You Can Lead A Horse To Water

Trained suggestive selling of signature items, side dishes, beverages and desserts can result in higher sales and higher tips.

Our business is the food service business, with an emphasis on the service. In well-run restaurants, servers, hosts and hostesses continually practice the art of suggestive selling. Recommending a signature menu item, and accompanying side dishes, beverages and desserts can result in increased sales of high profit items.

Think of your employees as "internal marketers." With some training guidelines and selling tools, you can create a successful team of marketing professionals.

The first requirement for successful selling is knowing your product. Does your staff know what is special about your menu items? Can they make menu recommendations that are sure to result in a sale? Remember that many of your guests don't know what they want to order when they arrive at your restaurant. Here's your opportunity to guide them to dishes that showcase your talents, and provide the highest gross profit.

Schedule some time during your pre-shift briefing to review the specials of the day, and the descriptions and ingredients that make up an effective suggestive selling script. Take a few minutes to role-play one or more scripts until everyone feels comfortable introducing the item. Also encourage servers to share their successful selling scripts or delivery techniques with each other. The way each server presents the best of your menu should fit their own personality and style. Three of my favorite selling scripts work well with almost any personality.

"Tonight I'm Featuring..."

This is a soft and non-intimidating opening line that piques a guest's interest and curiosity. A good example is:

"Tonight I'm featuring O'Douls Amber non-alcoholic beer, which goes perfectly with the Club House BLT."

Guests may ask what "I'm featuring..." means. Servers can explain that they like to share the best combinations of food and beverages–those that have become popular among the staff and other guests. One in five guests will say, "Sounds good. I'll try it."

"May I Recommend..."

Once servers have established a relationship with their guests, they're in a perfect position to offer their own recommendations. Suggestions based on personal preferences always carry great credibility. A good example is:

"May I recommend the fresh baked Chocolate Amaretto Cream Pie with a frothy cappuccino? It's one of my favorites."

"Try Means Buy..."

Many guests are reluctant to experiment with unfamiliar menu items. Encourage your servers to recommend dishes that guests haven't ordered before. For example:

"Have you ever tried our special herbal tea with the bread pudding? It's our special house blend, and it's a great flavor combination!"

Practice makes perfect. Role-playing during your pre-shift briefing will help servers act naturally--without an obvious hard-sell attitude. Always be reassuring, confident and in-charge. Guests enjoy being served by a professional who knows the food and has opinions on which menu items are the best. Service is about delivering on a promise–about exceeding expectations, and creating value The payoff will come in higher check averages and greater guest satisfaction. And the servers will make higher tips, too!

Bill Main, FMP, FCSI, is a nationally-recognized author, foodservice consultant, and professional speaker. His goal is to help you define who you are, where you want to go, and the best way to get there. Bill Main & Associates (www.billmain.com) offers a wide range of consulting services, resources and tools in the areas of strategic growth, marketing, menu, leadership, training, and management development.