Upselling in Retail

Upselling In RetailIf you have been in the retail game for any amount of time, you know that it can be difficult to sell a potential customer on your higher priced items. But as any business owner knows, selling just a few more, higher priced items can mean a lot for your profit margins. So as the sales person, it is your job to help challenge the buyer’s preconceived notions about what they are purchasing. In most cases, it’s not that buyers are inherently cheap.

Instead, it’s that they assume that all items are comparable in design and quality. They think a pair of shoes is a pair of shoes and a toaster is a toaster. It’s up to you to show them the fallacy of their thinking. It’s up to you to show them that the quality of the more expensive item is much better than the cheaper version. You are not trying to con a buyer into buying something they don’t need or buy a more expensive version of the item just to pad your bottom line, instead- the goal should be to really help the buyer see the value in the more expensive item. Most people, who have never purchased top quality products and are in the mindset that brand name doesn’t matter because all things are created equal. They simply don’t know that there is such thing as higher quality, better made products and yes, you will pay for them with a higher price but it’s usually worth it.

A Porsche didn’t become a Porsche by accident. And most wouldn’t say that a Porsche is comparable to a Ford Pinto or Suzuki Samarai- people pay for the Porsche name now because of the quality of the Porsche vehicle then. There are some pretty quick and easy ways to help your customer see the value of an item and start comparing the brand name to quality instead of cost. Here are some ideas:

· Understand your customers thought process. An easy way to understand why your customer is looking for the cheapest item in the store is to ask them why. There could be any number of reasons you customer is exhibiting what retail calls “low-end” buying habits. You can’t sell a customer on the benefits of something if you don’t understand their thought process. Ask questions. The information you learn will be important for your upselling approach.

· Help them understand that there really is such thing as good, better and best. They may be unaware of the features of the more expensive product that make them more expensive. Most customers run off logic and emotion. It is your job to tie both of those to the better product. Help them see the value of the product you are trying to sell. It’s better quality, it’s more confortable, it’s got more longevity, it will retain its value etc. Whatever the case is- use what you learned about your customer by asking questions and tie the solution to their perceived problem back to the item you are trying to upsell them.

· Believe it or not, sometimes customers want to be told what to do.

For some people, making buying decisions does not come naturally. If you can take the lead and help get them excited about the product, then it becomes a natural progression into you suggesting they purchase the more expensive item and the customer actually agreeing with you and saying yes. Luxury items are luxury items for a reason. Stand by their value and help your customer understand why they want the better product. If you can do that, you’ll find upselling isn’t hard at all.