How Often Do You Upsell Your Clients?
You may know that I’m a big Apple fan. Whenever I buy a product from Apple I usually end up spending more money than I planned. They always have ways for me to upgrade what I’m buying.
Apple is very good at upselling me. They plan all their products and marketing around the upsell.
Why don’t we use the upsell more for print?
So often, I approach a printer for a price. I receive it. And that’s it.
At other times printing companies show me how I can reduce my costs by changing the specification.
But it is rare that anyone tries to upsell me.
There are loads of ways for customers to get more value from their print
Many of them needn’t cost very much. Here are some ideas:
Extra copies
Why not tell customers how little it would be to order a slightly larger print run.
Better paper stock
Customers often don’t realize that it can be very economical to choose a better paper, especially on a short-run product. You may be able to encourage them to go for a stock where you get a better deal. It’s also a great way to get rid of redundant stock.
Upgraded finishing
If you produce extra finishes in-house, upselling is a great opportunity to gain more usage of your equipment. Just because a client didn’t ask for a finish it doesn’t mean that they are not interested in it.
Personalized URLs
If you provide digital services, consider selling personalized URLs. There are plenty of studies to share with clients that show how response rates are typically much higher when they are used.
Guaranteed/timed delivery
On-time delivery can be vital for some jobs. Many customers are prepared to pay more to ensure that things turn up exactly when and where they are supposed to.
Whatever upsell path you choose, there is one important thing to remember.
Clients are much less price sensitive about upsells
Once they have chosen a supplier, a client is much less likely to price check add-ons. Upsells are the perfect opportunity to increase your profit margins.
Many printers apply a standard profit margin to the services they offer to a particular type of client. Upsells should have a different markup.
Here’s a challenge for you
Apply an upsell offer to every quote you produce over the next week. You may be surprised at the extra work you win (and the extra profits you make) as a result.
PS: If you’d like more ideas on how to engage with today’s buyers, download my free e-book "Ten Common Print Selling Errors and What To Do About Them" right now at http://profitableprintrelationships.com/e-book/ You’ll also receive my regular "Views from the print buyer" bulletin, full of ideas on how to sell print effectively.
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Many printing companies are frustrated how hard it is to engage buyers in today’s world. That’s where Matthew Parker can help. He is a gamekeeper turned poacher. Parker has bought print for more than 20 years and received over 1,400 print sales pitches. He now uses his buyer’s point of view to give practical advice to printers. He helps them engage with prospects and customers to create profitable relationships.
Download his free e-book, "Ten Common Print Selling Errors And What To Do About Them" and check out his recently launched book, "How To Succeed At Print Sales: Setting targets, planning the right activities and making sure goals are met."
