Best Practices When Up Selling

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I am guessing we have all head the phrase “would you like fries with that”. This is upselling in its most basic form, but it works.  The idea of upselling has been practiced and perfected by many of the largest online retailers, from Amazon’s soft selling techniques through amazon prime to the many online stores that make it easy to reorder, increasing customer loyalty. Done right it can drastically increase your sites revenue and here are some tips to perfect it.

Knowing your cost-

Trying to push potential buyers into purchasing something that they may not want can end with you losing the sale.  Instead be willing to offer any potential customers your product knowledge and expertise to help them find exactly what they need, so they know they are making the right choice when purchasing. Some customers have a clear idea of what you need and they will tell you, others will require you to observe their needs and make a suggestion based on what they have told you.

It is important that your sales team knows about all promotions and discounts that your company can offer, this will help them to tailor an upsell based on an individual’s requirements. The idea of up selling a set list of products is often ineffective. Having a sales team with sufficient product knowledge that can build an upsell from the knowledge they have of the customer can be invaluable and profitable. In the online world this is often represented by the “you may also like” suggestions. In this instance it is important that your sales and marketing teams work together to tailor certain product promotions that work well together.

Showing the advantage-

When you try to upsell or cross promote complimentary products you will need to highlight the benefits that the customer will gain if they buy both products, or you can highlight the savings when buying these products together.

If you can clearly highlight the values and benefits of the complimentary products along with the dollar saving you will be able to upsell your customers more successfully.  Doing this through an online portal can be difficult, but providing informational videos that highlight the benefits can help to convince the customer that they are making the right decision.

Bundling-

Selling complimentary products together can work well online because it creates a sense of urgency with that customer.  They know if they go through your checkout process without accepting your offer it will be gone forever and the discount they will receive now  will be lost if they decide they need these products in the future.

There is often a fine line between successful upselling and badgering your customers to try and make the sale. Upselling should be a natural progression and it should be done in a way that shows the customer that you have their best interest in mind. Your sales team should be able to assess the potential to upsell a customer, if they already have a clear idea of what they need you should take their lead and offer what they are asking for. You may however revisit that customer with future offers that could be beneficial to them.

Upselling is important when trying to maximize the value of each customer but the best way to upsell is to show the customer that you are trying to offer them the best solution for their needs and any additional products that you suggest  will not only help to improve the offer but it will also prove beneficial for the customer.