Six Success-Driven Cross-Selling and Upselling Strategies

Posted by Ishtiyaq Nabi

Cross-selling and upselling are certainly fundamental aspects of overall sales strategies that organizations formulate. Nobody can encounter the proven fact with a valid argument that organizations (irrespective of their nature or size) aim to sell as many offerings as possible. In fact, experts also want blue chip companies to pay due attention to cross-selling and upselling strategies that can furthermore pave way for enhanced organizational growth and expansion. Therefore, organizations need to follow trusted cross-selling and upselling strategies.

Before paying attention to success-driven cross-selling and upselling strategies, we would first recapitulate the meaning of cross-selling and upselling.

Cross-selling: This relates to selling an extra item to a customer in conjunction with the items that the customer has already purchased or purchasing.

Upselling: Upselling refers to convincing a customer to purchase an item of higher value than the one that the customer is intending to purchase.

Now, let’s start discussing six success-driven cross-selling and upselling strategies that organizations, looking forward to carving a niche in the competitive business world, must embrace.

Avoid close-ended questions: There is no denying to proven fact that experts of B2B telemarketing firms are quite adept in handling and managing various cross-selling and upselling strategies, but one thing they need to learn is they just need to avoid close-ended questions. A question like “would you like to purchase anything else” would certainly not help you in cross-selling and upselling. On the contrary, a statement like “let me tell you more about other offerings that can match your taste and specifications” would surely help you generate hot leads.

Cross-sell only one-fourth of the original: If your customer is interested in a car perfume or freshener, then do you think it would be a wise step by any chance to ask him/her to purchase a new car instead? Obviously not! You must know that cross-selling is basically related to the value(s) of original product. The findings of various research studies and surveys suggest that you should cross-sell only those products that are available at approximately one-fourth (1/4) of the price of original product(s) a customer is intending to purchase.

Limit the recommendations of upselling: If you aim to deliver top-tier lead generation services to your clients, then you need to understand that your cross-selling and upselling techniques follow this strategy during all sorts of situations and circumstances. If you would offer too many options to choose from while upselling or cross-selling, then it would consequently confuse your customers. Needless to mention that customers would not purchase anything in a confused state of mind, and therefore, you need to put limit on the recommendations you offer.

Pushing or compelling is a big no-no: Various industry experts and marketing strategists have talked about significance of maintaining distance with this unprofessional approach as this can actually cost you a prospective customer. Forcing a customer to purchase a specific product can even cause reputational damage to brands. Therefore, marketing professionals of expert B2B telemarketing should leave no stone unturned to convince a customer; however, during the course of time, they need to remain extra cautious about the thin line between convincing and compelling.

Never ignore customers’ preference: Cross-sell or upsell only those products that actually match the expectation, preference, choice, and need of your customer. If you are not paying attention to these crucial aspects and forcing a customer to invest more, then your efforts would not let you procure the outcomes you are striving for. On the other hand, by paying special attention to these factors before you start focusing on upselling and cross-selling functions, you can easily accomplish your marketing goals. Therefore, expert marketing professionals must never ignore customers’ preference.

Take support of data analytics: Data analytics are usually implemented by efficient lead generation services providers to analyze and predict the behavior of customers. This is a path-breaking technique that can help you develop insights into customers’ purchasing behavior using some of the information related to customers’ purchase history, investment habits, and so on. By making use of valuable customer insights and considering all those enriching data while formulating your marketing plans, you are certainly in a better position to make the most of your upselling and cross-selling strategies.

In a few words: A perfect blend of all the above mentioned strategies will not only help businesses leverage the benefits of B2B telemarketing, but would also help them enhance their organizational reputation rather competently.

Tags: b2b telemarketing lead generation services