customers at the point of sale. It's a simple approach any
business can implement quickly and get immediate results.
Customers will never be more receptive to an attractive
offer from you than when they're paying you money. Develop
the habit of offering your customers or clients an upgraded
product or a related item at the time they make their first
purchase.
Some businesses avoid upselling because they're afraid the
customer may get irritated and not buy at all. I found the
opposite is true. Customers appreciate your thoughtfulness
in offering them an added benefit they didn't know about.
WHAT TO OFFER
Think about your business. What else can you offer customers
or clients while they're making their first transaction with
you? Can you offer them...
** A discount on a related product or service?
** A volume discount if they buy more now?
** A special priced combination package including the
initial product or service?
HOW TO PRESENT AN UPSELLING OFFER
Upselling has none of the characteristics usually associated
with selling. It's simply offering an already receptive
buyer an opportunity to enhance the value of his or her
purchase.
Present your upselling offer casually, as an afterthought.
For example, someone selling web site hosting might say the
following when speaking in person or by phone with new
customers:
"Your website will be up in 48 hours. If you'd like, we can
double your server space, include unlimited autoresponders
and a shopping cart for secure credit card orders. The
regular price for all of this is an additional $40 per
month. But I'll give it to you for just an additional $25 if
you order it today."
Most businesses report acceptance rates between 40% and 60%
for their upselling offers. This is a big increase for so
little effort. Plus, the profit from the upselling portion
often exceeds the profit from the initial product or service
because there is no advertising expense.
If you're not making upselling offers to every new customer
or client, start doing it now. It's an easy way to boost
your profits fast with little effort and no expense