Upselling to increase sales
Upselling is a sales strategy often considered by entrepreneurs and companies seeking to increase their sales.
Sometimes confused with cross sell or down sell, this additional sales technique has its own characteristics and mechanisms.
Before discovering how to upsell the right way, we'd like to take a look at its definition and why you should use it. We'll also present a few examples that we hope will give you the inspiration you need to implement your own upsell strategy.
What is upsell?
Definition
Upselling consists in offering a customer a service or product superior to the one initially chosen. This commercial offer increases the average shopping basket, thanks to the sale of products that enable the company to generate higher margins.
Added value can take the form of :
- greater comfort,
- better quality,
- faster results,
- greater safety or protection.
The French translation of upsell is vente incitative or montée en gamme.
Why upsell?
Upselling is an effective way of increasing sales more quickly and easily than if you had to convince new people to become customers. Even if only a small percentage of your customers accept your proposals, multiplied by the number of orders, this can represent a significant increase.
What's more, upselling gives you a competitive edge, as the extra margin can enable you to invest a little more than your competitors in customer acquisition.
7 examples of upselling
Whether in a physical outlet or online, the possibilities for upselling are limited only by your imagination!
Here are a few examples to inspire you:
- Example 1️⃣: in a restaurant, when the waiter suggests you take the large menu instead of the small menu for more choice and the integrated drink.
- Example 2️⃣: in a high-tech store, the sales assistant suggests a more recent model of telephone, but from the same range, which incorporates the latest technology.
- Example 3️⃣: when staying in a hotel, the front desk may offer an upgrade from the room booked, for an additional charge.
- Example 4️⃣: at a car dealership, the salesperson may offer you the option of adding options to the model of car you wish to buy, to make it a more premium version.
- Example 5️⃣: when buying an online training course, you are asked to pay extra for personalized coaching instead of group coaching.
- Example 6️⃣ : an extended warranty with dedicated customer support.
- Example 7️⃣ : for a software publisher, offering customers a more expensive subscription with more features.
Upsell, cross-sell, downsell: what are the differences?
Cross-selling is the practice of selling one or more products that complement the main product. This additional sale increases the average basket by making the customer spend more than he or she had planned.
Down-selling, as opposed to upselling, consists in offering a less expensive alternative to the product initially desired. It can be used to trigger a purchase if the salesperson perceives hesitation, which may well lead to abandonment of the product.
You can use these three complementary techniques to increase your company's sales.
This example illustrates the difference between the three concepts:
How to upsell? Our top tips
Tip 1: Provide real added value
Your customers won't be fooled by window-dressing or a nicely marketed offer whose sole purpose is to serve your interests.
If your upsell offer doesn't add real value for your customers, they'll realize it. Don't risk breaking their trust in you, or you'll lose them forever.
If you do everything you can to satisfy them, they'll naturally be willing to spend more. It's a win-win strategy!
Tip 2: Respond to your customers' needs
To make smart upsell offers, keep your customers' needs in mind and respond to them. The additional value you offer must be able to solve their problems, or help them achieve their goals.
The choice of the product you offer must respect a few criteria:
- have the same or a very similar function;
- be personalized according to profile (gender, age, passions, purchase history, etc.);
- be adapted to the customer's stage in the sales cycle.
To better understand your customers' needs, don't hesitate to practice active listening!
Tip no. 3: find the right moment
When to offer an upsell? We've identified 5 ideal moments to propose upselling to your customers. This list is by no means exhaustive.
For example, you can make an upsell offer :
- on the product sheet, to give customers the opportunity to select the most advanced versions ;
- before closing a sale, in the shopping cart or on the payment page, to push the upsell offer with the sales pitch;
- just after the sale, to offer upgrades in the purchase confirmation email;
- before the end of a free trial, to convince customers to upgrade to a paid version with more features;
- at the launch of a new product, which is more advanced and can make up for some of the initial product's minor shortcomings.
Tip 4: offer a reasonable and advantageous price differential
The price difference between the two products must not be too great to be accepted. Don't necessarily offer the top-of-the-range product, but the one just above it, at no more than 10-20% of the initially accepted price.
In addition to a reasonable difference, the ideal is for the new price-quality ratio to be more advantageous to trigger a purchase. For example
- a 500g packet of pasta costs €2.5,
- a 1 kg pack of pasta costs €3.25.
Tip 5: emphasize the arguments
More than just better value for money, you also need to emphasize the added value of buying this product.
Give your customers at least one good reason to spend more:
- find the right arguments ;
- list the benefits ;
- and add a few customer testimonials for social proof, which plays an important role in a customer's buying process.
Don't hesitate to anticipate your customers' objections to strengthen your sales pitch!
Tip no. 6: Use tools
To gather information on your prospects and customers, analyze it and then submit your offers to them, it's essential to be well-equipped.
Here are the most useful types of software:
- CRM software,
- marketing automation software
- an emailing solution,
💡 Tip: if you want to offer personalized upsell offers easily on your website, some platforms like Shopify are full of add-ons specialized in upsell, to easily create your offers.
Upselling, or the art of offering more value without reducing the value of the initial product
While it's important to emphasize the value of your upselling proposal, it's also important to avoid falling into the trap of undermining the original product.
In fact, your customer is likely to doubt the quality or effectiveness of the first product, and thus question the seriousness of your company. They may even feel offended at not having made the "right choice".
Be sure to segment your different offers, each of which should be of high quality and adapted to each type of customer or situation.
Article translated from French