Would You Like Fries With That? How To Harness The Power Of Cross-selling

“Would you like fries with that?” … Six simple words that when used correctly in your business, could be the single most effective concept you ever use to grow your revenue.

Obviously, we’re not all running burger bars and selling fries, but we DO all operate in businesses where you have opportunities to sell additional products and services that will be beneficial to your clients and complimentary to their main purchase.

While many business owners spend valuable time generating leads, they overlook the opportunity to get the most out of the leads and customers they already have.

Think of it like this … You paid a lot of money to get your customers to contact or visit you. Doesn’t it make sense to make the most of the money you’ve invested in acquiring those customers? Well now you can – by employing the concept of cross-selling.

First, let’s get clear on what cross-selling is. Cross-selling happens when you recommend an additional product or service over and above that which your customer is purchasing. Cross-selling is also known as suggestive selling or add-on selling. To work out the best items to recommend to your customer, ask yourself these questions:

• What else can you offer the customer to go with this purchase?
• What else could you offer that would add value and make the use of this product or service better?
• What else, when coupled with this product or service, would help your customers get the most out of it?, OR
• Write a list of popular sale items and then brainstorm a list of companion items you could sell with those products or services.

As will all savvy salesmanship scenarios, there are two important rules you need to keep in mind:

1. Only recommend products that complement the original product purchased. In other words, products that help the customer further enhance the results they’re looking for.

For instance, if you sell electrical appliances and a customer comes in to buy a stereo you’re not going to have a lot of success if you try and cross-sell a steam iron, are you? But if you suggest additional speakers, CDs, a DVD player or something similar, the customer is going to be a lot more receptive.

2. Don’t cross-sell a complimentary product that’s more expensive than the original product purchased. You’ll get better results if you ask the customer to spend just a little more rather than a significant amount more.

Remember – your salespeople are doing your customers a favour by going through the cross-selling process and making the recommendations that will deliver the best results for your clients. Plus – you’ll reap the rewards of a higher average transaction value. Everyone wins.