Last year, we wrote a blog that offered 3 tips for cross-selling and upselling success. The theme of the post was uncovering opportunities and we stressed that successful selling is closely tied to reading the customer. Once your reps have learned the art of uncovering opportunities, they’ll be able to create moments where it’s appropriate to offer additional services.
Unless you sell just one product or item (which, if you have customer service representatives or a contact center, we’re guessing you don’t), there are a myriad of ways to put your additional products and services in front of the customer. Below we offer a handy checklist.
“Super-Size”your customer. McDonald’s, well, let’s just say they get the art of the upsell. “Would you like extra large fries for only 20¢ more?” will not be a sentence your reps will utter, but you can certainly use the same tactics. For example, “For only $5.00 more, you can get 2,500 postcards.” Break it down for them—they’ll see the value.
Point out additional features. Assume that your customers don’t research all of the add-on features or services you offer. Take the car salesman. You may not know you want those backseat cup holders, but he does.
Upsell on quality. For example, “Have you seen our PD3X printer? It prints four times faster, and only costs an additional $150.00.” Train your reps to look for every opportunity to offer the next step-up in your products—especially when they sense it would be useful for your customers’ needs. (This is where it’s a good idea to be familiar with a customers’ purchasing history.)
Extend your breadth of products or services. Say you have an online running shoe store, selling a specific style of shoe—that’s your niche, and it works. Well, you should probably also sell socks, right?
Accessorize. Supplies and accessories are an easy-in. If you sell TVs, offer cable cords and USB cords that connect to the TV. You don’t need to become a full-service one-stop shop, necessarily, but certainly offer the relevant supplies that go with your products.
Add on a service. Ever thought about what a warranty is? The warranty is just a simple way to upsell. Depending on your product or industry, find ways to add value with additional service or insurance. The airlines do a great job of this. Trip-cancellation insurance—ever bought it? If so, you were upsold on service.
Throw in that gift! C’mon, who doesn’t like free address labels when they purchase an additional 50 envelopes? Gifts work. People love free things, even if they’re “paying” for it with the upsell.
Employ the Costco effect. One thing that America does exceptionally well is bulk. There’s something puzzlingly satisfying about getting a ten-pack of undershirts for $7.00 apiece, versus a three-pack for $10.00 apiece—even if you have no idea what you’ll do with so many spare undershirts.
Offer a contract. If you offer service or products somewhat frequently, why not get a guarantee on future services by writing up a retainer or purchase contract? Say you hire a janitorial service occasionally for your office. If they offered to clean for $10/hour, instead of $12/hour if you sign a six-month contract, you just might go for it, right? Congrats—you were just upsold with a purchase contract.
You may have read the above list but still feel that your customer service team could use some extra help and motivation—after all, selling is an art, and customer service representatives often don’t want to feel like salespeople. At Impact Learning Systems, we offer training programs for upselling and cross-selling that will give your team more confidence and help them master the craft of upselling and cross-selling.
