Do You Want More Income With That?

DO YOU WANT MORE INCOME WITH THAT?

Most sales professionals and business owners make the mistake of denying their customers the opportunity to purchase a valuable add-on after they close the big deal for fear that they will risk losing the sale. “I’ll sell them more later,” they think. But they don’t.

In most cases, the customer is forgotten as soon as the purchase is done.

Not only does that attitude rob you of massive potential earnings, it also denies your customer the opportunity and the convenience of making a more satisfying purchase.

Research shows that your customers or clients feel most positive about you immediately after you close the sale.

This is why McDonald’s asks us if we want fries with our hamburger. And why the checkout at Bed Bath & Beyond has two hundred little house ware items to catch your eye just before you swipe your debit card. It’s also why Amazon.com always shows you a list of products on the way to the online checkout. (With the ingenious headline: “Customers who bought what you are buying also bought…”)

This is why mailing list brokers place a premium on buyers who’ve recently bought, and why catalog companies ALWAYS include a flyer, brochure or catalog when they ship your product to you.

They know that buyers buy more.

To use this principle in your own business, think about items or services you can sell at the following moments…

Immediately after you close a sale, and

Immediately when you deliver your product or service

Take some time to think through the needs of your customers. Are there other products or services that would naturally complement what you offer?

* A website designer’s clients could benefit from search engine optimization, or print marketing materials that build brand recognition and complement the website.
* A pool builder’s customers need fences.
* A small business consultant's clients need retirement plans, access to credit, website development, marketing, bookkeeping, insurance and a host of other services.

IMPORTANT: This doesn’t mean you should distract yourself from your core business, or that you have to create a line of new products or services. Consider creating strategic alliances or joint ventures with other small business owners who complement what you do and will pay you for these referrals – pay you with a commission, mutual referrals or even a combination.

More importantly the point is, that by giving your clients the additional things they know they need and the luxury of saving time, everybody wins.