Upselling is something we are all exposed to from time to time and whether you sell meals, bedrooms or widgets, it's technique that can not only help your bottom line, but done well can give your customers an all round better experience if done well. 

Here are some of the things to consider in getting your team to upsell effectively, and to include in your hotel or restaurant staff training.

Upselling usually involves marketing more profitable services or products, but upselling can also be simply exposing the customer to other options he or she may not have considered previously. Upselling implies selling something that is more profitable or otherwise preferable for the seller instead of the original sale'. 

But is it just about increasing the customer spend, or is it also about giving the customer a better all round experience, giving them something they might have forgotten to order, or never even thought of?

McDonalds of course are the masters of this – have you ever not been offered fries or a drink to go with your burger. And when was the last time you bought an electrical appliance and not been told the benefits of an extended warranty?

What to promote

So in order to do this effectively the first thing is to determine which are the products or services you wish to promote.  It obviously makes sense to be promoting high profit items, but there can be a danger in using this as the only criteria. 

Unless what you are promoting is perceived as value to the customer, it's unlikely the sale will be achieved, and does little to build your customer's loyalty or trust.  It's also important to distinguish between high selling price and profitability, and appropriateness to meet the customers' needs. 

For example upselling to a more expensive bottle of wine when it does not appeal to the customers tastes.

Tomorrow we'll look at the first of the three key things your staff need to upsell effectively.

Caroline Cooper is a business coach with over 25 years experience in business and management development, and founder of Zeal Coaching, specializing in working with hospitality businesses, and is author of the 'Hotel Success Handbook'
www.zealcoaching.com