Cross-Selling 🚀🍔🍟🥤

Cross selling is the art of suggesting additional, complementary items to someone who has already decided on a purchase. Think of restaurant servers who, when you order a piece of pie, and asks, “Do you want a scoop of vanilla ice cream with that?” This example has been used for years and for good reason. It simply and elegantly illustrates the point and best practices of cross selling.

You’ve already decided you’re going to treat yourself. The server has made a sale. Then the voice comes back to ask if you want ice cream too. Why? Because they know that vanilla ice cream goes great with pie. They’ve offered you additional value, while potentially earning themselves extra revenue.

So, you think to yourself, “I like ice cream. Ice cream would be tasty right now. It’s only a little more money to get a lot more out of my order. OK, I’ll go with the a la mode.” The server has successfully employed the necessary techniques for cross selling, and you’ve gotten an extra treat. Everybody wins. These are some of the most common words spoken in fast food restaurants, and they account for a significant percentage of your revenues. This is cross selling at its finest, and it nets the fast food restaurant industry in sales.

And if you want to get an example of how up selling works, I have got one word for you- Upsize, Size it up, Supersize. During the time Supersizing was in action, McDonald’s probably made enough cash to fill up several Olympic size soccer stadiums. So if cross selling can deliver blockbuster revenues for the fast food industry, can’t these techniques boost your sales numbers? Sure they can, if you don’t mess it up.

Take another example; Amazon doesn’t title their recommendations as “Our Recommendations”. They say, “Customers who bought this item also bought”.” It’s a simple change, but really quite brilliant. Shopping is a social experience, and guests want to know they aren’t alone in their purchasing decision. Showing how other guests have benefited from your cross selling opportunities is key.

”The law of three”, to maintain additional revenues at your restaurant ensure every guest check includes (burger, fries & soda) and boost that by (desserts or hot beverages).