Identifying a Cross Sell Opportunity
Would you like fries with that? We’re sure you’ve heard that line before but did you know McDonald’s was creating a cross sell opportunity when they asked if you would like fries with your burger? Chances are you probably had no clue, but every time a burger joint offers you fries or a soda with your meal, they’re further capitalizing on a sale they’ve already made.
If you hadn’t noticed, they’re pretty successful with the cross sell. We eat a lot of fries in America.
What is a Cross Sell?
A cross sell is meant to offer products and services that serve as a natural complement to things we already planned on buying. The cross sell should feel like a natural addition to your purchase instead of a forced purchase. The more time you spend thinking about your products and services, the more likely you are to develop add-ons that make sense.
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- When you order burgers, you naturally want fries.
- When you order ice cream, you naturally want sprinkles or a cone.
- When you pay for business strategy coaching, you naturally want sales coaching to maximize the effectiveness of the strategy coaching you’ve already paid for.
Cross sells aim to maximize the value of your original purchase, not take away. They’re harder to sell on their own which is why they’re best when partnered with core offerings. Cross sell items aren’t meant to trick people, but to increase the value of your customers purchase along with your bottom line and profit margins.
Examples of a Cross Sale
Let’s look at a couple of examples of what common cross-sells looks like-
Ex 1 A mother of two pays a personal trainer to help her get in shape for the summer. The fitness trainer then partners with a vitamin shop & nutritionist to sell her supplements and healthy pre-made meals. This is a good example of a cross sell. Why?
Because the mom of two would most likely not pay for supplements and healthy meals if she wasn’t already paying for physical training. The personal trainer capitalized on a natural compliment to his services.
Ex 2 Tim walks into a Verizon store and buys the latest iPhone. Before Tim checks out, the cashier asks him to pick between three cases for his iPhone. Tim would never consider buying a case unless he purchased the iPhone. He eventually planned to buy a case to protect his investment, but since the retailer offered the case (using suggestive selling) he’ll likely purchase one before he leaves the store.
The case works as a perfect complementary cross sell.
Anytime an opportunity presents itself, you should try to offer a cross sell with your sale. After all, the worst that can happen is the customer says no.
Where Do These Fall In The Funnel?
Now that we’ve broken down up-sells, cross-sells and down-sells, the million-dollar question is where do these all fit in your sales funnel? Ready for the billion-dollar answer? ANYWHERE!
There isn’t a perfect spot in the funnel for an up-sell, down-sell, or cross-sell. It all depends on the funnel and your offers. If your core offer comes after four email exchanges, you should probably include downsells in the fifth, sixth and seventh emails. Think about the funnels you’ve been in, knowingly or unknowingly at the time. Do you remember when you were offered additional products and services? If you can remember, and they were successful, try to replicate them in your business.
The key to keep in mind as you craft your ancillary offers is that they are all reactional to something else. They’re reactional to someone purchasing an offer (offering an upsell or cross sell), or reactional to someone declining an offer (offering a downsell). These offers happen when they make sense during your unique sales cycle.
Going forward, try to recognize when someone is trying to upsell you, downsell you, or offer you a cross sell. Being able to identify these offers when they’re happening will help you create better offers for your own business.
Reactional Cross Selling
The last time you said no to an offer, were you offered an additional discount or extra value? The last time you bought something, were you immediately asked to upgrade or purchase something else? The answer to both of these questions are more than likely yes and both of these are reactional offers to an action you took or did not take. Help guide your customers’ decision-making process by appropriately reacting to their moves.
Below are three quick examples of reactional offers that have been proven to increase business revenue over time.
Ex 1 When you try to leave a website, you receive a pop up asking if you’re sure you want to leave that includes a new offer.
Ex 2 When you purchase a service that helps you build a course and shortly after you’re asked if you’d like to purchase a service that helps build your sales funnel driving people into your course.
Ex 3 When you show interest in a free coaching call but you’re not quite qualified to pay for thousands of dollars a month in coaching, you’re offered a self study, self paced course.
In each of these examples, the customers moves are met with counter offers to keep them in the sales cycle.
Next Steps
Start planning your product offerings with successive up-sells, down-sells and cross-sells. Your products should work without you to free up your time. The goal is to offer your time as a premium service, not an ancillary one.
If you’d like to know more about implementing your upsell, down sell or cross sells, just contact My Clone Solution for a free consultation today!
