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When you have a customer, you want them to spend money, right? You want to provide good service and products that they want. And that is where cross-selling skills can enhance the average spend of each customer.
Cross-selling is maximizing what you sell to every customer.
Effective cross-selling raises the per-customer purchase amounts, and it also helps you move inventory and expand your value to your customers.
Your customers must see the value of what you are trying to upsell as part of their purchase. It’s not only about dollars—it’s about creating a win-win for you and for your customer. Here are a few tips to maximize your revenue while increasing your value in the eyes of your customers:
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1. Watch Carefully and Ask Questions.
A customer usually walks into a smaller retail store with a fairly specific idea of what you carry and what they think they want. Observe what they look at and then walk away from—if something piqued their interest, it is reasonable to ask about it or mention something about the product. A good example of this would be in a hardware store that has thousands of items. A customer who seeks sprinkler tubing might also stop at the plant section. They aren’t ready to buy shrubs, yet, because the sprinklers need repair. But if you notice their interest, then now is the time to offer free delivery for purchases over a certain amount.
2. Enhance Your Standard Service.
Your franchise will have products and services that naturally complement each other. Every employee should know and practice each reasonable upsell for related products and services. To illustrate, my dog boarding service always asks if I want the dog bathed before I return from a trip. Now, my dog goes in clean, but after all the drool and shared doggy space, it is a welcome, upsold service that makes my return home much easier on me. Remember that you already have a person paid to be onsite, so the extra cost to provide this many services is nearly zero. Every penny of that upsell goes to profit. You can’t sell everything at once, but some things do go together very naturally.
3. Expand Your Basic Sale.
A classic example of this occurs in food franchises. It might not be the usual “would you like fries with that” question, but it could be! How about offering shrimp to a salad buyer or bacon to a burger eater—the few dollars you collect from one cross-sold “extra” pay for a big chunk of your inventory. I know I’ve spent more money than I planned because someone asked me if I have tried their amazing mud pie (or cheesecake or tiramisu). The power of suggestion is strong when you have a hungry customer looking for a meal.
4. Promote What You Need to Sell.
If you carry inventory, you will have times when you need to sell it before you have to discount it. Effectively merchandise what you need to sell and then offer a companion product. If your hair salon has way too much detangler that you want to sell, draw attention to it, and then also keep the wide-tooth combs nearby and suggest them to help smooth their locks when they use the first product. Whatever the item you need to sell, make it obvious and cross-sell a natural partner product.
5. Play Matchmaker.
You know which products go together. Someone who buys shoes might also need socks. A person who buys a birthday card might also need a gift bag or ribbons. Display like items together so that a customer can easily see how your suggestion makes sense (and is easy to say yes to). But be reasonable, too. Someone who comes to buy tires might agree to an oil change, but it probably won’t work the other way round because it’s a lot more than they had planned to spend. Add-ons are not meant to be the bigger purchase,
Whatever strategies you use, remember that your customers’ view of your business operation is very important.
Hard-sell tactics or illogical upselling will make them avoid your store. But if you make you cross-selling a good deal that makes sense for them, your customers will see the value that you provide. They get what they need, and that satisfaction is what keeps them coming back, and repeat customers (especially those who spend more) are the best kind to have.
Anne Daniells is a co-owner of Enterprising Solutions, a professional services firm specializing in corporate communication and financial improvement for businesses where she shares decades of corporate and entrepreneurial experience—including franchise ownership—in her writings on business culture. She has authored hundreds of articles for publications including AllBusiness.com, TweakYourBiz.com, and MSN.com. Reach out via her website for more on where corporate culture, communication, and human architecture collide.