Upselling Techniques – An education presentation by Vincent Goode

We all send out quotations to our existing and prospective clients.  And I’m guessing you are all faced with competition when quoting because I’m also supposing your clients are asking at least two other suppliers to submit their quotation for the same job.

I spend quite a bit of time composing my printing quotations to ensure all bases are covered, and there is no ambiguous wording that could be misinterpreted or could come back to haunt me later on.

It’s best to get it all down from the outset.

I like the wording and descriptions of my printing quotations to be clear and concise, easy to read and understand. This not only gives my clients confidence, but also  the impression that I know what I’m talking about (which I do, some of the time).

Here are a couple of tips which could transform the effectiveness of your quoting strategy, which I would like to share with you, and hope you can adapt for your products and services when submitting your quotations and estimates.

Firstly we have to assume that your competitors are quoting for exactly what the client has asked for. That’s fair enough – they are just doing what they are told to. But you can use this to your advantage.

Let’s say I have been asked to quote for 500 business cards with the following specifications.

500 Business cards: Printed full colour 2 sides on 350gsm white silk with 2 sided matt lamination £50.00

Very efficient, but now is the time for you to make it more interesting and add a bit extra.

Matt laminated Business cards: 350gsm 500 £50.00 1000 £65.00
Soft touch laminated cards 350gsm 500 £60.00 1000 £75.00

The additional options are a good first step, but it can be even more effective if you show them as an add-on:

500 extra copies only £15.00
Upgrade to thick 450gsm board for just £10.00
Add a luxury feel with soft touch lamination, add £10.00

My client will see the value in the additional £15.00 to end up with 1000 cards instead of the 500 he asked for. After all, it’s only another £15.00 right? And the other quotes he received didn’t even give him this option.

Now I’ve added my first add-ons, we can go a step further:

If the client gives you the green light to proceed, it’s then a good time to reply with some more suggestions! Let’s say the client has told me needs business cards for an expo he is taking a table at. At this point I will email with the following:

Add a Rollerbanner for £79.00
Give visitors to your stand a gift, add 250 branded pens for £95.00
Make table look professional with a full colour printed and branded tablecloth £155.00

The reason to hold this add-on back until this point, is… now your customer has given you the go ahead, he has committed to you, he likes you, he likes what you are offering and is confident in your pricing. So when you add higher value options and related products, in all likelihood, he will not bother going back to the other two suppliers to see what their prices would be for these options.

Remember, you are providing a service and with that service, should come ideas and suggestions that your clients may not have previously considered. They will thank you for bringing these related and relevant options to their attention.

Think about the higher value items you can offer your clients with add-ons when quoting.

Think about giving your clients more value for a small amount more using strategic up-selling techniques.