Tue 19 May 2009
In times like these one the easiest things you can do to earn more is to make sure you upsell your customers and clients.
Upsell?
Upsell, in case you’re not familiar with the term, simply means offering your customer more than what they originally planned to purchase. When the guy behind the counter at McDonalds asks, “Would you like fries with that?”, that’s an upsell. When reservation clerk asks if you’d rather sit in the VIP orchestra section instead of the mezzanine, that’s an upsell. When the car salesman offers you the super snow-resistant undercoat on your new Hybrid, that is an upsell.
Why don’t more people use the upsell? Because,
1) they’re not educated to do it;
2) they haven’t thought it through;
3) they haven’t set up an up-sell “path” or “program”;
4) they don’t know what to sell; or,
5) they think it’s cheesy.
This last one’s important: lots of marketers feel as if they’re being pushy or they’re somehow taking advantage of their customer.
You’ve got to get this: most customers don’t know what they really want.
They haven’t thought it through.
They haven’t taken the time to figure out how to maximize the result they’re trying to create.
By helping them with an upsell, by adding pieces for them that go together, you’re making it easier for them to get what they really wanted.
Say I walk into a clothing store to buy a new dress suit. I pick out the one I want and the salesperson then offers me some shirts to go with it.
Is this a bad thing? Do I feel taken advantage of?
No, not really. First of all, I personally hate to shop, but once I’m in the store, it’s good to get all that shopping over with. If I get shirts and maybe even some of ties that go well with the suit, while I’m standing right there right then, I leave the store with a far better solution than having to try to match the suit and shirts and ties later.
Not only do I not have to go into any more stores, but it helps me put the package together more effectively than if the suit is at home and I’m looking for shirts in another store. Offering me “the upsell” is providing a service.
It’s giving me more of what I want, not less. Frankly, if a store doesn’t offer me those up-sells, those accouterments, I will be served less, not more.
Upsells are easy sales because you’ve already overcome all sales resistance. The upsell offer is made once your customer has already decided to buy. They may even have their wallets out and their credit cards ready. All you have to do is present the upsell option and you’re good to go.
The upsell is a win for your customer and it’s a win for you. They get more of what they want and you get to increase your revenue without having to find another customer. Plus, the additional gross margin on the sale becomes drops right to your bottom line, a win-win all around.
Be unreasonable. Upsell.
(Like to hear your thoughts on this. Comment below.)
May 20th, 2009 at 5:31 am
Thank you Paul for giving us a reason to be unreasonable. It took some time to get into the comfort zone to realize that an upsell is a service.
The customer always has the option of saying no and may even thank us for our diligence in looking after them.
May 20th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Upsells have developed a bit of a bad reputation in Internet marketing because of irrelevant and unconnected offers and that has helped others think that the upsell is salesy and sleazy.
But it is about giving the customer choice. In your clothes store example, you have the choice to say “No thanks” or the convenience of being able to select shirts and ties while you have the suit there and the expert advice of the shop assistant.
Two things that are not included in your list are the time of the upsell offer – when the buying decision is made – and the words used.
In Internet marketing you will be offered upsells after your credit card details have been collected and verified but you wouldn’t make the upsell offer in a shop or restaurant after payment.
The words used can make a big difference. In a restaurant after a nice meal, “would you like a brandy or a liqueur?” is likely to get a better response than “Would you like another drink?”
May 20th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
This just happened yesterday… my assistant’s upsell after I left the room resulted in doubling the sale. She actually felt bad because she thought she went over the top… In this case the Upsell was the better solution, but I didn’t get that across well and my assistant was able to once I left.. I’m a fan of the Upsell… Great post!
May 21st, 2009 at 6:51 am
You are so right about offering additional products or services to complete the purchase and enhance the outcome for the customer!
If we think of it as a committment to the BEST outcome for our client, and construct the offer to show how the add-on will benefit THEM, then we demonstrate our policy of delivering the best service possible.
And it today’s world, the best customer service possible is what it takes to be successful!
May 21st, 2009 at 6:54 am
Upsells happen all around us all day, but the ones we notice and dislike are the ones that are done badly.
A good waiter will upsell apps and beverages in a way that increases the check average and makes diners feel happy, not scammed.
What people hate about upsells in the internet marketing community is when you purchase a downloadable product, but are then forced to wade through 8 different one-time-only offer pages before you get to your download page. It may not be illegal, but it is offputting. Though, fact is, if it didn’t increase the amount of the average sale, it wouldn’t be done.
Okay, off to re-examine my upsell list…
May 21st, 2009 at 6:57 am
Upsell is very powerful and, if done right, adds value to the customer.
Btw, there is a great joke about how upsell works…
A young fellow from Oklahoma moves to California and goes to a big ‘everything under one roof’ department store looking for a job.
The manager says, “Do you have any sales experience?”
The kid says, “Yeah, I was a salesman back home in Oklahoma.”
Well, the boss liked the kid so he gave him the job.
“You start tomorrow. I’ll come down after we close and see how you did ”
His first day on the job was rough but he got through it. After the store was locked up, the boss came down…
“How many sales did you make today?”
The kid says, “One.”
The boss says, “Just one? Our sales people average 20 or 30 sales a day. You’re going to have to improve considerably or look for another job! How much was the sale for?”
The kid says, “$112,237.64.”
The boss says, “$112,237.64 !! What the hell did you sell ?”
Kid says, “First I sold him a small fish hook. Then I sold him a medium fish hook. Then I sold him a larger fish hook. Then I sold him a new fishing rod.
Then I asked him where he was going fishing and he said down at the lake, so I told him he was gonna need a boat, so we went down to the boat department and I sold him a new bass boat.
Then he said he didn’t think his Honda Civic would pull it, so I took him down to the automotive department and sold him that new Ford pick-up. I asked him how long he was going to be out at the lake and after he said 5 or 6 days I took him down to the RV department and sold him a slide-in camper for the truck.”
The boss said, “A guy came in here to buy a fish hook and you sold him a boat, a truck and a camper?”
Kid says, “No, he came in here to buy a box of tampons for his wife and I said, ‘Well, your weekend’s shot, you might as well go fishing.”
May 21st, 2009 at 7:01 am
Thanks a lot Paul for enlightening us! Selling is indeed loving people- helping and serving their needs and wants.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Thank you for the article about upsells.
You helped me understand that customers don\’t completely understand what they really need.
I\’ve been experimenting with that in my industrial photography business, and fortunately for me, am able to do some extra work without being asked to do it, since while I\’m there it does not take that much more time, and digital images cost zero, so I already have a custom additional product in hand to present to them, and it\’s been working with some success.
But your article has inspired me to take this concept to a higher level.
May 21st, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Thanks Paul. This was a timely post for me, as I’m putting plans together for a “special offer” campaign in my business. You make me realize I should add upsell options, and it hadn’t occurred to me b/c of some of the reasons you identify as why people neglect upselling. Much appreciated.
May 21st, 2009 at 1:44 pm
My kind of blog post. To the point and justified with little or no hype or upsell of your other products.
I guest you did upsell me to get this post out of me.
Very good job.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:35 pm
We upsell all our products and services without exception, Paul. And our upsell rate is between 97%-100% for lower end products. And our upsell rate for high end products is 100%.
It\’s part of what we call the Yes-Yes system. And we freely share this system with all our clients and readers. And they\’ve tried it too, and it works for almost all kinds of products and services, and in almost every country in the world.
Sean
-Psychotactics.com
P.S. Say hi to Leslie and the kids
May 24th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Hi,
I think the idea of up sell is rude and has all the potential for derailing a sale, and long term customer success.
Usually I go to the store to get what I have in mind nothing more; most times I go to look at the product and then order it on line without tax at a cheaper price.
So, while you are pursuing your agenda to sell me a $75 dollar shirt, I am in an avoid and flight mode, and your intrusion into my thoughts makes me forget a $300.00 purse or Gortex Jacket.
It sounds like an MBA metric. I observed an up sell and it worked, I can measure something I am smart. I have seen MBA metrics run companies into the ground and they always have hard paper proof that they were right.
It is a thin argument that nick nacks that can be measure or penny’s that can be saved are more important than providing value. Which will make a customer comfortable to come back many times.
I think all this high pressure marketing is like professional pan handlers. You may give them a quarter but you will always avoid passing that way again.