Creating Sales through Customer Service for Local Authorities

Overview

Open additional sales opportunities through Up- and Cross-selling

Upselling and cross-selling can be valuable skills, yet many customer service professionals are reluctant to add these skills to their repertoire because of the “stigma” associated with selling.

Both skills create higher value for you and your customers and staff will feel more confident selling when they understand how to demonstrate ‘adding value’.

Knowing how to ask the right questions, will gently open the door for greater opportunities, and will help your ‘buyers’ make a better buying decision, and become enthusiastic fans of your organisation and the great customer service that you provide.

Cross selling is about offering a complimentary product or service from the same category. Upselling is about offering upgrades to your customers that will improve their satisfaction with a purchase  Both are about informing the customer about other products or services that they may have otherwise been unaware of, whether it involves improved features, increased volume, an additional service or a more deluxe version of the product. While the ultimate aim is to increase average order value, you are offering true value for that additional expense.

Objectives

• Listen for upselling sales opportunities
• Gently probe for unspoken needs using open questions
• Know the importance of adding value
• Recognise and answer objections
• Confidently talk about additional services having developed a personal dialogue
• Propose customer valued solutions

• Organisation promotion – when customers are satisfied and happy with the service they have received, they are more likely to discuss it with their social network leading to direct publicity and increased popularity in your organisation
• Increased sales – more products and services are marketed creating more sales
• Increased business growth – extending your customer base as more people rave about your products and great customer service
• Motivated staff – customer satisfaction directly influences the working environment and successful staff become less pressured and more motivated
• Efficient workforce – highly skilled customer service professionals who are confident and happy in their work tend to become more efficient and productive

Content

• Selling and customer service – customer orientated sales
• Establishing what your customers need
• Know your customers
• Know your products and services
• Listening Skills
• Opportunities in what the customer says
• Questioning skills
• Keys to effective cross-selling and upselling
• Creating the opportunities
• How to add value
• Gently probing for needs
• Practicing your skills