When it comes to up selling it is really a task, which requires innovation and thinking out of the box. A Food & Beverage Manager through a friend of mine contacted me and he told me that his wine sales have been stagnant. During our conversation I came to know that his staff was lacking knowledge about wines so they used to feel uncomfortable in talking to guest, which was proving to be a hindrance. They were not go-getters in the sales. Investing in training of your staff will always increase your ROI whether be it your retail shop, bar, restaurant or Hotel. Here are some of the tested methods which have really soared the sales of a bar, restaurant. These tips are specifically written for wines.
It’s very important for an outlet to get its goals conveyed to its staff. Just making a grand big wine list is not going to help you. You have to get across the message of same seriousness, urgency to your staff and do whatever it takes to be there. Because wine is there to stay and it’s demand going to increase so be the frontrunner.
1. I don’t see much of this trend in India may be they operational issue but it’s a sure shot hit. Keep wine bottles tagged on the tables with their price on the tags. Impulse buying accounts for a great amount of sales.
2. A nice display at the most eye-catching place is a must as it increases the visibility factor. Now a day is the age of nice branding display as we try to register it in the mind of customer.
3. Another way can be of having something like wine of the day or wine of the week. In this way you can regulate the moment of your stock.
4. We can also promote wines by making some great cocktails, which I don’t see at all. The reason being especially in a country like India where we have lot of beginners the tannins, and acidity of wine can deter them from trying wines. So making some light cocktails will soften those elements.
5. Train your staff to be SALESMAN and not ORDER TAKERS.
6. How can we forgot “ Product Knowledge” is one of the important factor which will help in winning the confidence of the customer and rest everything will fall into place.
7. Keep some reward for your employees who perform good as it will motivate them.
8. Interact with your employees and communicate effectively. Let them know your expectations as it will help them in channelize their energy and be focused.
Ajay Kumar Gothwal is a Wine Educator with experience of working abroad as well as in India. He can be reached at divineajay