The Upsell
[private].[/private]You have an amazing product. You will make tons of money, right? However, is there a way to maximize your profits and make more? Is one product enough?
One thing you need to know about human nature is that people want to stand out from the crowd. This, oddly enough, is a way to “fit in”, which is another basic human need. People want to be able to talk about the deal they got and how they got more for less. This is where upselling comes into the picture.
When you have a product, it is always wise to have some complimentary products to offer alongside. There’s always a way to sweeten the deal!
Think about it this way. When people click the “Buy Now” button, it is pretty safe to assume that they are interested in the offer and are very likely on their way to complete payment and become your customer. The key to the upsell is offering the additional products in a very non-intrusive way.
If you’re checkout process presents annoying or overbearing offers chances are customers will abandon your checkout page and leave you with nothing to show!
One of the best ways to add “upsell” offers is to customize your checkout page to include additional items where the customer can “check” or “uncheck” items to add to their order. This will take a bit of programming expertise but is quite easy to accomplish. You can spy on your competition or other well-established sites by going through their checkout process and seeing how they are incorporating “upsells.”
If you spot a checkout process you think is thorough or effective incorporate the ideas/strategies used into your own site.
Bundling
Here is an example of upselling known as bundling.
Let’s say you have written a number of eBooks and offer them all for sale on your website. If a customer purchases one eBook you can charge the regular price. However, you can offer the complete collection of your eBooks for an outstanding low price. It is hard to refuse ten eBooks (regular price $9.97 a piece) for the extremely low package price of $47.00.
Now, if you think about this type of offer, you will realize the genius behind it. Once you have written your eBooks, they are products that you can sell in unlimited quantities with no effort whatsoever on your part. When you sell them together and give your customers a “deal,” you are increasing your sales by improving the perceived value of your offer. You won’t run out of eBooks, that’s for sure! The only costs you’ll have to worry about when you sell larger eBook packages is the additional bandwidth, which should be a negligible cost of doing the additional business.
Upselling does not need to be complicated. Just keep it simple. After all, you know the customer already wants to purchase your product. The hard part is over! This means that you can go offer the upsell and assume the customer wants it. Just concentrate on creating a checkout process that is smooth and easy to complete. If your upsell disrupts the smooth flow of the checkout process it can have a negative effect on your sales.
Here are a few ideas that you can use to help you be successful in your upsell efforts:
Add-ons: These are the things that are extra and compliment the original purchase.
Make it relate: Make sure the upsell is closely related to the original product so the customer will be more inclined to take the offer.
Target those who have the money to spend: You have very likely priced your product for the average spender, but there are always those who have more money to burn or invest. The up-sell can be targeted to those customers who are willing to spend more to get more. This could be a deluxe version or an added coaching session or anything else you can think of.
OK, I have talked about benefits and increased value for the customer. I have discussed strategies to help you in your up-selling quest. Now it is time to talk about your approach. This is the “how”.
The Checkout page: This is the most common method of upselling. When the customer clicks on the “Buy Now” button, it takes them to checkout page where they will enter pertinent details regarding their purchase or confirm their order. This is the perfect place to offer upsells prior to forwarding the customer to your payment processor.
The thank you page: In addition to using your Thank You page for one time offers (OTO’s) you can also use it for upsells should you choose. By simply explaining that the purchase has been completed and providing the pertinent customer support information on this page, you can also add a section to your thank you page similar to a technique Amazon.com uses frequently . . . add a table featuring a few related products that says “Other customers who purchased this product were also interested in . . .”.
Sounds magical right? Try it!
One of the most common and well known upsells of all time is the famous phrase, “would you like fries with that?”.
Think along these lines when piecing together your upsells and you’ll be on the right track.
Remember, it’s about your customer. You must focus on what your customer needs and wants, not what you need or want or what you think your customer needs or wants. You want to sell to your customer for their benefit and when you do, you will always be able to sell with integrity.
