9 Ways To Upsell Wine
Whether you’re working in a restaurant, a liquor store, or selling your own personal collection, making money off of selling wine is possible. If you want to be successful at sales, you should educate yourself on the field in which you’re interested. You can sell wine with just your charisma and your knowledge.
Upselling is an art form in and of itself. Upselling is essential for any successful restaurant, whether it’s by recommending the ideal red wine to pair with a delicious steak, an incredible appetizer to whet a group’s hunger or the most unforgettable dessert they’ll be talking about all week.
Consider the following recommendations to keep your wine upselling efforts strong during the coming year.
1. Acquaint Your Wait Staff With The Art Of Wine Promotion
While it’s true that having a wine expert on staff can increase sales, not every eatery can afford to do so. Instead, you can educate your best servers to promote your wine selections. As an extra bonus, this means that you won’t have to wait for your wine steward to make the rounds before you can start providing excellent service to each and every one of your tables.
Provide your servers with a foundational understanding of the fruits and regions from where your wine is sourced. Remind them that too much information might be off-putting to customers.
Observing a customer’s order history might help servers determine which customers are open to being upsold and provide them with suggestions for comparable but more expensive wines.
2. Help And Direct
Be wary of assuming that simply because you’ve instructed someone in a certain procedure, they will automatically be able to carry it out reliably every time. Keep an eye on how your employees handle the upselling dialogue and provide them with post-event comments on what they did well, what they could have done more of, and any additional support or advice they may have needed
3. Keep In Mind That Selling Wine In Bottles Is Profitable
Although selling wine by the glass is essential and profitable, there are benefits to focusing on champagne bottles for sale instead. Second-bottle sales are more likely than a full round of second glasses because a server opening a bottle at the table relieves stress for the bartender and allows for a point-of-service engagement at a pivotal period in the dinner.
Such as when guests are debating what to order. Offer the featured wine by the glass and bottle to increase bottle sales by giving the server an opportunity to upsell a group of three or more to a bottle. Carafe and half-carafe sales of wine are other options.
4. Conversations Should Be Intimate
Avoid sounding like a broken record by switching up your routine at each table. Don’t be so robotic. Make an effort to connect with your customers personally; this will help you make more informed recommendations and close more sales.
5. Let The Fireworks Begin
When guests are seated, he often suggests a glass of sparkling wine as an upsell. Because, really, who doesn’t enjoy a nice glass of champagne before going out?
6. A Bottle Of Wine That Doesn’t Require A Corkscrew
No, not simply bottles with screw caps, although it is one technique to prevent corkscrew hassles at the dinner table or bar. Bags, cans, and kegs are becoming more commonplace in wine packaging options because they facilitate the swift and orderly service of wine by the glass or carafe.
lso, since they often retail at prices that promote experimentation. Bags or kegs of wine on tap help wine retain fresh for longer after opening, reducing spoilage and the likelihood of unhappy patrons.
7. Create A Wine List To Leave A Lasting Impression
Place the best wines front and last on the list, as recommended by wine experts, and your customers will have a more favorable impression of the entire selection and be more inclined to purchase a more expensive bottle (or bottles). They are most likely to remember what they initially saw and read last. Feature the restaurant’s special wines prominently, and create a separate section for suggestions.
Alternatively, you can increase clients’ likelihood of pursuing your whole wine list by classifying wines according to their category or style (and, therefore, more likely to buy). Wines can be organized in many ways, such as by the food they pair well with, the cocktails they make well, the grapes they are made from, the country they are produced in, and the weight of the wine itself.
8. Honesty Is The Best Policy
As an upsell, coming off as “salesy” or aggressive can make the guest feel uneasy and alienated. As long as the server’s intentions are good, upselling is seen as a service.
9. Use The Backstory Of Each Bottle To Boost Sales
There are stories behind every winery, even though thousands of grape varietals and winemakers exist today. Incorporating such tales into the meal service might spark diners’ curiosity and again provide a sense of careful planning.
Do not be afraid to add a human touch to your business; a captivating backstory will attract more customers. Think about if you were selling your own fragrance. There must be a story that made you come up with the fragrance and the style of perfume box packaging you chose.
Same is the case with wine. Even if it doesn’t directly improve sales, it will help make the experience more memorable, likely leading to more repeat business.
Conclusion
With a few leading pointers in mind, you can literally sell anything, be it wine or apparel, or as simple as a pair of quality surgical gloves straight from the top latex surgical gloves factory.
While learning to upsell is an important ability for front-of-house staff to have in order to increase income per table, it entails much more than just being pushy. Upselling wine with expertise, subtlety, and personality can turn an ordinary evening into something special and leave your visitors wanting more.
Get a kick out of that, guys. Is your firm “simply another store?” If so, consider how some extra funds can come up with something much more. Cheers!
