You’ve got your best chance to make a little extra money from customers when they are in the process of buying from you. They’ve got their money out and already trust you enough to buy.
Should you try and upsell them a higher priced product? Or cross-sell them an additional product?
Absolutely.
We recently needed to get our roof replaced. The contractor provided us with an estimate that included the basics and then threw in three line items of extras.
Upsell is More Than Price
These extra upsells had no accompanying explanations other than their name and price.
To us, that just looked like several extra hundred dollars. Why would we want to spend that?
When I called up the contractor’s office, they explained the purpose of two of the three items. We were convinced of their necessity and agreed to those upsells.
The first thing a customer will see with an upsell is the price. Help them get past that point or you’ll never make the sale.
Benefits of the Upsell
On a subsequent phone call, I spoke with the owner of the roofing company. In a matter of minutes he convinced me to buy the upgraded shingles for my roof. He highlighted the benefits of the product: higher quality, longer lifespan and contrasted that with the cheaper shingles I had originally selected.
Personal Discount
To incentivize me even further, he discounted the original upsell price in half because of several personalized reasons why I could qualify: we live close to their shop, my paperwork is in order, etc.
In the end we walked away with a new roof with all the upsells that were originally on the proposal.
Tell Me Why
The keys to the upsell were not just in the product listing but in the why behind it.
Remember these steps in your upselling efforts to your customers:
- Explain why their life will be better with the more expensive option
- Outline how the cheaper option will actually cost them more money in the long run
- Describe the consequences of the cheaper product and even the odds that they will occur
- Give the customer an “insider” feel by customizing and personalizing your discount to them (even if you give it to everyone)
Upselling a product to a customer that is already purchasing will greatly help grow your revenues and profits. Keep your selling process personal and helpful and your customers will choose the upsells and upgrades you offer.