Why cross-selling and upselling shouldn’t be dirty words

We’ve all heard stories from disgruntled customers who feel they’ve been mis-sold a product or service. Mis-selling is negligent at best and deceptive at worst and should be avoided at all costs. Cross-selling and upselling have become slightly tarnished as a result – but when used correctly, Nigel Bishop, Group Sales Director at Liniar argues that they shouldn’t be seen as dirty words. These techniques can actually be used to help your customers by ensuring they receive a product or service that perfectly solves the problem(s) which brought them to you in the first place.

Customers may not fully understand the available options

Nigel explains: “Here’s a real-world example. A homeowner recently approached an installer requesting a window with fire escape capability. The installer took the request at face value and sold a standard casement, with no objections from the customer as she didn’t know of any other options available. The homeowner is now unhappy because she recently discovered that a French window would have been a much better option, giving her wider, easy access to her flat roof via the window.

“Okay, French windows cost a little more than casements. But, had the installer taken the time to better understand precisely what the customer wanted to achieve, he could easily have used his product knowledge and experience to make side-by-side comparisons, justify any additional costs, increase his profitability, and ensure the customer got exactly what was required. Win-win!”

Upselling is applicable at each stage of the supply chain

The fabricator-installer relationship is a crucial part of the supply chain with communication and collaboration being key. Both have a shared interest in capitalising on market opportunities as well as ensuring end-user satisfaction.

However, as it’s installers that are consumer-facing, they are the ones to get the flak if things don’t quite go to plan. By sharing insights, fabricators can help their installer customers exceed end-user expectations by ensuring window and door solutions are designed to deliver the best possible results – and that may mean encouraging the use of higher-end products.

Offering bespoke solutions

“If you genuinely believe a slightly more expensive option will add value and provide a better solution for the customer, explain, justify and recommend. The ball is then in their court, but by giving them a choice, you are seen as helpful and knowledgeable.”

Nigel concludes: “There are a number of ways you can make sure your sales team understands the benefits of upselling or cross-selling – for example you could host an open day event to demonstrate the different ways installers can offer upgraded products without the hard sell.

“By thinking differently and offering a bespoke solution, consumers will feel like they are getting something that no-one else has, delivering the ultimate in customer satisfaction – and as a consequence, rave reviews.”