Up selling | cross selling | Sales | Jobs

Cross selling or up selling is loosely defined as the sale of additional products or services to a customer. A good example of up selling is when you are buying a sofa, the sales person then looks to sell you insurance against damage for instance. The importance of cross selling or up selling for companies can be clearly seen particularly in the UK furniture industry where large retailers profits are derived from Insurance and Interest Free Credit agreements.

The importance of up selling in retail sales jobs cannot be under-stated and this applies right throughout the sales industry. For those in the B2B sector it is the relationships built with customers that ensures cross selling and provides the added benefit of a smaller supply chain. The benefits are often two-fold with suppliers able to offer better prices and convenience as the time taken in managing a supply chain with greater dependency on fewer sources affords more time to get it right.

Product knowledge amongst a sales team is very important when it comes to cross selling, and generally the greater the knowledge the easier it is to provide a solution. All sales jobs require an appreciation of this sales technique and most employers will provide training to assist in this. The importance of up selling can again be demonstrated by the adoption of differing structures to ensure the best take of additional products or services. Pre-Sales and After-Sales suggest that the relationships even amongst sales teams have evolved in maturing markets to enable businesses to maximise their potential.