It is a competitive world out there isn't it? Everyone searching for a new way to attract the customers over their competition. It gets harder and harder with each passing day to find something unique.
I just started working in a Sears call centre part time for the Christmas rush . I take catalog orders over the phone. I enjoy it because it is a great way to learn marketing and promotional tips. Sears is one of the biggest retail companies in the country. They are well known the world around for their quality products, long lasting warranties,fair prices, and friendly supportive staff.
During our calls, we have opportunities to upsell, cross sell, and promote various offers we have for our products and services. There is always an opportune time to inform your customer of something available that could be an added bonus to them or a loved ones life. All our callers are loyal customers who have been dealing with Sears for years. They know that they can rely on us to provide them with prompt delivery service, a reliable,useful or entertaining product,and courteous,understanding customer service.
Sears is the perfect company to model my own company ideas after. I hope to gain great insight into how I can become a reliable, well known name people will remember when they are looking to buy.
The following article I found goes with the theme of my thoughts on selling and the concerns therein.

The Art of UpSelling: Three Tips to Generate More Sales Effortlessly and 3 Ways
People Blow It
Copyright 2005 UpLevel Strategies

Here is the good news. The hardest sale you will ever make
to a customer is the first one. With the first sale, if you
deliver on your promise to the customer, you establish a
mutually-beneficial relationship. The customer gets what he
or she wants, and you get what you want. Also, once you
have received a "yes" commitment from a customer, it's
easier to continue the positive pattern of continued
"yeses". The customer finds it hard to break the
affirmative sequence. You then will have the opportunity
to Upsell them.

Upselling refers to when you help a customer decide to buy
a little extra or “up-grade” slightly the final purchase. A
car dealer, for example, might inform customers at the time
of ordering about upholstery protection and undercoating. A
shoe salesperson might suggest that when you buy a pair of
shoes that you also use some weather protectant spray.
These are usually small purchases that the buyer doesn’t
have to put a lot of thought into. The bonus is they can be
extremely profitable for you as the sales person and for
your organization.

Following are three key tips to effectively upsell your
customers.

1. Up-sell where it makes sense. Say a customer purchases
an e-book from your website. Instead of trying to upsell
your customer on a $3,000 seminar, ask if he'd considered
purchasing a $97 teleclass that teaches the work from the
e-book.

2. Use sales incentives. Once you've received the first
sale, offer a discount on the second item. Give the
customer a 10% discount off their first teleclass.
Sometimes a very small price break is enough to get that
extra sale.

3. Identify buying patterns. Take note of how many
customers who purchase e-books also buy teleseminars. This
kind of information tells you what items to pitch and when.
Your grasp of market research will impress potential buyers
as well: telling consumers that 90% of the people who buy
e-books from you also buy seminars might tip them towards
making that extra purchase.

The best part of upselling is that it’s practically
effortless. Since it’s done after the customer has decided
to go ahead with a major purchase, the hard part of the
sales conversation has already been done. You’ve already
established rapport, identified needs, summarized,
presented benefits, asked for the order and handled
objections. Upselling is just presenting the information in
a “by-the-way” assumptive manner.

Also, make sure that you include an upsale opportunity in
your autoresponder within your shopping cart. For example,
someone buys an e-book. In your autoresponder, thank them
for their purchase and ask them if they would like to
register for the teleclass on the same subject for a
discount.

So if it is so easy, you might be asking, how can I go
wrong?

The 3 biggest mistakes in upselling:

1. No attempt is made to upsell. I can hear it now as I
write this article. “I hate to sell”, “I don’t want to
bother people”, and the ever popular “They are probably
going to say no”. This upselling business might all sound
a bit contrived, but let me introduce another perspective
to look from assuming that you only provide top notch
products and services that can make your customers life
easier and more enjoyable.

If you had information or a product that could help people
improve the quality of their life, wouldn’t you actually be
doing a disservice to them to not offer it. You would
actually be withholding valuable information from them.
And here is the thing… they do have the right to say no.
AND you are in business. If you don’t offer or ‘sell’ your
services or products to prospects, you won’t have a
business much longer and then all the people who need you
won’t have access to you.

2. The salesperson comes across as being pushy. How can
you avoid this? Being assumptive is the key. You’ve got to
assume that the customer will naturally want your product
or service. Begin the upsell with a brief benefit, and then
if possible, add something unique about what you’re
selling. To avoid sounding pushy, particularly if the
upsell requires some elaboration, ask for the customer’s
permission to describe it.

3. The upselling is made in an unconvincing manner so the
customer generally refuses. This issue really links back
to the objects made in number one, which is you don’t feel
comfortable ‘selling’, so you don’t really make an effort.
If you believe in your products and services, let the buyer
see your passion. If you don’t…it is time to go back to
the drawing board.


----------------------------------------------------
Kelly K. O’Neil, Chief Strategy Officer, UpLevel Strategies
Business & Marketing guru Kelly O’Neil is passionate about
helping entrepreneurs succeed in business through her
Business Mastery Success System. She is the lead author of
“Visionary Women Inspiring the World: 12 Paths to Personal
Power” (Skyward, 2005) and is writing her second book
Guerilla Business Strategy with mega-marketing genius Jay
Conrad Levinson. Kelly’s company received several awards
for her exceptional work including the PR Compass award for
outstanding Public Relations, The ADDY Award for Branding
and recently received the Purple Cow Award acknowledging
her company as one of the Most Innovative Companies in
America by best-selling author Seth Godin.
For more information, or to subscribe to O'Neil's Arrive!
E-newsletter filled with countless tips and resources for
creating more profit in your business, visit
http://www.uplevelstrategies.com Please contact UpLevel
Strategies at (408) 615-8150 for a Complimentary 30 Minute
Strategy Session.

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