We were recently reading Daniel Pink’s book, To Sell is Human, and we came upon this excerpt:
“One of the most detestable words in the lexicon of sales is “up-selling.” You go to a sporting goods store for basic running shoes and the sales person tries to get you to buy the priciest pair on the shelf. You purchase a camera and the guy behind the counter presses you to buy a kit that’s on sale, accessories you don’t want, and an extended warranty you don’t need.
“Sadly, many traditional sales training programs still teach people to up-sell. But if they were smarter, they’d banish both the concept and the word – and replace it with a far friendlier and demonstrably more effective, alternative.
“Up-serve.
“Up-serving means doing more for the other person than he expects or you initially intended, taking the extra steps that transform a mundane interaction into a memorable experience. This simple move – from up-selling to up-serving – has the obvious advantage of being the right thing to do. But it also carries the hidden advantage of being extraordinarily effective.
“Anytime you are tempted to up-sell something, stop what you’re doing and Up-serve instead. Don’t try to increase what they can do for you. Elevate what you can do for them.”
Well, we think Daniel Pink is onto something, as he usually is, but we have a little different twist that we know, from experience, creates consistent sales results.
An Up-serve mentality all too often makes sales people feel as if they have to “win” business by doing and giving more so that the buyer will see “value” in them. While this is true to some extent, it’s a little lopsided. Sales people who buy into this belief often devalue their product or service and often themselves. When they don’t get the business, they lose their confidence because they believed they were in a one-down position and when they don’t get the sale, it just reinforces this belief.
We say, “UP-SOLVE.” What if sales people could really identify the core issues that our prospects and clients are facing, and actually solved their issues? What if they brought a bigger, better solution to the table? That would be valuable, right? That would elevate everyone to a place of win-win.
We see the truly great sales people do this all the time. It’s a better way to sell. Your clients win, you win, and you feel damn good about it, and yourself, along the way.
Happy Selling!
