I got upsold yesterday, and I liked it.
Our dishwasher has been broken for a couple of weeks. Not BROKEN broken, just broken ENOUGH that it doesn’t get things clean the first time, so we’re forced to re-wash every load. 🍽 Yes, we’re too lazy to just wash the dishes by hand #aintnobodygottimeforthat.
But I digress.
The dishwasher was broken, and it’s still under warranty (past experience with dishwashers has taught us to always get the extended warranty. – ALWAYS) so we called the appliance repair company.
It only took them two weeks to send a repair tech 😑 so we were pretty dang excited when said repair tech arrived at our door yesterday. He did his thing, fixed the dishwasher 😇🙌 and just as I thought he was getting ready to leave …
“You know ma’am, we have a special going on right now. Because I’m here on site right now, I can clean any other appliances you may have for just $50, or any two for $80.”
❌❌❌❌❌❌
Now, there’s something you need to know about me. In general, I don’t really like being sold to. As a sales copywriter, I know all the lines. I’ve heard all the pitches. I recognize all the pre-frames and emotional appeals. So I immediately started to shut down and mentally prepared my “Thanks for coming, but no thanks” farewell line.
And that’s when he whipped out his cell phone and showed me my refrigerator coils. 😱
He had done his homework. Before he even pitched the extra service to me, he had taken the time to actually get down on my kitchen floor and take a photo of my refrigerator coils. And trust me, if anything ever needed to be cleaned, it was those coils.
As I stared in disgust 😬 at the fuzzy dust bunnies frolicking in the underbelly of the appliance that keeps our food from salmonella and e-coli, he explained that clean appliances not only protect the life of the appliance, but run longer and prevent house 🔥 fires.
He had me. I told him, “GO FOR IT!” and ended up with a very clean under-fridge AND clothes dryer.
I was happy to pay him for this extra service because A) I hate appliance shopping, so the longer what I have lasts, the happier I am, B) I don’t want my house to catch on fire, and C) I didn’t have the time or desire to do it myself.
Yep, he upsold this sales wise, skeptical consumer quite easily, and I was GLAD. Why?
He did his homework. He wasn’t just throwing out his sales script and rattling it off. He knew I needed and would benefit from this service because he’d done his market research – aka looked at the back/underside of my fridge. He also knew that as someone who purchases a warranty, I was interested in preserving the appliances I have. Oh, and also the whole house-catching-on-fire thing – nobody likes that. 😂
Here’s the point: selling doesn’t have to be sales-y! I believe this with all my heart because I help my clients do it every day. When you know and understand who your audience is and truly desire to help them, selling is SERVICE.
This is the type of messaging I help my clients with every day, and it WORKS. Just ask my client who, with the help of the amazing Facebook ads teams I work with …
🔥 Sold $1M in product in the five months helping people sleep better.
🔥 Is on target to sell $1M per MONTH in Q2 because their products help allergy sufferers and people with chemical sensitivities find relief in their own homes.
🔥 Reached 5.5 ROAS with a training program that effectively helps people get into real estate investing.
If you’re having trouble selling, ask yourself:
”Am I presenting my offer in a way that’s SERVING MY AUDIENCE – not myself?”
“Am I putting my offer in front of the RIGHT people?”
“Have I done my homework to know that this is what my audience REALLY needs?”
“Is my offer addressing the concerns and objections my audience has BEFORE they even realize them?”
Selling can be SERVICE. ❤️