Cross-selling is a selling technique which involves a company selling a product to a customer, then brings there attention to a product that can be used to compliment the one already purchased. A great example of this is with Amazon.com. You have probably noticed this when you add a product to your cart on Amazon, you see an offer below saying customers who bought x also bought y, or may we recommend the following add-ons.

Now, up-selling simply involves cross-selling items that obtain a higher profit margin or higher value. A company’s sales strategy should always involve cross-selling and up-selling to increase their sales revenue.

There are several ways to encourage customers to buy additional products:

• Responding to the customers needs – It is important when cross-selling that the agent the customer is talking to is friendly and easy to talk to. In the majority of cases, a customer agent is tied to a script which they have been trained to use, this can often be frustrating to the consumer. The agent has to be polite at all times, and answer every question fully and correctly. This makes cross-selling and up-selling easier, as the customer responds better to an agent they like.

• The agent’s knowledge of the product – A sales agent must be highly knowledgeable on the product range they are selling. This is very important. The agents have to be able to explain to the customer (with some conviction) why they need the product, and why they should pay more for it. Why should the customer buy x instead of y? They should know all this so that they can convince the customer and successfully cross-sell their products.

• The advantages of the product – Most of the time agents fail to fully explain to the customer the advantages of taking such an offer. It is important for the customer to be able to visualize how the product will be useful for them. Give them the best mental picture possible for the product you’re trying to cross-sell. A customer will tend to get excited when they can actually picture what it’s going to be like using the product. Once a customer knows what they are getting, you can then go in for the cross-sell or up-sell.

• The cross-sell and up-sell technique – After taking down customer details, talking about the main product, and the cross-sell and up-sell, the customer may tend to feel a little overwhelmed by all the information. If the customer rejects the cross-sell or up-sell, there’s a very good chance that they will reject the main offer all together. So to prevent this, talk about the main product first of all, and get them to buy that. Then take down the caller’s information before offering them the cross-sell/up-sell. This way they will be more incline to go in for everything.

InSO have great experience in selling, as we have the pulse of the audience, professionally trained staff, and we always exceed the client’s expectations on cross-selling campaigns. Call our team of experts now on 626 531 6080, or click here for a free quote for our offshore order taking services.