Who doesn’t want to increase their profit levels?

While you can do this through strategic pricing and smart menu management, your staff holds the golden ticket to increase your ROI.

We’ve put together five tips that are easy to deploy, to increase your venue’s sales.

1. Know the menu

If your staff is going to influence customers, they need to know what they’re talking about – and communicate it effectively. Take the time to train your staff, so they can talk about the different items on the menu and recommend options accordingly. Give them taste testers if you need to!

2. Show enthusiasm

And just as important as it is to know the menu, your staff should be able to convey it passionately. Teach them how to talk about dishes with excitement. Give your staff the room to spend the time with each customer. It will pay off… trust us.

3. Upsell, upsell, upsell

Whether it’s a drink, an entrée or main meal, guide your customers to want something just a bit “more”. Sir, the steak is fantastic. I recommend rib eye. You’re helping the customer, as well as increasing the amount they spend. It’s a win-win!

4. Recommend splitting extras

This may seem counter-intuitive, especially after what we’ve just spoken about up-selling. But if a customer isn’t thinking about ordering an entrée or dessert, recommend your guests split one – instead of skipping it altogether. This works well with items that they can’t usually get at home. Great thing about this strategy is they’ll feel like they saved money, and you’ll bump up the bill.

5. Be there for them, always

Understand the characteristics of your customers – their dining habits, their professions, and their likes… the more you know about them, the more you’ll know what they need.

Do offices surround your restaurant? If so, hand out your menu to offices.

Are your customers often having lunch in a hurry? Try offering an express lunch menu which lets your customers order faster.

Do your customers often visit with young kids? Offer children-friendly menu – with toys!

Do your customers love to hang out during late hours? Offer them late night special menus.

There’s so much you can be doing. More often than not, it doesn’t take a lot to boost your venue’s sales. Simple gestures and a dash of creativity can go a long way.

Train your staff to be friendly and courteous. Smile. Say thanks. Hold doors open. It all helps – big time.

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In this blog we have talked about the practical things that can be done to improve profitability “on the floor” however efficient Point of Sale Systems that go beyond basic functionality and integrate with a back office management solution such as H&L’s Sysnet; and booking systems such as BooKBooK™ have consistently been able to increase a venue’s bottom line.

Click Here to contact H&L POS for further information about these systems or call 1800 778 340.