Retail Blog

There are a million different ways to increase your sales margins, but few are as easy and effective as what sales types refer to as the “upsell.” If you don’t speak sales guru-ese and you’re wondering what an “upsell” is, it’s the practice of adding to a confirmed sale by pushing complementary services, add-ons, and extras. Basically, it’s the “Would you like fries with that?” approach to sales.

What’s so special about the upsell? Well, if you think about the effort and resources you must expend in order to achieve each sale, upsells rank among the very top tier in terms of low investment and high returns. With only minimal effort, upsells can exponentially increase your margin of profit on a transaction. That’s why they’re often regarded as the holy grail of retail.

Sounds great, right? But if you’ve ever made a concentrated effort to increase your upsells, you can probably attest to the fact that pulling this feat off can be a lot harder than it sounds. In a retail setting, there’s often a fine line to walk between pushing upsells aggressively and pushing your customers right out the door. If you come on too strong, you just might lose not only the opportunity to boost your profits with an upsell, but the original sale, as well.

So what’s the secret? In truth, there isn’t one. Each sale is unique, and it’s up to you to be able to read the situation and determine whether an upsell is a viable possibility. But if you’d like to devise a general strategy to help boost your company’s upsell ratio, here are some ideas to consider.

• Become a “needs” prospector. Whether you sell high-tech gadgets or lifestyle items, your buyers might not always know exactly what it is they’re in the market for. Learn how to dig deeper and ask the right kinds of questions. With a bit of practice as a “needs prospector,” you’ll uncover a treasure trove of upsell opportunities.

• Let buyers cry on your shoulder. Customers who have an urgent, pressing problem are looking for a comprehensive solution. Pay close attention when buyers are venting or blowing off steam. You might be able to offer a few appropriate add-ons or extras that will help solve their problems.

• Testimonials are worth their weight in gold. Everybody loves a good success story, right? If your customer is considering the basic version of an item, tell them about the triumphs another client achieved with the super-duper deluxe premium edition. This technique will work wonders with your “aspirational” buyers.

• There is such a thing as too much choice. If you’re going to offer an upsell option, narrow it down to one or two highly relevant selections. You don’t want to deluge your customer with options at the crucial last minute. If they’re the type that has difficulty making decisions, they might just walk away from the sale altogether.

• Know when to back down. No one likes being hit with relentless, overly aggressive upsell offers. In fact, a key part of an effective upsell strategy is learning how to accept a customer’s refusal graciously and respectfully.


Do you have an upsell strategy in place? What’s your favorite upsell technique? Tell us more in the comments.