Most people do not walk into a McDonald’s to get just fries. They are there for something heartier, like a burger, or to try a new menu item they’ve seen advertised. But with a simple question “Would you like Fries with that?” — the company has been able to sell 4050 tonnes of fries every day globally.
This single 'cross selling' action contributed more than $28 million in revenue for McDonald's last year alone.
In this module we'll look at add on sales. An add-on sale refers to an ancillary item sold to a buyer of a main product or service.
Add-on sales represent a source of significant revenues and profits to a company. An add-on sale is generally suggested by a broker once the buyer has made a firm decision to buy the core product or service (Mortgage and Insurances). It is sometimes known as "upselling."
Lets look at some upselling principles for inspiration:
The Ultimate Aim Should Always be to Provide Maximum Value
Clients usually look for products that provide the best value for their money, even in the biggest purchases they make (looking at you, mortgages).
Therefore, it becomes highly essential that for cross-selling or up-selling to be successful the value of the sale must be demonstrated to the clients.
To quantify this value, the client must be made to focus on the bigger picture.
It must be made clear to the customer that a product’s value cannot be judged by its 'sticker price' but by its tangible benefit(s), and these must be clearly specific to the client.
Think beyond features and benefits, and consider 'bespoke benefits' - Aspects of your product offering that meet needs specific to your client, based on what they've already told you.
To do this you'll need to...
Listen and Respond to the Customer Appropriately
Here you have to go beyond your written script and the past purchases of the customers to get an idea about their interests.
You need to actively listen to a client, to gauge their needs at that moment and upsell an item that will satisfy their needs. It is not about what the client says but about what he implies, that you need to understand to upsell the right product.
Timing and Context is Extremely Important
Knowing when to skip or delay is one of the most difficult features of cross selling and upselling. Timing is everything. The client's immediate needs should always be given the highest priority.
A study by Achieve Global has found that 40% of customers get annoyed when salespeople try to cross-sell or up-sell products during customer service interactions.
The best time to cross-sell or up-sell is at the end of the process when the client's issue has already been resolved and their trust and goodwill has been earned.
The key here is to be able to gauge the situation and act accordingly.
Be Consistent
Research conducted by an e-tailing group has shown that companies, which have actively taken up cross selling and up selling, have been able to generate 10% additional revenue.
The key words there are 'actively taken up', as in, they do this as standard.
To upsell effectively, this should be part of your process, performed with every customer as part of every sales process.
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