1. By Jean Lagueux Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec
Suggestive Selling in the Restaurant Business : a Framework Connecting Selling Approaches to Sales Encounter Outcomes
By Jean Lagueux
Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec

2. Objectives
Three fold
Define a framework of selling approach in the environment of restaurant selling.
Measure the impact of the different sales approach on sales encounter outcomes.
Explore the restaurant / waiter’s social responsibility context

3. Selling Styles Suggestive selling Partnership selling
Consultative selling
Transactional selling
Persuasive selling
Seduction selling
Relational selling
Partnership selling
Adaptive selling
Cross-selling
Up-selling
Add-on selling
Value-added selling

4. Suggestive Selling Lacks Proper definition Theoretical basis
Based on :
Professional experience
Anecdotal evidence
Effects are not well defined

5. Background
Courtesy in a restaurant setting and suggestive selling (Brooks, 1961)
Factors influencing restaurant servers to use suggestive selling (Johnson & Masotti, 1986)
Definition : “asking a patron if he would like wine with the meal ordered”
Suggestive selling versus the volume of business (Redmon & Dickinson 1990)
Recommendations made by the server at different times of the meal (Lynn, 2003)
“the art of selling a customer the original item he or she came in to buy, plus additional items that complement the original item” (Kizer & Bender 2007)
70 % of 1066 restaurant servers use suggestive selling (Lynn & McCall, 2009)
Conclusion
Economic benefits
Not connected to customer’s needs

6. Consultative Selling
Type of awareness attributed to restaurant servers
Mars and Nicod (1984)
Customer-oriented selling :
Comes from the marketing concept
Customer satisfaction is integrated in the equation of success
Seen as a problem solver
Saxe and Weitz (1982)
Providing information - an advisor
Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, sales training and sales skills
Liu and Leach (2001)

7. Consultative Selling
Approach used in situations when a customer needs to find a solution to a problem that has not yet been resolved or when he needs help or a suggestion
Zeyl (2003)
Upselling technique that has the goal to increase the average check while enhancing the guest experience
Shock, Bowen, and Stefanelli (2004)
Conclusion
Difficulty assessing customer’s needs
Specific needs have not been satisfied
New approaches can be suggested to him

8. Transaction Selling
Products are well known to the customer (Zeyl, 2003)
Large amount of information available to the customer
Previous knowledge
The use of salespeople is less required
To describe features
To take orders

9. Persuasion Selling Manske and Cordua (2005)
Use of different approaches to persuade
Reciprocity
Scarcity
Liking
Credibility
Power
Similarities
Physical attractiveness
Empathy
Extrinsic aspects of the purchase situation.

10. The Server Self-Monitoring
Adaptation in response to the perceived differences (Snyder, 1974)
Motivation to alter the behavior
Theory of social exchange (Thibaut & Kelley, 1952)
Cost of effort versus personal gain
Adaptive selling
Empathy
Androgyny
Being an opener
Locus of control
Self-efficacy
Service Predisposition (Lee-Ross, 2000)

11. Selling Environment Differences with retail settings
Sequence of service (McMahon & Schmelzer, 1989)
Roles and responsibilities
Simultaneity
Contact points
Captive aspect of the service encounter
The importance of the menu

12. What makes it suggestive ?
Bringing to active memory, options
Forgotten
Ignored
Unknown
Altered behaviour
Considering needs
Trying to persuade
Not simply related to presentation

13. Suggestive selling Figure 1: Suggestive Selling Customer Orientation
Transaction selling
Sales Orientation
Customer Orientation
Consultative selling
Persuasion selling
Low
High
Suggestive selling
Figure 1: Suggestive Selling

14. Figure 2: Effects of suggestive selling
Consultative selling
Variable
Sales performance
Higher
Customer satisfaction
Lower
Persuasion selling
Higher
Variable
Variable
Transaction selling

15. Contribution Definition for suggestive selling
Redefining the SO-CO in a service environment
Contrasting sales to customer satisfaction in a new way

16. Conclusion Marketing my products Marketing to the customer
Marketing with the customer