How To Motivate Your Restaurant Employees To Sell

Many servers and bar staff at restaurants could be great salespeople, but they don’t have the training or motivation to put forth that extra effort. After all, sales is actually an intrinsic part of their job, but one that they generally don’t have to use. The thinking that many members of your staff probably use is that customers don’t need to be convinced that they want a drink or something to eat. They’re already at the restaurant, after all.

But the opposite is actually true in many cases, and motivating your employees to sell can show dividends right away, as well as in the long run. So how do you go about doing it?

Teach Them

Knowing how to upsell without being pushy is one of the keys to successfully selling customers on something that they may not have initially had in mind. So teach your staff how to easily put something in the customer’s mind and let that thought do the work. Do you offer certain wines that pair well with your entrees? Then make sure your servers mention that. Always have them gently push dessert before bringing the check. Theses are little things that a customer might even be expecting to come from their server.

Help new employees realize early on that the more they sell, the greater their take-home from tips will likely be. Don’t assume that your bar and wait staff will be motivated to upsell unless you teach them how to do it effectively.

Create Competition

It doesn’t have to be anything cutthroat, just an incentive for your bar and wait staff to actively sell rather than passively sit back. If you’re wondering how to go about setting up a competition like that, then you should check out the team member engagement software from Marketing Vitals. With the software, you can set up contests and competitions based on menu items, desserts, or even drink specials that you want sold in a given amount of time. The software makes it easy for you to start the competition and log the stats for employees.

You can create and monitor contests right from your device, using a simple and navigable app. No more putting up spreadsheet printouts in the kitchen and marking them with a sharpie. The software makes starting, tracking, and ending competitions a breeze. And it normalizes the sales for your employees so those working the slower days in the less desirable sections still have an equal chance in winning a sales competition.  It’s more about what you achieve with the customers you serve… not just total sales. And it normalizes the sales for your employees so those working the slower days in the less desirable sections still have an equal chance in winning a sales competition.  It’s more about what you achieve with the customers you serve… not just total sales. 

Incentivize Them

And when they win that competition, make it worth their while. Allow the winners to set their own schedule for a week or give them a bonus. People tend to get competitive when there’s something worthwhile to compete for. You’ll find that the benefits of having your employees actively selling far outweigh whatever you’re giving up as a prize. And that same software that you use for tracking the competition makes it easy for employees to see their individual stats and where they rank among other team members.

In addition, it normalizes the sales for your employees so those working the slower days in the less desirable sections still have an equal chance in winning a sales competition. It’s more about what you achieve with the customers you serve… not just total sales.

So contact us today if you’d like to learn more about how software from Marketing Vitals can help motivate your employees to sell and increase your bottom line.