Don’t just sell more; sell more value.
Upselling.
At the drive-through when you order a cheeseburger, the cashier asks, “Would you like some fries with that?”
At the register, the cashier asks, would you like the two-year warranty with that that covers all repairs for any reason?
At the car dealership, the salesperson highly recommends the leather upholstery and the towing package.
Upselling adds more top-line revenue, and from the company’s perspective, that’s good. But if done poorly, upselling can alienate the customer, and that’s bad. Alienated customers don’t come back.
So, the challenge is how to upsell well, without alienating the customer. Or better yet, how to upsell in a way that gives the customer good reason to smiling, because they feel that received more value than they originally expected.
That’s exactly how my wife and I felt, after a recent Sunday morning stop at the Starbuck’s in the Barnes & Noble Booksellers #2048 in the in . The woman that took our orders was a master upseller. But here’s the interesting part about it…. We didn’t feel like we were being sold anything; we felt like we were being offered a better value; we felt that the person who had the information was sharing the information with us, to help us get the best value that we could. And as customers, we appreciated it in a big way.
So, what was her secret?
She wasn’t selling; she was sharing information with us; she was helping us to see a way to receive more value.
We ordered four items, totaling $12.55. But she didn’t simply take our order; with each item, had something to say, that was all about us.
Example:
My wife ordered a medium Caramel Macchiato. The server suggested that for just 30 cents more, we can have a large size. As she said that, she held the two cups next to each other, so that we could clearly see how much more Caramel Macciato we’d have for just 30 cents more. In a very literal sense, she showed us the value. And we gladly bought it.
Here’s the point:
When upselling, don’t simply suggest the additional item; don’t just ask the customer if they want it, and don’t just tell the customer why it’s a good deal. Instead, share information in a concrete and visible way, that will make it easy for the customer to see the value themselves.
Help the customer to clearly see the value, and you’ll accomplish two things:
You’ll deliver a better customer experience.
You’ll improve customer loyalty.
And yes, you’ll increase top line revenue.
To upsell well, share information with your customer to help them clearly see how they can receive more value.