Dear Tony,
I have a regular client who provides a steady stream of income for me each month. However, they are on the basic package and seem content to stay there. How do I get them to upgrade without being too pushy and losing a good source of income?
Whenever you want to upgrade or maximize a client, you have to always look at it from their perspective; I use the anachronym WIFFM – What’s in it for me?
Everything you deliver to them must communicate what’s in it for them, what will they get out of using it. What are the major benefits the extra services will help them achieve?
The best way to communicate this message succinctly and clearly is to explain how these extra services have benefited someone similar to them. A similar company or a company that faces the same challenges.
The company that I feel communicates this message the most effectively is Amazon and I have aptly named it ‘the Amazon technique’. Whenever you make a purchase on Amazon they very cleverly tell you other complementary products that they feel are right for you based on your purchase. As an example, whenever I buy a sales book, I end up buying a sales audio CD alongside it. The language they use is as follows: “Clients that buy A, really benefit from B and C, shall we add that to your order then?” So I recommend copying that language when trying to get a client to upgrade.
Another great example of this is McDonald’s. You go in to buy a burger and spend 79p and they say “would you like fries with that?” Every customer who says “oh go on then” probably adds another £7 billion to their bottom line. Equally, when you ask for a meal deal, they say “for ONLY 39p would you like to go large?” They cleverly upgrade a vast majority of their customers without losing them or coming across too pushy!!
