What is cross selling? A way to develop a better relationship with your customers while you both benefit from the sale.
What is cross selling? A way to develop a better relationship with your customers while you both benefit from the sale.What Is Cross Selling?
Cross selling is the practice of suggesting or selling a related product to a customer during a sale. Cross selling is also widely used with prospects before a sale has been completed.
Have you ever experienced cross selling in your personal life? Think about the last time your car insurance contract ended. When you adjusted your coverage with your insurance agent, did they ask you if you were interested in house, boat, renter’s, or even business insurance? That’s an ideal example of cross selling, because not only would they get additional sales, but you’d likely see the value of the cross sale in the discounts you’d receive by bundling your insurances.
Cross selling might be more prevalent in your life than you even realize. Do you use Amazon or similar websites? Any time you look at an item online, other similar products will be recommended to you on the very same page. Cross selling happens regularly in our lives.
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What Is Cross Selling Not About?
If you’re a salesperson, there is a lot you need to know about cross selling before putting it into practice. Cross selling is best accomplished with current customers or prospects about to close on a deal. It’s not something that one would use with new leads or individuals where a sales relationship has not been solidified.
Imagine this: A customer walks into an appliance store looking to purchase a new washing machine, as hers just broke. If the salesperson promised to show her washing machines so long as he also could educate her on refrigerators, it’s likely she would feel put off.
There’s also a significant element of risk when trying to sell a client on an additional product or service, regardless of relationship. It’s important to be sure that a customer can understand and see a significant value to the secondary product or service. If they do not, expect the sale to fall through.
Consider this scenario: You meet with your financial advisor to discuss the purchase of short-term CDs for your money. Instead, he leads the conversation into investing additional money into your retirement accounts, and your short term financial concerns are never addressed. Is it likely you’d invest your fluid money in the long-term accounts?
Why Should I Use Cross Selling?
Why cross sell? The actual question should be why aren’t we all cross selling? If your industry allows for you to sell multiple products to one customer without coming off as sleazy, take advantage of that opportunity. There are many reasons that cross selling is effective for both the salesperson and the customer.
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Salespeople will make more money if they practice cross selling. Also, if your customer makes the purchase, it means that he also understands the value he’s receiving in the cross sale. So if done correctly, both parties will benefit from the sale.
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Cross selling can bring about an unexpected sale. There’s no need to hard sell when cross selling. If a customer shows interest in the second product or service, they may go through with the sale, even though it wasn’t planned. If a customer shows no interest in the secondary offer, move on and close the original sale.
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Practicing cross selling can protect and develop the relationship between a client and a salesperson. If your client has bought various products or investments from you in the past that have worked out to his or her benefit, it’s likely they will return simply because they trust your opinion as the salesperson.
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What is cross selling in your opinion? Share any cross-selling tips with us in the comments section below!