Increase Profits by Up-selling

There's no need to think that up-selling is only for the food industry. The well known "would you like fries with that" method has proven successful for businesses of all kinds, especially online businesses where images dominate. Whether you offer a product or service, there is a profitable way to up-sell to current and potential clients.

If you're selling products there are a number of ways to increase your average sale by offering your customers well matched suggestions throughout the purchase process. A well known and successful online business that does this is Amazon. Whenever you search for a book, you will also receive a list of suggested books that are similar to the one you're looking for. It's not rare that you'll buy one of these books as well or choose one of them instead of the one you originally wanted. They even take it a step further and offer discounts if you pair your book with another suggested book as an incentive to get you to buy both.

You don't always have to up-sell with the same type of product though. Most online clothing stores will offer suggestions for jewelry, shoes and bags to go with the clothing you've chosen. You want to match your customers' purchases with complimentary items that are hard to refuse.  Don't forget to use images to your advantage because online shoppers are not likely to purchase something that they can't see a clear, detailed image of.

If you sell services like freelance writing, photography or web design you should also consider ways to up-sell your services. As a photographer you can offer individual photo prices or offer package deals like 20 photos for the price of 16 to encourage your customers to purchase more photos. You could also sell them frames or a CD with their digital photos so they can have them reprinted at another time. If you write blog posts for companies you could up-sell by suggesting that your customers buy articles for distribution at a discounted price.

Up-selling your products or services is the best way to increase your average sale. Taking the time to match your products carefully and thoughtfully, and by using high quality images and detailed descriptions you can drive your profit through the roof. It's a simple and proven method of driving success so it only makes sense to give it a try.