One of my clients recorded the best day in 22 weeks last Sunday because a new sales assistant - decided to focus only on this one thing she learned from Sell$mart. (She said she lacked the confidence to try all/more things.) It thought you (regular readers) might like to know the secret.

Before I tell you; here is why it is NOT a good idea to up-sell:

• Up-selling is poor retail practice.
• Customers love to buy but hate being sold to.
• They have trained themselves to recognise when they are being sold to, and will resist.
• Even if you succeed, they will not have enjoyed the experience, so you would have won the battle but lost the war.
• But most importantly it is the wrong thing to do because there is a better way that is proven to increase your average sale.

Always offer/ show/ include your most expensive item when you are in a sales situation.

In some situations (a retailer of billiard tables) increased the average sale by 81.8%, but even if not that spectacular, the best day in 22 weeks isn’t so bad either

I will spare you the psychology behind this, but suffice to say that if you always include your most expensive option, you obviously cannot ‘up-sell’.

Train your staff to always talk top-of-the line.

Have fun
Dennis
PS: I am on the road with News Ltd talking to newsagents all over the state so I won’t be able to respond to comments, but I would love to read your war stories in a few days – please comment.