Do You Want Fries With That?

How many times have we heard that question at our favorite fast-food or casual dining restaurant? Dozens, if not hundreds, of times, right? Here is what I love about that question being asked by a unsophisticated, minimum-wage worker, they are up selling you and me to a very profitable product to make their company more money. And they do it all day long!

What if your highly-paid, expertly-trained sales staff did the same thing with their clients every day? Allow me to answer that for you. Your revenue goes up significantly and your profits begin to soar.

Fries, Appetizers & Desserts are Fast Food Up Sells

Up selling needs to be a key part of your marketing strategy. If you are a manufacturer or selling B2B, your sales team must take full advantage of this tactic when there is money on the table for them to take. Your sellers need to be proactive and make the right kind of offer to your customers, but make sure it is delivered in the right way.

Simply put, upselling to a current customer is always easier and cheaper than trying to sell to a new one. And most importantly, they trust you to guide them in the right direction. You have already proven yourself to them. This is a classic Win-Win situation and you get more revenue and increased profits. 

At Maverick Marketing, we specialize in working with manufacturers and B2B companies in building a strong strategic plan that makes up selling a natural part of their sales process. So, what is the key to effective up selling as a manufacturer or B2B company?

There are three key components to effective up selling:

1.     Sales Funnel Design---Does your sales funnel incorporate steps for making additional sales at the time of sale and afterwards? Most B2B sales cycles are long because it takes time to build the mutual trust that is essential for a successful business relationship. It may not be wise to begin the upselling process with your top offer, so instead look for upselling opportunities for your clients that have less risk.

2.     Always Offer Great Value---The key to offering great value is to show them how your product or service solves a problem for them. Be a Solution to their problems. Show them you have their best interests at heart. If you focus on showing them maximum value, then you will gain your client’s trust and close more sales.

3.     Automation and Nurturing---The right tools can be used to automate aspects of your relationship-building and reveal customer’s true needs. The bigger your client base, the more automation you will need for this. We are not talking about a monthly company newsletter that no one reads. This is about appropriate nurturing through all the channels that are applicable for that customer. This ensures that lines of communication stay open and new opportunities can be presented at touch points along the way.

While there are more things you can do to improve your sales results, if you start with these three steps to increase the number of up sells your company makes from existing clients then you will be on your way to solid revenue growth.