Wouldn’t you like to make a little extra with each sale you make without hiking your prices? It’s not a rhetorical question; all you need to do is up-sell each customer with a couple of small add-ons. If you can sell a customer one or two more items than they originally intended to buy, the benefits will add up fast—if you’re consistent, and smart.

The key to successfully selling an add-on is to make sure that the extra item you suggest is a natural extension of what your customer is already buying. It’s a matter of making sure you have presented every option to your customer—and that includes things they may not have thought of, or even knew about.

For example, if a customer is buying a banner for an outdoor event, suggest:

• Hanging hardware
• Extra grommet openings
• Reinforced corners
• A more durable grade of scrim vinyl
• Lamination

But be careful. There’s a fine line between up-selling and overselling.

• Up-selling, as described above, helps your customer buy the highest quality product(s) to meet their stated needs. Proper up-selling will create more satisfied customers—and more repeat customers.
   
• Overselling is the act of pushing the customer into buying something they don’t want, and for which they have no real need. This may generate occasional extra sales, but will always create resentment and dissatisfaction. And the long-term damage is that you get pegged as a too-aggressive salesman, someone to be avoided.

Once you have zeroed in on the way the item will be used, a good way to win the add-on sale is to simply suggest available options. The pitch should across more as customer service than as salesmanship. The key here is to know your customer. The more you understand your customer and what they do, the better you can meet his or her needs. It’s well worth the effort.