Coffee's for Closers

25Cross‐Selling and Upselling

‘An idea without a plan is a dream’.

—Larry Elder

Many people are not clear on the actual difference between ‘cross‐selling’ and ‘upselling’, and often think they are the same thing. One of the best examples of the difference would have been carried out on you at least once.

At McDonald's, you can be both upsold and cross‐sold in the same order.

‘For only 30p, would you like to go large on your drink?’ This is a perfect example of being upsold to. Very simply, the salesperson persuades you to spend more on the items you were looking to buy.

‘Would you like fries with that?’ This is a fine example of being cross‐sold a product that complements what you are buying.

I remember as a teenager going into Halfords to buy my first mountain bike. I had roughly £90 to spend that I saved up for about two years. I excitedly looked at all the bikes and wanted the coolest looking one with all the bright colours.

The salesman approached me and asked what I was looking for. I said, ‘I want a bike to go riding with my friends and it needs to look really cool’.

Ignoring my childish request, he asked where I would ride the bike. Unsure of the relevance, I said, ‘There's a forest behind where we live that has great jumps and dirt tracks to ride’. He asked if there was anywhere else I might end up taking the bike. I said, ‘My friends and I plan on going camping for weekends away and cycle in the new forest, as it's great and hilly’. He said, ‘Now I truly understand ...