Article

Upsell And Downsell From A Soft Sell Perspective

Written by Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski

Topic: Marketing StrategyPublished February 13, 2008
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When fledgling marketers think about sales they generally see only one kind of sale — the firstnsale. And then they do what they can to get the next “first-sale.” So they are in a continuous, labornintensive push – to say nothing of the emotional strain. But there is a simple and profitable solution.

Upsell and downsell products are used to convert customers into repeat customers and looky-loo’s into first-time customers.”

If, as a Soft Sell marketer, you’re not using these strategies, you’re failing to persuade your customers and prospects to take the action they need to solve the problem(s) they face — to say nothing of the money you‘re leaving on the table.

After your customer makes a purchase, you invite your customers, through an upsell, to upgrade their purchase to another of your more in-depth products.

One objective is to increase your profit.

But using an upsell is not for the profit alone. Profits are important. But an upsell invites your customer deeper into a process that leads to a more effective solution to their need or conce

Look at it this way.

When someone has a problem, and they are looking for a product to solve it, you, as the marketer, cannot know exactly how far along they are. You cannot know the full extent of their need and their capacity to implement more advanced processes.

So, if you have something more to offer that you know does work, and you also know your customers have a need for more, your upsell is a perfect technique to increase your profits as you sincerely and legitimately fill your customers needs.

An effective downsell is used when your original offer is not accepted by your Internet prospect. As the prospect clicks way from the offer page, show them a downsell offer — them same product usually at a lower price with some of the features of the original offer removed.

You want to give the them same product because that’s what brought them to your page to begin with. But it’s a modified version at a lower price to bring them into your business environment and expose them to the value that you can provide them.

Once they click away, the are gone, and have missed out on what you offer that can actually help them.

The point here is to invite the reader into your sales funnel — your problem solving funnel – through the lower priced offer so that they become a customer.

If you have a product that can truly solve a particular problem, don’t let price be their reason for leaving. They need what you have, and it’s a dis-service to them if you don’t make the downsell offer.

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Article author

About the Author

Husband-and-wife psychology team and Internet marketers Judith Sherven, Ph.D. and Jim Sniechowski, Ph.D. pioneered a heart-based approach to Soft Sell Marketing. They’ve taken nthat approach into producing “Bridging Heart and Marketing” - their unique, first-time-ever Internet marketing conference dedicated to the specific needs of the Soft Sell marketing community - for whom the typical hard sell "hype" doesn't fit.
By Soft Sell they’re referring to all the personal growth, healing and life-enhancement providers who market services and products. Unlike typical hard sell tactics, Soft Sell Marketing reinforces a caring and trustworthy relationship between marketers and the prospects and customers they want to attract.

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