Tara Kennedy-Kline, owner of Tara’s Toy box posted the following on her Facebook Status Page:
“I was so impressed! The cashier at Hudson News just tried to upsell me a bottle of water with my magazines! I can think of a few salespeople who could take a lesson from Gail at Hudson News.”
I love it. And, I agree with Tara in that great salesmanship – in this case, “upselling” – is great salesmanship regardless of the context. And, when done appropriately and ethically, it benefits everyone involved; the salesperson, the company and – most importantly – the customer.
An upsell is an additional (and typically, related) product – usually less expensive – offered to a customer, either while in the act of purchasing the main product or immediately after just having done so.
While the classic example is, “Would you like fries with your burger?” 🙂 upsells are used in thousands and thousands of sales situations and with all sorts of products, services, and combinations of such.
Upsells help the consumer, who may not have thought of something he or she also needs or wants and of course helps the business/salesperson, who increases their profit with an additional sale with no additional expense or overhead. A “win/win” in the truest sense of the word.
Other upsell examples: Service warrantees for an appliance, a discounted price on an additional audio program after having bought the first, the waiter suggesting coffee and dessert with your dinner.
In Part Two, suggestions concerning upsells both for the buyer and for the seller.
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Hi Bob. Thanks for the upselling reminder. I’m brainstorming on what my clients’–new and veterans–on what they may need in addition to what they had invested. Thanks!
Great article. I will definely implement this one immediatly.
I recently walked out of places feeling that I really didn’t get great service, because no one made a recommentation about a product that would be of benefit to me.
Wow, I guess as a customer I want to know what I can add to get even more out of a service I paid for.
For example, getting a great haircut & color and being upsold a shampoo & shower filter that will make the color last longer and have additional health benifits.
Thank you, Nick. Keep thinking. Way to go!
Anja, thank you for your post. One reason people don’t upsell is because they feel they are then SELLING something. Well…they are…and they should be! The old English root of the word “sell” is Sellan, which means “to give.” When we sell properly (including upselling) we are giving value. And, then again, some people don’t upsell because they simply haven’t been taught how. Either reason is a shame.
I saw this post just after returning from Dunkin Donuts (my daily ritual), where the cashier asked after I placed my order …”Would you like to have hash browns today, they’re only 99 cents.” “Of course I would!” Dunkin Donuts does this on almost every visit – most days I resist but today…. and ooh they were so good!
Awesome. It’s as simple as that, isn’t it? And, it added value to your experience while increasing their profit. That’s excellent Nancy; thank you for sharing!