suggestive-selling

Suggestive Selling

2 articles to help your business succeed

Suggestive selling techniques for restaurant staff — specific recommendations, menu pairings, and service scripts that boost spend per head naturally.

💡Quick Tips for Suggestive Selling

✓Train staff to make specific, enthusiastic recommendations — 'The chocolate fondant is made fresh and takes 12 minutes, shall I put one on for you now?' converts far better than 'Any dessert?'
✓Brief your team before every service on two or three items to actively recommend, ideally high-margin additions
✓Use menu design to support suggestive selling — pairing suggestions, highlighted items, and 'perfect with' callouts prime customers before the server arrives
✓Celebrate and track average spend per head by server to create healthy competition and identify coaching opportunities

Featured Article

Server recommending dishes to diners in a UK restaurant using structured upselling techniques

26/02/2026•17 min read

Restaurant Upselling Techniques: A UK Guide

You have just closed after a 12-hour shift, and the till report looks identical to last month. Covers are fine but average spend is flat. Restaurant upselling techniques are the structured methods sta...

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Upselling Techniques: Practical Methods for UK Restaurants

Your tables are full on a Saturday night, but the average spend per head barely covers costs. Upselling techniques are the structured methods restaurant staff use to encourage customers to spend more...

restaurant upselling menu engineering restaurant staff training

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between upselling and suggestive selling?

Upselling encourages a customer to upgrade to a more expensive version of what they have chosen (large instead of regular, premium spirit instead of house). Suggestive selling recommends additional items (starters, sides, desserts, drinks). Both increase average spend, but suggestive selling typically feels less pressured.

How much can suggestive selling increase revenue?

Effective suggestive selling typically increases average spend per head by £3-8 in casual dining and £5-15 in fine dining. Across a restaurant doing 500 covers per week, even a £3 increase adds over £78,000 in annual revenue with minimal additional food cost.

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