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Think about this for a moment: You've spent countless hours dialing numbers, you've encountered dozens of hard nosed secretaries not to mentioned voice mail after voice mail after voice mail. But at some point you finally reach the decision maker, the person with the bucks, the one who spends. It was a tough haul but there he is, on the line.
A good deal of time and money was spent to get you that far. But here's the really sad part: The vast majority of sales reps are content with just that. They are content to make the sale or generate a lead. They leave it like that; mission accomplished.
On the surface it seems like a good scenario but what makes it regrettable is that after all the toil and trouble to reach the decision maker we do nothing more to leverage the moment. Here you are, finally, one to way, emano-emano with the decision maker and you do nothing more with it than make a sale!
The fact of the matter is this: you can do more. Virtually every call you make (or take) has added potential.It might be more revenue or it might be another opportunity such as a lead or a referral. Whatever the case, you need only to scratch the surface a bit and see what lies beneath. Over the next few issues, we are going to explore techniques on how to get more from every call you make or take.
How?
You can get more from your calls through a process called "Add On Selling." Add on selling is the process of leveraging a customer/prospect contact by generating additional revenues or by generating a marketing opportunity. That's the fancy definition. The not so fancy definition is that add on selling is a way to maximize every dialogue you have with a client; a way to grab and squeeze every single ounce of opportunity from an inbound or outbound call.
As the name implies, "add on selling" is something you ‘add' to a call or to a sale. It comes at the end of a call after the call objective has been completed. It is fast and easy to apply.
Why Bother?
If you add on sell regularly you can expect some interesting benefits. First of all, it doesn't take much time and it is easy to implement. Your learning curve is short. That makes it simple to use on a regular basis. That's a good thing. Next, expect the average value of a sale to increase. This means more revenues. You boss likes that. You might too especially if you are on commission. It means less work. If you can achieve your objectives without having to dial as much you save yourself time and hassle. This means less frustration and burnout. Add on selling typically pleases the customer when it is performed well. They see it as value added. Happy customers have a way of rewarding you. They give you referral, for example. Good referrals close at high rate: less time, more money. You get the picture. Trust me, the benefits are awesome.
Applications
You'll recognize the applications immediately so don't expect to be stunned. What is different about add on selling is that it is a systematic process that is applied in virtually every calling situation. Done correctly and professionally, it increases the value of the sale. Here are some applications:
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