Upselling to the Right Customer

By Matt Richart

By Matt Richart

Selling anything to a potential client can be very difficult. Especially if you are not comfortable with selling. Once you have your sales techniques down or have a great team of sales staff I highly recommend creating a blueprint for Upselling to your customer. I have learned over the years that once you can build trust along with developing a report you can upsell a lot of things to your client.

One of the major issues I faced when I created some upselling techniques was understanding how to identify the RIGHT customer to upsell. That is the main headline of this article. It’s very important to upsell a client who is happy with you, your services, your team, and most importantly your product. Once this is achieved you can start your upsell process. We all experience being upsold every day. Fast food restaurants ask If you want larger fries and drinks with your meal. Other sit-down restaurants ask if you want added drinks and desserts. Sometimes certain gas stations ask if you want to add a car wash to your fill-up and offer discounts for food based on the amount of gas you are putting into your vehicle. Many other examples of this can be found daily but I really enjoy upselling our clients. Especially when you get your techniques down to a science and you feel comfortable doing it. Understanding your clients needs also allows you to show the value of what you are upselling. Be sure you are preaching the benefits of the upsell and not the features. Another very important aspect of upselling is not to oversell. Let it become natural without being too pushy. Upselling techniques can be used in any industry but I love selling them in the graphic industry. Our company offers a maintenance program that allows our clients to come back to have their wrap washed, cleaned, and coatings applied after the installation is completed. This adds value to their purchase, increases our margins, and allows us to see our clients more often. Sometimes once a vehicle leaves your facility you may never see them again. Our sales team also upsells using different media, different laminate options, reflective overlays, and even rush charges on certain deadline projects. It’s very important to always create some sort of urgency with your sales. Let them know that the design, production, and installation can take time so it’s important to get everything approved so they can get on your schedule without having to pay a rush charge. You can also upsell by giving a discount on other products such as banners, signs, and decal kits, or utilize this discount on future products. Bundling products and other services you provide to show value is another great way to upsell. Just make sure you upsell that is relevant to their current purchase.

I have created 9 upsell techniques that we use in our shop every day to help our sales staff during the sales process.

1. Pitch a relevant upsell. If your client wants apples don’t sell them oranges. Sell them better apples!

2. Provide consistent value for your customers. Always strive for good product support and explain your warranty if you provide one. Try to educate your customers on the quality of the printers, media, and especially your installation process. It’s always good to give product updates or maybe a new film or application is available today that wasn’t available yesterday.

3. Find the customers who require your upsell. Some clients may only want a basic sign or wrap. Suggest a higher quality wrap, sign, or more coverage that may require more work but can be justified by increasing your pricing. It’s also wise to give your clients three pricing options. This allows them to pick and choose their budget without you appearing too pushy.

4. Be helpful and not sales-y. Most people don’t like being forced into a sales pitch or bugged consistently in regards to phone and emails. Make sure you tell your clients how a better product can benefit them

5. Try to offer a discount when applicable. We only offer discounts once a year on certain jobs that we have high margins on. Sometimes you can offer a discount on an upgrade they may choose like reflective overlays, paint protection film, and other services.

6. Create a feeling of urgency to get more sales that can turn into upselling opportunities. Maybe offer a holiday discount or find your slow times in your business to create a discount for your current or new clients. This shows loyalty to your existing clients while giving them a discount on products that they are already purchasing from you. During Covid times we used film shortage to create an urgency to lock them in.

7. Check if your client is happy before upselling. Sometimes we all have that one client that you can’t seem to make happy or they just have a negative personality every time you come in contact with them. These are the types of clients I don’t upsell to. You can also resolve their issues first before you attempt to upsell them.

8. Convince your clients with real-life examples. I know this is common sense but create some testimonials from your existing client base along with showing other work that fits their budget. You can also explain how the film, ink, laminate, and installation create durability and longevity for the product they are purchasing from you.

9. Constantly follow up with your customers. This is very hard for me to achieve at times.

I have to be totally honest. This is also very difficult when you are slammed and consumed with business. Try to follow up with phone calls and emails to confirm they are happy with their service, wrap, signage, or what you have provided to them. Sometimes you can upsell after a sale. Especially if you are hitting all these 9 steps consistently.

Like anything else in business once you get comfortable and have that confidence in your sales techniques you can upsell to almost anyone. Just identify who you are dealing with. Be true

and transparent with your communication. Build that trust and report with your client that will eventually make them your client for Life. Always remember that as long as you can show how this benefits them the upsell is easy!!!

Matt Richart Matt@digitalefxwraps.com Co-Owner/CFO, Digital EFX Wraps LLC. Instructor, Inside The Wrap Shop