Sales can be very difficult. One of simpler way to improve sales is to familiarize yourself with the simple concepts of up-selling. These concept can boost your sales significantly when put into practice well.

Up-selling is the practice of giving customers the option to buy an item that is slightly better than the one they are considering. To generate an up-sale, a salesperson may offer a more-expensive product, suggests an upgrade or convince the customer to purchase add-ons.

Upselling can help a business generate additional income when done properly. Best practices include:

  • Avoid recommending a product or service that is significantly more expensive than the product being purchased.
  • Don’t be too pushy or aggressive. Accept “no thank you” as a response.
  • Focus on the customer’s needs and how the value-added offer will help meet those needs.
  • Upsell when possible and appropriate so no opportunity is missed.
  • Offer side-by-side comparisons so the customer can see the value in the premium version.
  •  Educate the customer as part of the upsell so the customer understands the risk of not taking advantage of the offer.
  • Offer an in-the-moment-only discounted price to encourage the customer to make an immediate decision.

It is worth saying that up-selling is related to cross-selling. Cross-selling is the action or practice of selling an additional product or service to an existing customer. In practice, businesses define cross-selling in many different ways. Elements that might influence the definition might include the size of the business, the industry sector it operates within and the financial motivations of those required to define the term.

It’s easy to confuse cross-selling with upselling. Cross-selling involves offering the customer a related product or service, while upselling typically involves trading up to a better version of what’s being purchased.

To succeed at up-selling and cross selling, it is important to know your products and how they fit together, If you try to combine the wrong products, you risk turning customers off rather than convincing them to buy more. The specific needs of your clients may dictate exactly what products and services you try to add to the sale, so pay attention when speaking to clients. Offering the right combination of products and services to fill a genuine need makes it easier to sell more and gives customers personal attention. Perhaps the easiest, and most-often overlooked, way to produce an up-sell or cross sell is to simply ask for the sale. Ask the customer if they would be interested in adding a related item or upgrading their current one. Many will say no, but you may be surprised just how many positive responses you get.