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Selling to your prospects is not the only way to increase your turnover, far from it! Customers who have already been transformed are also a gold mine for salespeople. They can set up cross-selling or up-selling strategies to both retain them and increase their average basket.
Up-selling is a sales technique consisting in offering a service or product of higher quality at a higher price. The main objectives of this technique are to increase the company's turnover and to retain customers.
Many Akimbers practice it once Account Manager After their Bootcamp at Akimbo.
What is up-selling?
Definition and translation
Up-selling is a particularly popular sales technique. It corresponds to a Upscale. This sales technique consists in offering your prospect to buy a second service with greater added value instead of or in addition to the initial service.
It offers the customer greater benefits and allows the salesperson toIncrease your customer's basket while improving His satisfaction. On many e-commerce sites, the up-selling strategy is automated. In a startup, this is one of the key missions of the Account Manager.
In summary, up-selling offers a second purchase opportunity and consists in arousing the interest of the prospect in a new product.
Examples of up-selling
Up-selling can be applied in any sector of activity. It generally allows an upgrade adapted to the needs of the consumer. Let's illustrate this point with an example concerning the marketing aspect of up-selling.
- Example 1: Selling a car
Take the traditional example of a dealership selling a car to a customer. During the exchanges, the seller listens to the latter and gets to know him. Thanks to Listening attentively of his client, he can offer him a model more adapted to his expectations. Although the price of the model is higher than that of the car initially sought by the customer, the vehicle meets the customer's needs more. Thus, up-sell is a sales technique to improve the customer satisfaction.
- Example 2: Selling web hosting
Up-selling also works very well for exclusive and limited offers in time. The customer may be keenly interested in the exclusivity of an offer even though it is more expensive than others. Accommodation sites frequently use this sales technique, in particular by offering upgraded hotel rooms for a limited period of time.
Customizing a post-purchase product or service is a way to use up-selling. For example, as part of the purchase of a web hosting solution, a Business Developer may offer you more licenses to access the service or more storage space.
It is always interesting to show your customers that you can offer them personalized offers and adapted to their needs. In the field of sales, the seller has the opportunity here to offer a superior range to his customer who already has confidence in the brand. The personalization of the offer justifies the higher price.
- Example 3: Purchasing computer hardware
Let's take a final example. When buying computer equipment, the seller regularly uses up-selling. The customer generally benefits from an initial warranty for their product. However, the merchant will still offer him an extended warranty at an affordable price. Thanks to this extension, the customer's property will be further protected. Thus, the added value provided by the warranty extension is visible here for the customer.
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What is the difference between upselling and cross-selling?
What is cross-selling? Definition
Cross-selling, or cross selling, is a additional sales technique allowing to increase the average customer basket. This technique consists in offering complementary products or services to a prospect after the latter has become a customer. This commercial technique is frequently used in many sectors of activity, especially in e-commerce and as part of marketing automation strategies.
To use the example of a storage solution, a Business Developer will offer you more speed in executing requests (via better bandwidth), better security (via more advanced encryption), or even servers in France (vs. in a remote country). It is indeed about additional services.
In summary, just like up-selling, cross-selling is a sales technique that allowsIncrease the average basket of the customer and at the same time the turnover of a company.
Up-selling and cross-selling, which one should you choose?
Now that you know the difference between these two sales techniques, it's time to talk about when it makes sense to use cross-selling or up-selling in your sales strategy. First of all, you should know that the choice is based on the types of products or services that you suggest. However, in some cases such as when managing a webshop with a large stock, it is possible to use these two techniques effectively.
Upselling is interesting for products or services that you offer at different levels. There are certain characteristics to look for when you want to use this commercial technique. In summary, the two main ones are as follows:
- Your products target the same customer segments but at different prices;
- Your products offer similar features but at a higher level or with additional features.
Fewer conditions need to be sought for cross-selling. It is simply more appropriate to offer similar items to those initially viewed by your customers.
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Why up-sell?
The upsell mainly allows a Increase in the average customer basket and customer retention. By discovering other products that are more qualitative and more adapted to their expectations, customers will be more loyal.
Why up-sell in sales?
There are many benefits that can be gained from using up-selling in sales. The rapid increase in turnover is the main one. Indeed, since the objective of this commercial technique is to get the customer to choose a product that is more expensive than the product that was originally planned, greater profitability for the seller may be allowed.
Up-selling also allows better customer retention. Indeed, this sales technique makes it possible to increase the value of its customers in the long term and to retain them without too many costs.
Why up-sell in marketing?
However, even if increasing the average basket remains the main objective of up selling, many other advantages are aimed at:
- Exceed customer expectations by offering them a product that is more suited to their needs. By offering the customer the possibility of obtaining a more efficient product, the satisfaction of the interested customer is guaranteed.
- Show your customer some expertise by offering them a product of superior quality. In sales as in marketing, by showing a certain expertise, the customer has confidence in your brand, which allows them to quickly build loyalty over the long term.
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How do you up-sell?
Techniques and application
Up selling is a particularly effective commercial technique. However, to ensure that it operates optimally, it must meet certain conditions. First of all, you need to think about needs And to expectations of your customers. The key to successful up-selling lies in offering the perfect solution for your customers. Use theActive listening. The customer will feel valued and you will be able to create a relationship of trust which will be established permanently.
To more easily convince your customers, do not hesitate to display a reference with multiple customer reviews. These are essential to gain the trust of your future customers so do not neglect this step in your commercial strategy! 88% of potential buyers consult customer reviews before making a purchase!
Only mention the price at the last moment to give the customer enough time to projecting and get used to the idea that the proposed article is the best solution for him.
Finally, spend a long time describing your offer. Why is the item you are suggesting a much better quality? Explain the reasons for the higher price accurately to your customer to encourage them to order the product.
In summary, here are the steps to follow to successfully use up-selling:
- Identify the needs of its customers and listen to them carefully;
- Focus on the customer experience;
- Demonstrate the advantages of your article to promote up-selling;
- Rely on references and customer reviews;
- Promote the product without dwelling on the price difference;
- Offer simple suggestions.
Analysis of the best times for up-selling
Contrary to what many people think, up-selling is not limited only to the time of buying a product or a service! To be fully effective, up-selling must be omnipresent throughout the buying process. Some retailers sometimes use pop-up windows when potential consumers visit the online store, which can be a particularly effective way to arouse the curiosity of a prospect for a new, high-quality item. Offering new offers to your customers following their purchases allows for loyalty.
In summary, there is no better time but several to use the up-selling technique:
- Before the sale : attentive listening makes it possible to identify the needs of the customer and to encourage them to offer them a better quality product at a higher price;
- After the sale : Let's take the example of a Saas CRM platform. For 6 months, a company has taken an inexpensive package from a French CRM. She has seen her team grow and does not have a staff management and internal messaging tool. The Saas sales representative offers him to obtain his two functionalities by taking a more complete package.
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