Now this is kind of interesting – most marketers and entrepreneurs are in fact a little hazy about the difference between an up-sell and a cross-sell.
There is a power in clarity of language – it means we can think more clearly about the opportunities in front of us.
Napoleon Hill was fond of saying the most important of his ‘16 Laws Of Success’ was in fact ‘accurate thinking:’
The Ability To CLEARLY See The World As It Is.
Unfortunately there is no objective reality (The TV show ‘Brain Games’ is all about this very phenomena and how it affects us). The good and bad news is we can all create a more accurate view of the world.
So with our clearer understanding I hope this means that we can then find more opportunities to make more money, for what other reason is there to be in business?
Up-selling: Is the process of making a transaction larger. This can either be by selling what they are buying in a larger quantity, “Do ya wanna supersize that?” or adding on additional products and services “Do you want the extended warranty with your new chair?”
Cross selling is about creating new sales opportunities independent of their current transactions with you. If we go back to the supersize that example – it might be finding out when their kids have their birthday and putting together a marketing program to get them to have their birthday party at your restaurant.
With the person buying a chair – (that came to mind because I was at Officeworks to buy a new chair...) they attempted the up-sell and tried to get me on their database so they could spam me with newsletters. I’m sure they would make offers to me for desks, other office furniture probably consumer electronics – I need things to go with my chair, right?
Amazon are actually really good at this – after you place an order for a book with them, they recommend different books on the same topic.
In all of these instances they are clearly trying to create additional sales from the same customer based on what they have to sell that meets your established needs.
Successful up-selling means being more effective at the point of sale either better training staff or smarter set up of your shopping cart.
Cross selling means smart communication/marketing with your customers to create additional opportunities for them to buy from you.
Two ways to make more money have just been created when most people confuse them into one.
