Running a restaurant is difficult. Multiply that difficulty by ten if you’re in a competitive location and facing the ever-growing popularity of Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Delivery Dudes. We get it. In fact, as South Florida’s premier restaurant consulting firm, we’ve seen firsthand just how challenging it can be. That’s why you’re going to want to memorize these seven restaurant sales tips to share with your team.

We’re here to let these powerful sales secrets out of the bag. Keep reading to learn everything from the classifieds of upselling to how to create personal connections with customers. Once you’re convinced we know what we’re talking about, give us a call for a free growth consultation at 888.201.0567.

Upsell on Small Plates

The first restaurant sales tip is to upsell. This one is a no-brainer, right? The secret is to upsell on smaller plates. Sure, getting someone to order a ribeye and expensive bottle of wine is great, but this doesn’t happen every night.

Instead, have your team focus on small upsells. We’re talking about things like adding protein to salads and adding fries to an order. These may seem small but trust us, you’re going to have a smile on your face while adding them up at the end of the night.  

Create Relationships with Customers

This restaurant sales tip is also a no-brainer. Your customers don’t come to your restaurant just to eat. They want an experience. Now, this doesn’t mean your team has to get theatrical or talk to their tables every five minutes. There is nothing worse than a pushy server.

Creating relationships with customers is as simple as having your team introduce themselves with a smile, ask the names of the people at their table, and drop those names a few times throughout the night. It’s simple, smart, and will result in easier upselling, increased brand loyalty, and bigger tips for your team. That is what we call a win-win-win.   

Everyone Should Know the Inventory

Another important restaurant sales tip is that everyone – from front to back of the house – should know your inventory. What could be worse than having someone upsell a customer only to find out that you don’t have that expensive fillet of sole? Besides, this won’t just help your team perform better, it will help you stay on top of effective restaurant management.

Remember, your servers and bartenders (and even your hosts!) are sales people before they’re anything else. This means they need proper sales training. Part of this is learning and staying up to date on your inventory.

Speed = Money

The more tables your staff turns, the more people who can come into your restaurant. That’s restaurant knowledge 101 in a nutshell. So, how do you increase speed? Simple: you give your team the tools they need to shave minutes off of each table.

This could mean implementing a mobile POS that delivers orders straight to the kitchen. It could mean having one employee as the designated “order deliverer” every night. It could mean letting the bartender know to put priority on table drinks. The specifics are up to you and will likely vary restaurant to restaurant. The important part of this restaurant sales tip to share with your team is that you let them know you have their back.

The Hostess Starts the Sales Process

No one likes a pushy server, and no one likes a pushy hostess. Still, there are a few small things you can make sure your hosts are doing to start the sales process off right. These vary from smiling and projecting a warm, comfortable demeanor to customers to making sure to hand waiting patrons a menu to suggesting they have a seat at the bar. Again, the specifics will look different in every restaurant. The important part is that you let your hosts know they start the ball rolling.

Have Top Performing Employees Mentor Others

This restaurant sales tip to share with your team is based around finding what’s working and optimizing that process. Do you have one server that routinely turns in tickets that are double other servers’ tickets? What about a bartender or host your customers love?

Whatever your specific top performing employee is doing, have them mentor other employees in the same area! The easiest way to scale success is to have talented team members teach each other. Trust us on this one. You won’t regret it.

Let Your Team Take Over Social Media

This isn’t so much a restaurant sales tip to share with your team as it’s a unique take on restaurant marketing 101. Still, letting your team take over Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the rest can have some sales benefits as well.

Not only will your team post funny and insightful content that gives your social media followers a peek into what your restaurant is like behind the scenes, but it will also start to humanize your brand.

Remember when we said it was a good idea to have your employees create relationships with customers? Think of this as step zero. Potential customers will begin to know you team before they even step foot in your restaurant. Plus, your team can highlight specials, deals, and promotions without being overly salesy.

Do you like these restaurant sales tips to share with your team? Then you’re going to love what happens when you call for a free growth consultation. Dial 888.201.0567 today to start growing your restaurant to new heights of success.