This is a common sense idea. I’m not going to give you any names of specific sales books because there are thousands. You might start by asking the owner or manager which ones he’s read and likes, so you’re both looking at situations in the same way because reading and learning more about increasing your bar and food sales goes hand in hand with working closer with the owner(s) and management. What you’re looking for is what will fit your particular venue best. If you’re working with a lot of catering going on then you might be interested in something like “On-Premise Catering: Hotels, Convention Centers, Arenas, Clubs, and More“, but you can just as easily go with sales techniques involving up-selling cross selling.
The better you are at distinguishing and defining the type of opportunities a sales situation provides, the better equipped, more confident, and more comfortable you are in recognizing opportunities for yourself at the bar and for the venue you’re working at. You may not be in a position to open any negotiations on a special party rental, catering or banquet – but you’ll be better aware, say the right things, gather some contact information (if nobody’s there in management) and leave it for the owners and managers to take care of the following morning.
First time sales at a bar are easy. Someone sits down and orders. Sales for you involve tips though, so you want them coming back to YOUR side of the bar and on the days or nights YOU work. Part of sales retention involves remembering the customer’s name.
In my “Faces & Names” post I point out that you can put an app on your phone to help you remember them. That advice goes quadruple if those are regular visitors to the bar. The front door swings open, Bob comes in, and the first thing he sees and hears is you saying “Hey Bob! Good to see you back again, Double Jack & Coke?”
Fast recognition, drink being made, guaranteed you’re getting that sale and that tip – and probably all the rest of them that night from Bob.
You can’t get everything from books, but read them anyway. You have two choices when you’re tending bar: Do it for the paycheck, do only the minimum required, know next to nothing about the profession and show no interest because you’re only there to make money, or become involved as a true professional. Knowing your product is part of becoming a great sales person. Pick up a few books on beers, a few on wines, and study what’s in them by taking notes. Understanding that you can recommend a Valpolicella, or even a Bardolino (Italians) in place of a Beaujolais (French), all light fruity red wines that would go well with a picnic style meal, can help make a customer’s experience more enjoyable.
Wines and beers are some of the most exciting areas of study because wine vintages vary in quality from year to year, and in addition to old beers and ales, new ones are arriving on the market almost every day.
Knowing your liquors, liqueurs and the histories of the drinks you make your clients is equally important. On those occasions when your clients are receptive and you tell them how their favorite drink came into being, along with the history of its ingredients, you’ll inevitably see them hold their drink a few more inches away and observe it with deeper appreciation. You’ve turned drinking into a cultured thing for them. And the sign on my old friend Mike Nash’s barroom wall suddenly comes to mind: “He who drinks and drinks with grace, he is welcome any place. But he who drinks and does not care, he’s not welcome anywhere.”
I’ll leave you with that. Tend bar with grace my friends.
Site Author, David Jonathan Curtis: David Jonathan Curtis, a seasoned professional in his fifth decade of bartending and bar management, began his career in Midtown Manhattan, NY, tending and managing bars before diving into Manhattan’s bustling nightlife scene. Over the years, he has mastered high-volume, high-pressure bartending as the lead bartender in both iconic Midtown clubs and Wall Street bars, generating over $1,350,000.00 annually in personal drink sales. He has since extended his expertise to establishments in Georgia and now Tampa, Florida. David’s roles as a Bartending Instructor at the American Bartending School in Tampa, while maintaining a second job bartending, and his years experience of managing bars, and working as a Brand Ambassador along with his extensive professional library of over 1,000 bartending books, highlight his dedication to continually refining his craft. He holds a diploma in Bar Management and is BarSmarts certified by Pernod Ricard.
