Up-selling is only acceptable if it benefits the customer. Up-selling only for the sake of increasing the profit will soon give the store a reputation of poor service and hard-nosed selling, which would discourage other customers. However, effective up-selling will enhance your reputation as a professional.

Often a customer visits a store with a preconceived idea of what they want. Their perception of the product is based on the model they own (if they are looking for a replacement), external information sources and various assumptions. The customer may have plenty of information but is it up to date and accurate? Quite simply 'we don't know what we don't know'. If your customer doesn't know what is available to them, they can't ask for it.

Creating interest

The secret of up-selling is in creating a level of interest about a higher specified product. Your role is to introduce your customers to the ideas they may not have previously considered, ideas that will spark their interest because it could potentially:

• save them time
• save them money
• deliver better results
• appeal to their personal needs and aspirations of wanting to own the latest technology or fashion. 

To do this successfully you need to know what would 'spark their interest'.

This can easily be identified by:

• asking relevant questions,
• putting suggestions to them
• picking up on the needs they have already revealed to you
• listening carefully for any piece of information, (no matter how small or large),  information that will give you a better understanding of needs they may have in the future.

Up-selling process

For example, a customer wants to buy a new lawn mower. His latest machine, now broken after 15 years of use, simply cut the grass and had a grass box for collecting the cuttings. When the salesperson approaches him, the customer is looking positively at a similar model. It is priced at £89 and he is happy to purchase it.

The salesperson can now do one of two things:

1. Process the transaction and thank the customer - great that was an easy sale.
2. Ask some questions that help him understand how the new mower will be used.

The conversation reveals to the salesperson that the customer wants two features to satisfy his two needs, an electric mower for ease of use, and a grass box to save time. Through the conversation he has discovered some additional ways he can help his customer. He takes the customer to an alternative model on display and explains:

1. "Considering the size of your garden, this model will save you time and effort. It is wider than the model priced at £89 so it won't take you as long to cut your lawn".
2. "As you can see it has grass combs that will cut close to the edge of your lawn. That will save you even more time, time you would normally spend trimming the edges".
3. "A quick adjustment here offers you ten height settings, seven more than on the model at £89. We all know how quickly grass grows in the summer so if you can cut it lower with this facility you won't have to cut it as often".
4. "Just feel how lightweight this machine is. Can you imagine how much easier it will be to use?"
5. The salesperson has also acknowledged his customer's age, which is approximately 66 years, and concluded that he would enjoy owning a model that would be easier to use in years to come.
6. Finally the salesperson says:

"You are getting all those benefits for just £30 more than the one you were looking at".

The customer could happily justify spending an additional £30 if this was going to make his life easier. If up-selling is executed correctly increased revenue and improved customer service go hand in hand.

For more information on Beyond The Box, and its range of services go to http://www.beyondthebox.co.uk/