How to Get More Upsells

VIP upsells are a key indicator of customer satisfaction. Despite investments in venue décor, music, and promoters, achieving a high volume of upsells remains a challenge. What many operators don’t realise is that consistent upsells boil down to three main variables:

• Service Speed
• Rapport Building
• Personalisation

In brief, creating space for your bottle servers allows them to build rapport and anticipate service needs, corresponding to higher upsell rates.

We’ll cover these below to ensure you can implement a repeatable formula for upsell at your venue.

1. Service Speed

Your guests have paid for VIP to they expect everything to happen quickly. Any Google review will tell you how frequently this expectation fails to be met with reality.  

A focus on pace is important for two reasons:

1. Pace creates the “space” for servers to actually do something about upselling.  Without that space, opportunities for Rapport Building and Personalisation are extremely limited.
2. Pace front loads your operation, allowing time to make a second bottle a possibility, or re-sell the table before doors close.

The average table makes 15 requests per seating.  Almost all of these are non-revenue (ice, mixers and glassware) so they don’t get prioritised.  Yet, each of these things is an impediment to consumption and prolongs the service experience. Obviously, drinking too fast is a problem, but if your customers have to wait for every drink the bottle will take longer to empty.

Time spent reacting to these requests (we calculate 55 mins per table, per night) is time not spent on Rapport Building or Personalisation.  It also has flow on impacts for other aspects of operations (such as stock control and customer payments) costing hours in a night.

The good news is that there are subtle tweaks you can apply to improve the speed of your operation.

Some examples:

• Pre-pour mixers before the night begins.
• Take the first bottle decision at the door to allow barbacks to prepare set-ups, glasses, and ice.
• Place glass stackers around the venue for easier access to clean glassware.
• Have servers proactively identify needs for glass, mixers and ice early.
• Insist on upfront payment at the door or booth using tap to pay or QR code payments.

The suggestions above remove extra steps and limit responsive behaviours which create bottlenecks in your operations.

At DQ, we believe that servers should never leave the table unless requested for for a presentation. This is only possible because orders, payment and task delegation are handled proactively by the server using DQ.  Take a look at how.

2. Rapport Building

We know guests are more likely to accept upsell suggestions from staff they feel a personal connection with. Some staff members have a natural gift for rapport-building, but there are ways to make this more consistent for every member of your team.

Pre-Arrival

Rapport building starts before the guest arrives and you should use what data you have to sets the stage for Rapport Building.  Eg. “Who are they?”, “When did they visit the venue last and why did they visit?”

If your CRM keeps records of things like who served them, or what they drank (DQ does), then schedule time during your pre-open briefing to cover it off.  

During Service

Encourage your staff to engage in friendly, genuine conversations to build trust with guests. Make sure they ask and make note of the guest’s ambition for their evening.

After Service

When a table is closed, be sure to revisit your guest notes and tags, adding anything you think might help your team expedite rapport building next time that guest arrives.

After service notes, along with any other conversation points should be recorded in your CRM to ensure that a change of section or server has no impact on guest experience or relationship with your brand.

3. Personalisation

Empowered with time and information, your service staff are free to make the experience more personal.

Based on the customer's expressed preferences or observed behaviour, staff can make personalised bottle recommendations. Highlighting how a particular bottle or package enhances the occasion can be very persuasive. Point out limited edition or exclusive bottles that are only available for a short time or in limited quantities, creating a sense of urgency.

Instead of just selling a bottle, focus on selling an experience. This could involve recommending a bottle that comes with a unique presentation or one that's known to be a crowd-pleaser.  If you have videos recorded of a similar presentation, use this to enhance your description.  

Incentives

Implement incentive programs that reward staff for successful upsells, such as bonuses, commissions, or internal competitions.

Getting incentives right benefits both staff and management.   The program must be transparent and easy to measure.  All too often we that staff are surprised when they hit a target or confused about why they did not.  A complicated formula costs your VIP manager even more time at 4am, creating a disincentive to push for upsells in the first place.

Transparent but attractive targets motivate your staff to apply upselling techniques effectively.

You can use DQ to run product campaigns and display a live estimate of commission earned on upsells.

A final thought

The old saying “you can’t manage what you don’t measure” applies just as well to upselling.  Many venues don’t record upsell rates over time, or the factors that impact upsells most. If you’re not measuring upsell, you might be leaving a lot of your operation to chance.

A high performing team, given the space to build rapport and personalise each guest experience will drive better financial outcomes for your venue.  By focusing on these areas, you can transform your service delivery, creating memorable experiences that encourage guests to indulge in premium offerings.

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Need help?  We’d be happy to provide some more guidance in how you can implement and measure an upsell program in your venue.