How big of a priority is up-selling when you're making sales calls?
There are not too many entrepreneurs and salespeople who can boast a sales increase of 25+ % this year.
So you would think everybody is doing everything imaginable to increase his sales.
If I had to guess, I'd estimate 85% of all entrepreneurs and salespeople leave money on the table every single selling day.
And the reason why is plain and simple. They make no attempt at up-selling at every opportunity.
"Would you like fries with that?"
Go to any McDonald's restaurant and order a burger. There's a very good chance the order taker will respond with, "Would you like fries with that?"
I remember ordering a tall coffee of the day at Starbucks recently. The order taker responded with, "Would you like a scone or a chocolate chip cookie to go with that?" I guess it worked, because I ordered a blueberry scone.
So - this is what is commonly called an up-sell. An up-sell is simply a way to get your customers to spend more money with you.
Nothing wrong with that, is there?
Well, you might be wondering how effective are up-sells? Of course that depends on your products and services and it also depends on how well your up-sell is communicated.
You might be surprised to learn that between 25-40% of your customers will choose to buy your up-sell.
And the reason is quite simple. They've already committed to buying your product and they don't want to miss out on the opportunity to get something special with a high perceived value.
Here's a fact to remember. The more you can add to a purchase the happier your customer will be and you'll also benefit with better selling results. That's a classic Win-Win!
Here are a few up-sell examples which might ignite your enthusiasm to try in your business.
Imagine being a server at a restaurant. Your customer orders the Veal Piccata entrée. You then ask, "Would you like to add a soup or a salad to you entrée? Today's home made soup is Lobster Bisque."
Please don't think this up-selling won't work in your business - because it can work in every business.
Just because you're not doing it, doesn't mean your competitors aren't going to the bank with the money you're leaving on the table.
Here's another example that assumes you just made a sale.
If a part of your product line includes selling supplies you can end every sales call by saying something like this. "Before I leave, what low inventory supplies can I help you restock while I'm here?"
It sure beats saying, "Before I go, are there any other problems I can help you with?" Duh!
Here's what I recommend for the best results. Prepare in writing your complete up-sell. Then practice it a few times before you try it on your customers.
Here's even more advice. After you prepare and practice your up-sell, test it 100 times before you judge whether or not you can make it work in your business.
The more up-selling you do, the more your sales will GO UP.
Jim Meisenheimer shows sales managers and their salespeople how to increase sales, using his No-Brainer Selling Skills process. Salespeople get better selling results when they subscribe to his newsletter, take his on-line Webinars, and by attending his Sales Training Boot Camps. Jim also does in-house Sales Training Programs for companies like Allstate, Cessna, Fisher Scientific, and Hewlett-Packard. Learn more at www.startsellingmore.com
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