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Effective Methods for Cross-Selling and Upselling

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Are you getting the sales you should be from your web or foot traffic? Has your staff been trained to create satisfied customers with more lifetime purchases? Training your sales staff for effective methods for upselling and cross-selling can help you increase sales exponentially.

You can increase your sales per customer by convincing them that a more profitable upsell will give them a greater value out of their base purchase. Here are 9 helpful tips that successful companies use to get their staff on board with upselling and cross-selling.

Why Is Upselling and Cross-Selling Important?

The “would you like fries with that?” is a classic technique that fast food establishments use to upsell customers with value-added, giving them greater satisfaction and increasing sales. Upselling and cross-selling does not mean convincing customers to buy something they don’t need.

Ensure that the customer is getting everything they need when they visit your business by offering the right add-ons that add value to their purchase. The customer will be happier with their purchase, and your business will be able to grow thanks to the increased sales.

Every Customer Every Time

You lose every opportunity you don’t take, so make sure you are giving every customer an opportunity to buy the products they would otherwise be missing out on. Some customers may not know a product is available—or maybe they just forget to ask for it. It is up to the staff to remind customers and let them know the product or service exists. If your staff doesn’t ask, the upsell or cross-selling opportunity is automatically lost.

Create Clear Goals for Your Staff

Supervisors and managers should provide their sales staff with clear goals and metrics to follow. Reminding the staff that upsells and cross-sales are good for business is an important key to keep them on track when suggesting upsells to customers. Offering an incentive or bonus for the employee with the most upsells is an effective way to boost sales, while creating a healthy competitive environment.

Daily, weekly, and monthly goals are a driving force when convincing staff to upsell and cross-sell. Creating targets for your staff that are attainable, but challenge them to improve

Identify Customer Needs

Train your staff to ask probing questions to identify the customer’s needs. Staff members that are not trained to ask the right questions can only make guesses and assumptions as to what the customer needs.

Asking questions will help the staff use their full knowledge of the product and can lend credibility to their suggestions. When sales staff jump on the wrong assumption, it can result in embarrassing and confusing suggestions.

Suggest Reasonable Add-ons

Customers are more likely to consider an upsell of 25% and under. If sales staff attempt to upsell an item that is greater than 25%, it can make the customer feel pressured and even insulted by the dramatic increase in price. Your staff should never make the customer feel preyed upon and restrain suggestions to below 25% of the base product value. This will help keep staff suggestions reasonable and appealing to customers.

Ask What’s Next?

Customers may be focusing on a goal or milestone, so sales staff can help them reach their next goal by identifying what the customer plans to do next. This can be tied in to probing questions during the sale and also be used after the sale when following up with the customer.

If a customer has introduced a big change to their life, chances are they will come back for more products or services when they move on to their next goal. Staff can help the customer prepare to meet their future needs with their purchases today.

Speak the Customer’s Language

You probably won’t have to learn a foreign language, but learning more delicate terms or framing the product in a more appealing way can convince some customers to buy. Teach staff to avoid negative and abrasive words, and substitute them with neutral or positive words.

Instead of using words and phrases like “no” and “cannot”, try using phrases like “we recommend” or “this product would be helpful”. For instance, If a customer wants a product in a specific style, you may be able to save the sale by offering a similar style rather than ever using the word “no.”

It is more difficult to appeal to a customer after a flat out no.

Show Real Life Advantages With Social Proof

Sometimes it helps to give the customer an example of how a product can improve their life, efficiency, or productivity. If you have testimonials or data that the staff can share with customers, this can help back up claims and give the customer a more clear picture.

When your staff is not provided with testimonials and customer satisfaction data, it can be difficult for them to lend proof and credibility to the advantages of a product. After all, it helps if your employees believe in what they’re selling as well.

Bundle Value

When you bundle products with value, customers get more than just quantity. Think about the last time you went to McDonald’s, and the cashier asked, “Would you like to make that a meal?”

Making your order a meal usually means you are not paying the full price for fries and a drink. Instead, they come at a discount that you can only get if they are part of a meal. It adds value in the eyes of the customer, at a small extra cost.

This concept can be applied to just about any business. If you want to dramatically increase your sales on a profitable add-on, consider creating a bundle deal that your staff members can offer to increase sales.

Follow Up After Purchase

There are different methods for every business, but keeping in touch with your customers is always key.

Encourage your staff to use email addresses and phone numbers with the customer’s consent to follow up. This can help customers warm up to visiting your business for another purchase. Following up with a customer can be an effective way to identify if the customer is satisfied with their product.

Staff members may even encourage customers to buy again. A well-trained staff can provide milestones and incentives to attract the customer to provide your company with more business. Keeping in touch with customers can also make you seem more attentive than competitors.

Learn how to upsell the subtle way

 

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