Yesterday we talked about how to get more business from existing clients. Today, we’re going to talk about another “smart money” move — upselling techniques.

“An upsell” is basically when you increase the value of any given transaction by offering additional items for sale.

So for example, the most common upsell you’re familiar with, is when you’re getting ready to pay for your groceries down at your local supermarket.

You’re loading them up onto the conveyor belt… and you look straight across and what do you see?

You see a rack filled with cheesy gossip magazines. And then you look behind you, and you see another rack filled with all kinds of candy, gum, mints… more magazines… and probably at the end, some trays with razors and disposable blades, sitting on top of a cooler of sodas and juices for sale.

These items are put there, because there’s a high likelihood of people grabbing them and tossing them onto the conveyor belt.

They’re small incidentals, and it doesn’t take a lot of brainpower to be “convinced” to buy them.

What happens is… between all that work you’re doing huffing around the store pushing that giant shopping cart… and all that decision-making over, “Do we get Brussels sprouts or green beans?”… and, “Should I buy the house brand, or Green Giant?” — all this work makes you tired.

So when you’re presented with a simple decision about “Should I buy a Snickers Bar?”… it’s an almost welcome distraction, in the sense that there’s comparatively NO effort involved in doing this.

Which is why those particular items are usually presented to you at the last moment.

It takes very little effort to make a buying decision, and plus… these particular items have a hefty markup.

In fact, I don’t know what the numbers are, but I’d bet these upsells account for 5% of a stores gross revenue over the course of a year.

That’s a LOT of money when you consider the average supermarket does anywhere from $60K – $200K in sales, per day!

5% of this is $3K – $10K per day… $90K – $300K per month… and as much as $3,650,000 per year!

And remember, because these are higher NET profit items, their value to the store is greater than the average item sold.

The point is, upselling is a very profitable strategy to use, and it’s also very simple to do.

So… let’s talk about a couple of different upselling techniques you can use.

There are 3 important components of upselling, you want to consider:

1. First upselling technique has to do with “your offer”

The thing you need to keep in mind, is… the best upsells are ones that present the least amount of resistance.

When your upsell offer is simple (as in straight-forward and uncomplicated) and irresistible… and your customer or client is already buying something from you… it doesn’t take that much effort to get another “Yes” out of them.

So the first thing you want to do is make sure your offer is an easy one to say “Yes” to.

For example, when people order from us, we offer them a one-time-only opportunity to get back-issues of the Seductive Selling offline newsletter. I’ve been publishing this newsletter for almost 8 years now… and it’s read in 15 countries, world-wide.

The offer is, order two back-issues, and get THREE back-issues issues, Free.

Buy 2, Get 3 Free, is a VERY good offer, regardless of what you’re selling, and that’s why a lot of people take this offer.

2. Second upselling technique has to do with “congruency”

What you’re selling has to be congruent — NOT necessarily with what your first sale was, but… it has to be congruent with your marketplace.

So for example, let’s say you own an auto detail business.

A nice upsell would be to prepay your next auto detail right there on the spot, at a significant discount, right?

Sure, absolutely.

In this situation, your upsell offer is directly related to what you just sold.

However… it wouldn’t be out of place to also offer a pre-payment discount on a boating detail… a home pressure-washing… or even some kind of product that you can use in your home garage to neatly organize and stowaway all your cleaning products or tools.

See, what you’re trying to do is make your buyer’s life easier. And anything that’s going to enhance their original purchase, or make their life easier in some other area, is OK to offer.

3. Your last upselling technique has to do with “timing”

You want to make your offers (and yes, you can make more than one upsell offer) at, or just after, the initial point of purchase.

Why?

The answer is simple — that’s when you’re most likely to say “Yes.”

It’s the same reason why, when you go out to dinner… your waiter asks if you want a drink at the beginning of your meal, and not at the end.

If you wait 3 days after someone buys something from you, and THEN go and make them an offer… your response rate is going to be MUCH lower, I assure you.

So make sure your timing is right, and set it up so all your offers are made pretty darn close to immediately before, or right after, your sale is finalized.

The old adage, “Delay is the death of a sale,” is just as applicable with these upselling techniques, as it is with your initial sale, as well, so keep that in mind.

By the way, starting on page 168 in my book, is an entire Chapter devoted exclusively to upselling.

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S. Download my 30-Day Cash-Flow Surge Program, yours free

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How To INSTANTLY Sell… Almost Anything

listening to: Iron Butterfly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968)