When I ran Shakes 2GO, I noticed something interesting. The staff members who sold the most add-ons — the extra toppings, the upgrades, the "do you want to try the new flavour?" moments — weren't the most sales-y people on the team. They were the most enthusiastic. The ones who genuinely loved what we were selling and couldn't help but talk about it.
That's the whole secret of upselling done right. It's not a technique. It's not a script. It's a genuine recommendation from someone who actually thinks the customer will enjoy what they're suggesting. When it comes from that place, it doesn't feel like a sales pitch — it feels like good service.
Here's how to build that into your business deliberately, rather than hoping you happen to hire enthusiastic people.
Why Upselling Matters More Than You Might Think
Before the how, a quick word on the why — because the numbers are genuinely worth understanding.
Your fixed costs — rent, utilities, base staffing — don't change much based on how much each customer spends. A customer who spends £5.50 on a coffee and a slice of cake costs you almost the same to serve as a customer who spends £3.20 on just the coffee. But their contribution to your profit is significantly higher.
This means that increasing average transaction value is one of the most efficient levers you have. You don't need more customers. You need the customers you already have to spend a little more, a little more often. Even modest improvements compound remarkably quickly.
💡 The Maths of a Small Upsell
If 25% of your daily customers add one extra item worth £2.50, and you serve 80 customers a day, that's £50 in additional revenue daily — over £18,000 per year. From one consistent habit. No new customers required.
1. Be Specific, Not Generic
"Would you like anything else?" is not an upsell. It's a closing question, and most customers answer no automatically without even processing it.
An upsell is specific. "We've just had a batch of almond croissants come out — they're still warm if you want one." "Have you tried the new salted caramel hot chocolate? It's been really popular this week." "The carrot cake today is particularly good — we made it fresh this morning."
Specificity does two things. It signals genuine knowledge and enthusiasm rather than a scripted prompt. And it makes the decision concrete — the customer is saying yes or no to a specific, appealing thing, rather than trawling through the menu mentally trying to think of something they might want.
2. Make It About Them, Not About You
The upsells that feel pushy are the ones that are obviously about the business's revenue. The ones that feel like good service are the ones that are framed around the customer's experience.
"Do you want to add a shot for 50p?" — about revenue.
"Are you in need of an extra kick this morning? We can add an extra shot." — about the customer.
"We've got a meal deal — sandwich, drink and snack for £7.50" — neutral.
"Are you grabbing lunch? The meal deal saves you a bit and means you won't have to queue again later." — about the customer's convenience.
The framing matters enormously. Train your staff to think about what would genuinely be useful or enjoyable for this specific customer, rather than what they're supposed to mention. The result is the same add-on, but the experience of being asked feels completely different.
Pay attention to what customers are doing. Someone sitting down with a laptop suggests they might appreciate a refill later. Someone who mentions they're in a rush might appreciate knowing you have grab-and-go options. Reading the customer and responding accordingly is what separates good hospitality from mechanical upselling.
3. Position Your Best Upsells Physically
Not all upselling happens through conversation. A significant amount happens through visual merchandising — what customers see when they're standing at the till, waiting for their order, or browsing your space.
Put your highest-margin, most impulse-friendly items at eye level near the point of sale. The cake stand that's visible from the counter. The jar of biscuits next to the till. The "today's special" chalkboard that's impossible to miss when queuing. The seasonal product display by the door.
These aren't accidental. Every successful food retailer — from independent delis to the major chains — spends serious time thinking about what goes where and why. The positioning of items drives purchase decisions before anyone has said a word. Think of it as your silent sales team, working every minute you're open.
4. Train the Habit, Not the Script
Scripts fail because they sound like scripts. Customers can tell immediately when someone is running through a prompted list, and it creates the opposite of the warm, personal feel you're trying to achieve.
What works is building the habit of noticing and suggesting — starting every interaction with a brief mental question: "Is there something this customer would genuinely enjoy that they haven't asked for yet?" That's the habit. The words will come naturally once the intention is there.
In practical terms: have a daily team briefing about whatever is worth highlighting that day. What's fresh. What's running low and therefore creates scarcity. What new product you want feedback on. Give your team genuine things to be enthusiastic about, and the upsells follow naturally.
5. Accept No Graciously — Every Single Time
The fastest way to make upselling feel pushy is to keep going after a no. One suggestion, accepted graciously whatever the answer, is good service. Two or three in a row starts to feel like pressure, and pressure destroys the customer experience far faster than it builds revenue.
When a customer declines, smile, move on, and make the rest of the interaction just as warm as it would have been if they'd said yes. The customer who says no today will come back tomorrow. The customer who feels hassled might not.
💡 The Long Game
A customer who declines an upsell but leaves feeling well-served is worth more over their lifetime than a customer who accepts an upsell but feels slightly pushed into it. The goal is always the relationship — the revenue follows from that.
Where to Start
If you want to implement this properly, start with one simple change: identify the three items in your shop that have the best margin and the most natural pairing with your most popular products. Write them on a card for your staff. Spend one week making a point of mentioning one of those three things to every customer. Watch what happens to your average transaction value.
Don't overthink it. Don't build a whole training programme before you've tested whether the habit works. Just start with three items, one mention per customer, over one week. The results will tell you everything you need to know.
