customers the chance to upsell themselves.
Don’t be shy of providing tastings mid-service, too. It can help sway the boat and is a worthy investment long-term, especially for already loyal customers.
In summary, here’s what to implement:
- Have a designated expert sommelier for advice.
- Display a bit of background for each wine on the menu — not just a standalone name — to give each a story.
- Have clear increments in price to create a tempting tier system to upsell marginally.
- Offer tastings at table service and through event marketing.
Beambox: Upselling Through WiFi
Guest WiFi solutions are simply a part of the day job when running any customer-facing business. 74% of customers expect WiFi when visiting a restaurant, according to Marketscale, so if you aren’t already offering it, get onboard.
It isn’t just keeping guests happy, though. Did you know that you can upsell through WiFi? Investing in a captive portal system allows you to collect contact details and target customers by upselling marketing content.
A captive portal is a simple system that utilizes a pop-up web page form. When guests click to join your network, it triggers the pop-up. It transports them to a form of your creation — prompting them to input details like email addresses.
When they comply, they get WiFi access, and you get contact details. Perfect! This approach integrates upselling into your regular marketing communications.
Start your Beambox free trial today and branch out with your upselling techniques!
FAQ
Where do you think you’re rushing off to? Don’t be so quick to disappear; let’s consolidate what you’ve learned about upselling. If you want to be an expert upseller, you need to retain information.
Here are some common FAQs. Can you answer the questions that usually stump people embarking on upselling education?
What is upselling?
Upselling is the process of increasing the value of a customer’s purchase. This could be through adding additional purchases or encouraging them to select a premium product. It’s a great way of increasing a customer’s lifetime value (LTV), especially in conjunction with solid loyalty programs.
Overall, upselling is something every member of a team can do to drive company profits.
What are some strategies for upselling?
Strategies for upselling a customer include playing into scarcity, timeliness, anticipating customer needs, and providing expert advice. An example of this could be arranging relevant items at the POS. Or you could have experts on the shop floor to guide customers in their purchases.
Upselling is personal to every business and industry.
What are the benefits of upselling?
The primary benefit of upselling is an increase in profits in the long term. By investing in learning how to upsell, you increase the value of each interaction. This quickly accrues a compound effect, with your business turning over more.
However, there are further benefits, including an increase in customer loyalty and staff motivation.
