How to increase revenue using up-selling

Up-selling and cross-selling is cheap to implement, develops customer relationships and can dramatically increase revenue. Are you taking advantage of up-selling and cross-selling in your business?

I worked at McDonald's whilst at high school and so know what makes them so successful. After a year I was suspended because I was caught failing to up-sell. For over a year I'd been asking people “Do you want fries with that?” to have them reply “If I wanted fries I would have asked for them”. I thought it irritated the customers so I stopped.

But now, I look back on the up-selling and realise how clever and simple it is. The customer is in the shop with their wallet open, they want to spend money, chances are some of them are going to say yes.

How can we, as small businesses, take advantage of up-selling and cross-selling?

The good news is up-selling and cross-selling is incredibly cheap to implement, it develops your customer relationships and can improve your sales by an estimated 40%. Let's put it to use with some practical examples:

If you’re a service provider

When a customer buys from you, offer them a maintenance contract for a year. Use a win-win strategy by offering the customer a discount for taking out a longer contract. Or when you provide a new customer with a quotation, include prices for related services and explain how these will be of benefit.

Too often as service providers, we assume the customer has researched all of our offerings and selected the most suitable. A majority of times, this is not the case. Here, up-selling will expose your clients to solutions they hadn't thought of, solutions that will save them money and produce a better outcome for all.

If you sell via an online shop

When a customer is at the checkout, show them related products for a discounted price, or if they buy in bulk, offer a saving of 15%. Or for each product page, take inspiration from Amazon and show “people who purchased this item also purchased...” Whilst this can be costly to implement, online up-selling is rumoured to increase sales by 50%!

Start cross-selling to existing customers right now

Don't assume that your clients know all about your services. Don't assume they've read every page of your beautifully crafted website.

Email signature. Include a special offer in your email signature, or a short blurb about your company including services your customers might not know about. For example, “10% off all website services for the month of June” or “Bob's Business provides expert web development, online marketing, consulting and domain registration.”
Email newsletter. This topic is covered really well on Flying Solo, so view the email newsletter section to read all about it.
Educate, educate, educate. If you've created a new brochure, why not send a copy to all of your existing clients. Even cheaper and greener, email them all a PDF of your new brochure.

In conclusion, don't be afraid to suggest complementary services to your existing clients, even in casual conversations. You'd be surprised how little your clients know about you. Ultimately, your clients win as they learn which are the necessary services to succeed and you win by increasing your revenue and building relationships.

Do you engage in cross-selling or up-selling? Share your methods or suggest new ways of up-selling and cross-selling.

Louise Gorrie is all things web. Her business, BlackMax Media, helps other businesses define and achieve their online goals using a holistic approach to website development, online marketing and search engine optimisation.

6 comments | Add your own

I think your statement :- "we assume the customer has researched all of our offerings" - is very true.
We also assume customers read every last detail in the emails we send them, and know that the 'paper clip' means there is an atttachment - with additional information.
We may also assume the client wants the minimum or cheapest deal, when in fact they would be happy to pay for & sign up for everything. Heather Smith from SUNNY BRISBANE! | Read my articles
Good points Louise. We added a service offering a couple of months ago in addition to our product . When we send a Thank You for purchasing email we include the service offering and the benefits.This has proven to be a very cost effective way of cross selling and of course additional revenue. Susan Oakes from Sydney
Susan - another great idea which can be carried out automatically. Cross selling and up selling can be carried out pretty much automatically with all the technology at our fingertips. Any other tips? Louise Gorrie from Sydney | Read my articles
To upsell or not to upsell?. I think you did the right thing by not infuriating all your customers already. They are waiting in a queue etc. Maccas are cheap labour operators. I'm over them. With an obesity epidemic worldwide your stance was appropriate. Good for you! Josephine Gardner from Woodenbong
I am in online marketing business and have found upselling when selling online to quite effective. Without too much of sales jargon, just a few quick lines 'highlighting' the benefit of the product and the cost savings by buying it at that time, can work wonders. Sandy Naidu from Sydney
Great points and Maccas are superb at it. I was at a seminar the other day on Marketing and heard that they earn $20 mill a day due to the gold old "would you like fries with that?"
A simple question yet so powerful.
Rich Richard Muir from Australia

6 comments | Add your own

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