Growth Strategy: 5 Tips to Upsell and Cross-sell like a pro.

Improve your bottom line with these quick and easy tips to upsell and cross-sell like a pro.

Before we go any further, Congratulations! you've made a sale. Let the battle begin. Yes, you read that right. What comes after making a sale? More sales (Hopefully), and that is where upselling and cross-selling make a difference.

Photo by Mabel Amber from Pexels

Driving sales from existing customers is proven to be easier sales to make.

What is the difference between upselling and cross-selling?

Upselling is when a customer is enticed to choose the more expensive product or service. i.e. a more profitable sale.

Cross-selling involves the sale of additional products or/and services to an existing customer based on their initial purchase.

"The probability of selling to a new prospect is 5% to 20%. The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60% to 70%." - Marketing Metrics

Upselling gives you a great ROI (return on investment). You have already invested time to make the initial sale. You would spend lesser time to upsell in comparison to the initial sale. Hence, the more likely you are to succeed. Your customer already trusts your recommendation with the initial sales making it more likely to accept a higher valued product/service.

Also, upselling increases customer satisfaction. Customers are often willing to spend more money to get more value.

Having said that, if your customers feel like you are upselling to increase your bottom line, they will be dissatisfied.

Here are 5 Tips to Upsell and Cross-sell like a pro (and drive revenue)

1. Less is more: Limited recommendations

More options can simply confuse and often overwhelm a customer. Provide recommendations that would address the problems of your clients. Successful upsells begin with a solution to their problems. Keep things simple and don't offer 17 different possibilities.

Pick a few well-targeted recommendations to increase the probability of a successful sale.

2. Bundling

Encouraging both upselling and cross-selling. It is always a wise idea to bundle your (items) recommendations.

For eg, it is easier to sell website templates, plugins, and logos all together in bundles instead of standalone items. The chances that a consumer will purchase the bundle is higher as it can be done with one purchase (as opposed to multiple purchases). And boosting your company's revenue.

3. KYC - Know your customers.

An extensive audience research is critical to successful upselling and cross-selling. Make sure you know your customers and that you understand their wants, needs and preferences.

Think about a waiter in a high-end restaurant for instance. An effective waiter would likely pay attention to the preferences and tastes of regular customers. If the same couple comes in several times a month and always orders the same bottle of Argentinian Malbec, a good waiter would take note of this and eventually recommend a more expensive bottle of Malbec suited to the customers' taste, a move that would likely impress the customers and boost the restaurant's revenue. Amazon is yet another great example of a company that effectively upsells and cross-sells based on knowledge of customers. The company tracks customers' orders and makes purchase recommendations based on past orders. If you have ever bought a book from Amazon, you have probably noticed that the company tracks your book orders and recommends other relevant reading materials based on what other shoppers who also bought that book purchased.

4. DO NOT OVERDO IT

While both cross-selling and upselling are great sales strategies, do not overdo them. Provide targeted recommendations based on your customers' needs, wants, and preferences.

5. 25% Rule

As a general rule, do not try to cross-sell or upsell items that are over 25% of the initial order value.i.e. if a potential car buyer wants to buy a Honda, don't try to upsell a Porsche.

The 25% rule help you avoid making exagerrated suggestions to (potential) customers and will increase your odds of successful sales.

- Yogesh Babu