HOW DO YOU KNOW if you have an amazing salesperson? There’s only one true measuring stick: the add-on sale. If your salesperson closes a ton of add-on sales, then they are a huge asset to your firm. If not, then you’ve got yourself a clerk.
No matter what your sales profile, the add-on sale takes less than three minutes. That’s a pretty small investment for what is the easiest, most missed, most overlooked opportunity in the business. And by the way, it’s also where the real profit lies.
There are three big opportunities to create add-on sales, and you see them almost every day:
Matching Add-On
This is nothing more than selling the customer an item that matches what they just purchased. If they bought a pair of diamond earrings, sell them the pendant that goes with it. If they’ve already got the pendant, sell them the bracelet … and on you go.
Step Up
This is essentially up-selling a customer to a larger or higher-quality piece, and thus raising the ticket price. If the customer wants to spend $3,000, you sell them for $6,000. If they want a 1/2-carat diamond, you sell them a 1-carat. You wind up doubling the amount they spend with you, and they leave happy, with a far more stunning piece than what they expected to buy.
Repair
The most missed opportunity of them all. The repair customer already trusts you, or they wouldn’t be coming to you to repair their jewelry. What’s more, they’ll be coming in twice: once to drop it off, and once to pick it up. You can show them anything in the store, and show them a different item both times. In my early years, the store I worked for used to change 3,000 watch batteries a year, and we showed every one of those customers a 1-carat diamond. Of those, 62 people waiting for a battery bought a diamond. We wouldn’t have made a single one of those sales if we hadn’t shot for the moon. The great part is, those who didn’t buy were wowed, and most came back later for something else. How many sales do you lose by not asking for the sale from those who trust you most?
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All three of these opportunities present an excellent chance for you to add exponentially to your sales volume, and they should not be squandered. Some great lead-in lines to introduce the add-on sale are “Let me show you what goes with this,” or “This would be the ultimate surprise,” or even simply “You’ll love this!” And with the holidays right around the corner, people are going to be buying for all their family and loved ones. What better opportunity could you have for add-on sales? Once you’ve closed the initial sale, all you have to do is ask, “How many others are on your list?” When they answer, they’re giving you permission to show them items for each person. And we all know jewelry makes an awesome gift for any family member.
Once you’ve mastered the art of the add-on sale, not only will your sales quota jump dramatically, but your firm will have happier, more loyal customers than ever. So what’s it going to be … salesperson, or clerky-lerky?
