When we discuss our services with prospective clients, we don’t upsell. Not ever.
For some time, I felt this was a matter of basic principle, that the practice of trying to bundle a second sale on top of a first one was simply abominable. I still think it’s wrong for our kind of service. But a few days ago, during a quick visit to our local Starbucks, I realized that the story is just a bit more complicated than it seemed.
I arrived at the counter knowing exactly what I wanted—the largest available dark roast, plus a pound of whole beans to take home. The delightful gent behind the counter did his best to sell me on what must surely have been the world’s best chocolate-covered pretzels. I commended him on his sales technique—he really made the pretzels sound quite irresistible—and asked how many other customers had called him on the upsell. He said something about a contest that might have been introduced to encourage counter staff to boost their sales, but insisted this was the first time anyone had asked him that question.
I told Karen the story, and her reaction left me with a slightly more nuanced view of upselling. She pointed out that it’s one thing to add an item to the final tab in an operation that generates large numbers of very small sales. It’s something else entirely to try to multiply a larger, more complex and purposeful sale.
For retail outlets, I still think upselling is a risky practice that will likely run its course once customers begin recognizing it as a standard, deliberate sales strategy, rather than a kind offer. And I’d be a very hard sell on the notion that what North American consumers need is one more package of chocolate-covered pretzels. (I know my calorie count that day was that much better without them.)
But there’s a difference between a commodity and a more strategic product or service like conference content. In every conversation with every client, we try to get at the reason a meeting is taking place, the purpose it’s supposed to serve, and the publishing format that will best support those objectives. If we can’t figure out why an organization would want us onsite, and if they can’t, either, we don’t expect them to hire us.
When clients hear that, they often look at us sideways, as if they’re waiting for the punch line. But that’s about as punchy as we get. When we do end up producing multiple publications for a single conference, it’s because that’s what the client needed, not because our account management team got overzealous.
That’s not to say that a more strategic sales approach is needed for a sale as simple as a cup of coffee, any more than a commoditized approach is right for conference content. Since my visit to Starbucks, I now realize that the rules aren’t quite as universal as I thought. I still don’t need the chocolate-covered pretzels, but I’m a bit more appreciative of the question when it’s artfully asked.