Trade up trial
Training staff to recommend specific drinks could mean they sell more profitable products in at least a quarter of all transactions.
These are the findings of an experiment that Red Bull commissioned last month to evaluate the effect on a bar's profitability of staff attempting to persuade customers to 'trade up' to drinks that would generate greater GPs. Several members of barstaff were trained in the artof upselling at Roadtrip, in the Shoreditch district of London. Using till data, research company Retail in Action kept tabs on their performance and then contrasted it to that of staff who were neither trained nor altering their usual behaviour behind the bar.
What it revealed was that staff who attempted to upsell customers were successful on 25 per cent of occasions. The results point to the ease with which pubs can make more profits through the tactic.
The trained staff, or 'advocates', were briefed to try to upsell to certain products. They would attempt to influence the decisions of customers wavering over their order or to sell a certain brand if they were asked for a generic drink - a 'bottle of beer', say, or a 'vodka'.
Aussie beer VB was the alternative to any bottled beer, Red Bull was suggested as a mixer when there were requests for vodka or bourbon, more profitable wines were proffered when someone asked for a house wine, and staff suggested a double measure or a more premium brand when they were asked for any generic spirit.
The effects emphatically show the profitability of upselling. Two of Roadtrip's tills were monitored and they had been taking equal amounts of money before the experiment. However, the advocates' till took 55 per cent of the money on the Tuesday, 67 per cent on the Wednesday and 61 per cent on the Thursday.
Retail in Action co-founder Richard Savage, who headed up the experiment, says: "You can certainly increase turnover and margin on this basis. In terms of total opportunity, the world is your oyster.
"I think there's a far greater opportunity with this than the trade currently recognises."
How the results break down
• The experiment took place on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Even greater opportunities to upsell are likely to be found on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
• The drinks chosen as the more profitable options by Roadtrip represented 10 to 40 per cent greater value than the bar's other products in each category.
• Staff proved most likely to be able to upsell on wine. Fifty-seven per cent of the successful upsells were with wine, 20 per cent with spirits, 17 per cent with beer and five per cent with Red Bull.
• The trial excluded what the researchers refer to as the 'same again effect'. Customers, having been persuaded to trade up once, are likely to order the same drink on their second or third rounds. Once you persuade someone to buy a more profitable drink, you profits will multiply as they choose the same drink over and over.
• One advocate was so good at upselling that they managed to make 67 per cent of two tills' takings. Another advocate, meanwhile, could only manage 55 per cent. Some staff are just better at it than others.
