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Everybody talks about Up-Selling, but here's and Idea...

by Just Jarius
14 replies
I was just brainstorming here and I had an idea. Its not anything revolutionary and it may have been discussed but I just want to see what you guys think about it.

I always hear people talking about up-selling, but sometimes that doesn't always work out to your advantage. A lot of times when you try to up-sell people they automatically think that you're just trying to squeeze more money out of them (which is somewhat true lol). This can cause people to become suspicious and weaken your perceived credibility. You might even end up losing the sale that you had originally thought you had!

But anyway, I said that to say that why don't you just offer what you want in the beginning and then "down-sell" ,so to speak, if it doesn't work out?? What I mean is instead of starting off with one service and trying to up-sell 5 more, start off with 6 as a special priced "Super Bundle". Show them what each individual service would cost so they could see what an incredible deal they would be getting. Tell them how each of the services is good on its own but the effect only multiplies when they are working together. Just really sell the price point and advantage of having all of the services working together.

However, let's say they don't want or can't afford all of the services for the bundle pricing. Now you can break them down and offer them individually for what seems like Peanuts! Of course all of the individual prices were "jacked up" a little to add to the value "special bundle", but also to give yourself some wiggle room to negotiate if they chose not to take advantage of the bundle. And you can tell them they can always get the other services later at the discounted price if they ordered today.

This method is all about building trust and perceived value. By working with the client on the price and being willing to break the services down to cater to them you're building a more personal relationship. They see you as trying to help them as opposed to just wanting their money.

Like I said this is just theory, but I think I'm going to test this out soon. Sorry for the long post, just thought I would share. Feel free to weigh in!
#idea #talks #upselling
  • Profile picture of the author mtnbiker50
    I happen to agree with you on that if you already have a foot in the door. The other side is to get your foot in is to give just one service for "free" or deep discount just to prove that you will be able to provide the other. and they might not see that they need the other service's at that point in time.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tracy411
      I read your post and love your emphasis on relationship and trust-building. As far as I am concerned, it is business is really based on relationships. I agree about that completely.

      I had one thought here though. I think it is possible that you could overwhelm a prospect if you hit them with too many options or service possibilities at once. This could particularly be true if the prospect is new to the concept of online marketing. Do you see what I mean?
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      • Profile picture of the author Just Jarius
        Originally Posted by Tracy411 View Post

        I read your post and love your emphasis on relationship and trust-building. As far as I am concerned, it is business is really based on relationships. I agree about that completely.

        I had one thought here though. I think it is possible that you could overwhelm a prospect if you hit them with too many options or service possibilities at once. This could particularly be true if the prospect is new to the concept of online marketing. Do you see what I mean?
        I see exactly what you mean and I agree. That's where "feeling out" your prospect would come into play, as well as engaging them and finding out what THEY need. After all, that's what we should be aiming to do. Giving them what they need and providing a valuable service, not just getting what we want .
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  • Profile picture of the author Morphius
    Originally Posted by Just Jarius View Post

    I was just brainstorming here and I had an idea. Its not anything revolutionary and it may have been discussed but I just want to see what you guys think about it.

    I always hear people talking about up-selling, but sometimes that doesn't always work out to your advantage. A lot of times when you try to up-sell people they automatically think that you're just trying to squeeze more money out of them (which is somewhat true lol). This can cause people to become suspicious and weaken your perceived credibility. You might even end up losing the sale that you had originally thought you had!

    But anyway, I said that to say that why don't you just offer what you want in the beginning and then "down-sell" ,so to speak, if it doesn't work out?? What I mean is instead of starting off with one service and trying to up-sell 5 more, start off with 6 as a special priced "Super Bundle". Show them what each individual service would cost so they could see what an incredible deal they would be getting. Tell them how each of the services is good on its own but the effect only multiplies when they are working together. Just really sell the price point and advantage of having all of the services working together.

    However, let's say they don't want or can't afford all of the services for the bundle pricing. Now you can break them down and offer them individually for what seems like Peanuts! Of course all of the individual prices were "jacked up" a little to add to the value "special bundle", but also to give yourself some wiggle room to negotiate if they chose not to take advantage of the bundle. And you can tell them they can always get the other services later at the discounted price if they ordered today.

    This method is all about building trust and perceived value. By working with the client on the price and being willing to break the services down to cater to them you're building a more personal relationship. They see you as trying to help them as opposed to just wanting their money.

    Like I said this is just theory, but I think I'm going to test this out soon. Sorry for the long post, just thought I would share. Feel free to weigh in!
    Interesting thought. Thanks for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author SShip
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author want2knowhow
      Originally Posted by Fruzzlies View Post

      I absolutely agree with you.

      I really dislike all the upsells that come along with products today. I would be one turned away from the product all together because the majority of the time, they don't say anything about the upsells or other products that are needed to make the original product work or work its best in their sales letter.

      To me, that's false advertising and holding back information.

      I think everyone should know right up front what they are looking to purchase without finding out after they make the purchase of the first part of the product.
      Exactly! Thank you for saying my total frustration for me! (lol--had to highlight what really bugs me!)
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    • Profile picture of the author Just Jarius
      Originally Posted by Fruzzlies View Post

      I absolutely agree with you.

      I really dislike all the upsells that come along with products today. I would be one turned away from the product all together because the majority of the time, they don't say anything about the upsells or other products that are needed to make the original product work or work its best in their sales letter. To me, that's false advertising and holding back information. I think everyone should know right up front what they are looking to purchase without finding out after they make the purchase of the first part of the product.
      Yup, my thoughts exactly!
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  • Profile picture of the author High Horsepower
    Originally Posted by Just Jarius View Post

    Like I said this is just theory, but I think I'm going to test this out soon. Sorry for the long post, just thought I would share. Feel free to weigh in!
    Theory it is, because it won't work. Been tested for decades by the brightest minds in the world. Upsells always work when the offer is a good match to the product or service that's offered.

    If you and I went head to head doing the exact opposite, I would have 3x more money than you.

    That's why Real Marketers test, test, test...
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    • Profile picture of the author LastWarrior
      Originally Posted by High Horsepower View Post

      Theory it is, because it won't work. Been tested for decades by the brightest minds in the world. Upsells always work when the offer is a good match to the product or service that's offered.

      If you and I went head to head doing the exact opposite, I would have 3x more money than you.

      That's why Real Marketers test, test, test...
      I would have explained it a tad different, but regardless, that reply saved me some typing. I, however, can't say it won't work because I never tried that, and I'm having good success starting from the basic and working up.

      LastWarrior
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    • Profile picture of the author Just Jarius
      Originally Posted by High Horsepower View Post

      Theory it is, because it won't work. Been tested for decades by the brightest minds in the world. Upsells always work when the offer is a good match to the product or service that's offered.

      If you and I went head to head doing the exact opposite, I would have 3x more money than you.

      That's why Real Marketers test, test, test...
      I never said that Upsells didn't work, I was just suggesting a possible alternative. I know that it needs to be tested, as does everything. Maybe you missed the part where I said "I think I'm going to test this out soon" . But I guess you've already tested it yourself since you know it doesn't work, thanks for the input!
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  • Profile picture of the author AdwordsMogul
    When you upsell you don'y just mention as many products as you can, hoping the customer buys.

    You go with things that provide better results if the client can afford it.

    Can a car work without a powerful sound system? Sure!

    Will the customer like the car even more if we upsell an extra subwoofer? Probably.

    Downselling can make you look desperate. It also reduces the perceived value of your offering.
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    "Those who can - DO IT. Those who can't, say it's impossible."
    Jean Paul a.k.a AdwordsMogul
    PHPDevelopers.net - Top of the range PHP developers

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  • Profile picture of the author AdwordsMogul
    Originally Posted by Just Jarius View Post

    ...
    This method is all about building trust and perceived value. By working with the client on the price and being willing to break the services down to cater to them you're building a more personal relationship. They see you as trying to help them as opposed to just wanting their money.
    ...
    !
    This shows something about how you perceive getting paid.

    Many people think that by charging less they're helping the customer. Nothing could be further from the truth.

    The less they pay, the less they value you or your services.

    This theory also underestimates business owner's greed and desire to cheat others. Many experienced business owners will take advantage of you in a blink of an eye.

    For some weird reason, the results you can provide become secondary to how successful you are perceived to be.
    Signature
    "Those who can - DO IT. Those who can't, say it's impossible."
    Jean Paul a.k.a AdwordsMogul
    PHPDevelopers.net - Top of the range PHP developers

    ⇉ Easy Link Saver - Are you tired of the pain of constantly searching for your affiliate links? ( Chrome extension - FREE )
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    • Profile picture of the author Just Jarius
      Originally Posted by AdwordsMogul View Post

      When you upsell you don'y just mention as many products as you can, hoping the customer buys.

      You go with things that provide better results if the client can afford it.

      Can a car work without a powerful sound system? Sure!

      Will the customer like the car even more if we upsell an extra subwoofer? Probably.

      Downselling can make you look desperate. It also reduces the perceived value of your offering.
      Originally Posted by AdwordsMogul View Post

      This shows something about how you perceive getting paid.

      Many people think that by charging less they're helping the customer. Nothing could be further from the truth.

      The less they pay, the less they value you or your services.

      This theory also underestimates business owner's greed and desire to cheat others. Many experienced business owners will take advantage of you in a blink of an eye.

      For some weird reason, the results you can provide become secondary to how successful you are perceived to be.
      I can see where you're coming from with these points. However, I also think that is not always the case. Building a relationship is a crucial part of the sales process and if the business owner truly feels like you are there to help them as opposed to just running off with their money, they are more receptive to working with you. It all boils down to the customer and your ability to read them. Are there greedy, superficial, a**holes out there...sure. You just have to be able to differentiate which ones are and act accordingly. People know value when they see it. If you present the VALUE correctly, of both you and your services, the price shouldn't be as much of a factor. Perception is one of the easiest things to influence if you do it correctly
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  • Profile picture of the author V Michael Santoro
    Great initial post and replies.

    I think being in Internet marketing we are inundated with new product launches and offers. The low entry price point "hooks" the prospect and then the up sells are there to provide the illusion of making it as easy as possible to achieve success with the least possible effort. Down selling is the way used to not only grab a quick sale but also to test the price points.

    Unfortunately, the truth does not increase sales but rather can eliminate them. Which would the average person respond to with their wallets, "Make $20 Million a month online while sipping Martinis on the beach for only 4 easy payments of $19.95" or "How to bust your butt online for 12 hours per day for pocket change until you build your online assets for only $79."

    People buy the "dream" and until our culture gets more realistic, this approach won't change.

    I think the issue is more with the dishonesty than with the hype and sales tactics. Too often the products just don't work even though customers do put in the hard work. In many cases, its not that the product is bad, but rather over saturation of a technique. It works for the product developer and then people wonder why it doesn't work when 5,000 customers try it all at once.

    With off line marketing there is an epidemic of people trying to sell online services without any real experience. There was even an article in the St. Pete Times warning local businesses that many online resources are only a weekend workshop ahead of them. Over half our clients were burned and we have to clean up the mess before we can even begin the project.

    With our off line marketing approach, we are honest. We do not sell. We allow them to buy. We show them where they're ranking and what they need to do to improve regardless of who they work with. We manage expectations and offer packages that achieve different goals, as opposed to trying to up sell the "good stuff." We do this based upon budget. It is well received because it is presented in a "consultative" manner instead of a sales pitch and builds trust. It also allows them to "try us" and then invest more when they feel more comfortable.

    I hope the trend is that honestly will sell, however I feel it may be a long way off until the general public wises up and stops buying the hype.

    Thanks,
    Vito
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    • Profile picture of the author Just Jarius
      Originally Posted by V Michael Santoro View Post

      Great initial post and replies.

      I think being in Internet marketing we are inundated with new product launches and offers. The low entry price point "hooks" the prospect and then the up sells are there to provide the illusion of making it as easy as possible to achieve success with the least possible effort. Down selling is the way used to not only grab a quick sale but also to test the price points.

      Unfortunately, the truth does not increase sales but rather can eliminate them. Which would the average person respond to with their wallets, "Make $20 Million a month online while sipping Martinis on the beach for only 4 easy payments of $19.95" or "How to bust your butt online for 12 hours per day for pocket change until you build your online assets for only $79."

      People buy the "dream" and until our culture gets more realistic, this approach won't change.

      I think the issue is more with the dishonesty than with the hype and sales tactics. Too often the products just don't work even though customers do put in the hard work. In many cases, its not that the product is bad, but rather over saturation of a technique. It works for the product developer and then people wonder why it doesn't work when 5,000 customers try it all at once.

      With off line marketing there is an epidemic of people trying to sell online services without any real experience. There was even an article in the St. Pete Times warning local businesses that many online resources are only a weekend workshop ahead of them. Over half our clients were burned and we have to clean up the mess before we can even begin the project.

      With our off line marketing approach, we are honest. We do not sell. We allow them to buy. We show them where they're ranking and what they need to do to improve regardless of who they work with. We manage expectations and offer packages that achieve different goals, as opposed to trying to up sell the "good stuff." We do this based upon budget. It is well received because it is presented in a "consultative" manner instead of a sales pitch and builds trust. It also allows them to "try us" and then invest more when they feel more comfortable.

      I hope the trend is that honestly will sell, however I feel it may be a long way off until the general public wises up and stops buying the hype.

      Thanks,
      Vito
      Great post Vito, thanks for sharing!
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