How To Use UpSells To Increase Your PRACTICE INCOME

TYPICAL UPSELLS

You will have experienced upsells at many times in your life.

How many times have you been on the point of purchasing a product or service when the salesperson (or sales page on the website) has encouraged you to get the higher spec or upgraded version of the same product or service for a little more money? 

As an already committed customer, you are quite likely to be open to upsells. If promoted well, such offers can seem irresistible at the time.

Here's the typical salesperson upsell talk:

"We have special offer today. I am authorised to upgrade you to the superior service or package of services for a nominal amount more than the standard service you chose originally. Instead of having to pay two times more to move from our basic to our superior service, I can upgrade you right now for a very modest premium of XXX."

Good upsells will  acknowledge the prudent decision the customer or client has made and is about to sign off on. They then alert the customer to the fact that, since they've already decided they want a certain result, they probably would have an even greater appreciation for the superior result.

UPSELLS IN LIFE COACHING

Upsells are successfully used in most businesses to get an already committed customer to willingly part with a little more money for a product that has a higher profit margin.

So why not consider offering upsells in your life coaching practice?

Think of ways in which you can come up with a premium service offering for your clients.

Perhaps, for a small fee premium you can agree to take unlimited email questions from your clients between sessions. Or you can offer additional deep dive sessions on certain topics. Or you can offer additional printed material and motivational quotes as part of your coaching package.

Bronze, silver and gold coaching packages perhaps?

Use your creativity!

A WORD OF CAUTION

This warning refers to any business but you can apply it to whatever ideas you might come up with in your life coaching practice:

Upsells will backfire on you and breed resentment if your customers perceive them as crass 'bait-and-switch' strategies.

To avoid that pitfall, halt the upsell whenever a customer or client shows, by words, gesture or expressions, that they have serious reservations about upgrading. At that point, you should put them at ease and start talking again about the high value inherent in their first purchase choice.

In any form of selling, your first objective should be to remove prospect resistance. There are a number of hugely effective, ethical and non manipulative ways to do that.

Here are two:

Risk Reversal

Here, you (as seller) assume most or all the risk in a transaction and your customer assumes none of it. The textbook example of risk reversal is the 100% guarantee of a full refund with no questions asked. It's a wonderful way to sweep away buyer doubt or hesitation.

If you have full confidence in your ability to deliver results for your coaching clients why not offer a money back guarantee?

Two-Step Selling

Two-step selling removes client doubt and resistance. In Two-Step selling the first step involves offering your prospects something of clear value and benefit entirely free of charge.This gives the prospect a chance to assess your authenticity and credibility.

The freebie could be an information document, a voucher for a coaching session, whatever!

Both techniques – risk reversal and two-step selling – will establish you as a seller who can be trusted and one who is trying to add genuine value and benefit to a customer's life.

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