3 Upselling and Cross Selling Tips to Improve your SaaS Sales Process

What is upselling vs cross selling?

You may not realize it but you most likely encounter upselling and cross selling on a daily basis.  Upselling encourages customers to spend more money by buying an upgraded or premium version of a product being purchased. Cross selling is a close cousin sales technique that encourages clients to buy complementary or related products. 

Because of these two tactics, you rarely leave retail stores, like Target with only one item. While it may seem storefronts have a distinct advantage in selling to customers, SaaS Sales Teams can learn from these tactics too.

3 Upselling and Cross Selling Tips you can Learn from Target

1. Cross Selling via Product PlacementUpon entering any Target store, one of the first sections you will encounter is the “$5 and under” section.  More often than not, customers are willing to stop by this section just to see what cool and new items are available. Because everything in this area is low-cost, it is easy to throw a couple of $3 items in your basket and keep it going. 

While digital products do not have a physical storefront, you’ve seen similar experiences virtually with pop-ups or banners. Good product placement puts the product directly in front of your customers when they are in a buying mood. For SaaS Sales teams, this means sharing your latest product updates or company press on LinkedIn, Twitter, or over email.2. Upselling via F.O.M.O.The fear of missing out, abbreviated as F.O.M.O., can be used as an upselling tactic to appeal to your customer’s emotional buying patterns. 

When Target places items on sale, they say “Limited Availability” or “Clearance and can do so as quickly as two weeks after merchandise is released. Labeling it this aggressively communicated the necessity to buy this now because it might not be here later.

Creating a language that appeals to a customer’s F.O.M.O. is key to upselling digital products. Words like “upgrade today” create a sense of urgency, meaning customers are more drawn into making a purchase.  

In SaaS Sales, upselling via F.O.M.O.  can be accomplished by offering your customers an incentive if they upgrade in a time window or sign before an expiration date. By including an additional feature or digital item, you make it harder to resist their fear of missing out on a one-time offer.

3. Upselling via Demonstrating Best Practices Have you ever purchased a piece of equipment or furniture because you felt it would fit perfectly in your home only to find out after hours of putting it together that the item was not what you wanted? Yep, we have all been there. 

Storefront retailers like Target have made buying easier for their customers by displaying their items out of the box.  It’s like walking into a mini HGTV design episode - only you can feel, touch, and interact with the items.

So, how can digital products create this interactive and “out of the box” experience?  Instead of leaving customers guessing whether or not the upgrade is worth it, share product walkthroughs and tutorials to show off upgrade enhancements or new features. 

References:
‍https://www.bigcommerce.com/ecommerce-answers/what-difference-between-upselling-and-cross-selling/‍

‍https://www.shopify.com/blog/what-is-upselling