An excellent way to capitalize on your customers and possibly make a new sale is through cross selling. If you do it right, this way of selling can add value to your relationship with your customers. It could also increase revenue and build credibility.
Cross-selling is a way of selling a different service or product to a customer to increase your sales. Unlike upselling, that adds typically to the original item’s functionality and price, cross-selling lets you sell another item that is usually related to the current item being sold.
Below are some of the common cross-selling methods and the right time to do it.
Sell additional product
A way to cross-sell a customer is by offering another product. For instance, if you are selling a smart TV, you may try selling a soundbar that perfectly goes with it.
Bundling sale
Bundling sales is another way to make a cross-sell. You can typically see this on online selling platforms in their website’s section called “Frequently bought together.”
Bundling is done generally to a product that needs a particular item to work or be used properly. A good example is selling a manual coffee grinder. When you grind the coffee, you need a coffee dripper to make a drip coffee out of ground coffee beans. Selling a coffee grinder bundled with a coffee dripper is a wise idea to increase sales through cross-selling.
Making a suggestion
You can create an additional product or service suggestion by looking at your customer’s buying history. For instance, a regular customer in a pharmacy regularly buys calcium supplements. You may offer them vitamin D, that is known to help our body absorb calcium properly.
When is the right time to make a cross-sell?
The right timing to cross-sell is as essential, and sometimes more important than the initial sale. Wrong timing can ruin your relationship with the customer and may entirely nullify the original sale. Although, no rule says when is the best time to do it.
However, it would help if you remembered the main goal of cross-selling: to persuade your customer to buy an additional item or service that would complement the original purchase. They decide when the timing is right. To make it simple, the best time to do it is when your cross-selling will make sense.
Finally, cross-selling has tons of wrong time than the right time. It would be best if you decided when to do it. Some cross-sales are effective right after the customer makes a purchase, while others should be saved for later for a better outcome.
Why is cross-selling essential for you and your customer?
A business needs recurring revenue to grow. It would not be easy to forecast your business’ cash flow and make essential investments without money coming in regularly. However, finding new customers/clients is more challenging and expensive.
On the other hand, the customer will get another product or service that will support his original purchase. This would help them get the best experience in using the products you sold them.
This is why capitalizing on each sale that you make and continuously selling on your current customers is very important. Cross selling is one of the best ways to do this.
By taking a well-planned approach, giving the customer a positive experience, and proper timing, you can generate more revenue by doing this selling technique.
