Upselling services = up-valuing customers

What if you could increase your revenue on each move by selling add-on services that your customers will need and love? 

It's a win-win scenario.

Selling add-ons like packing, storage, decluttering, or valuation coverage not only ups your revenue but also gives customers a premium experience. 

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If you prefer to watch or listen, here’s a video of two former moving sales pros share how they generate more revenue via more services:

What is Upselling?

Upselling is a sales strategy that allows customers to opt for a more premium version of your services. For example, offering a cleaning or storage service along with a moving package to give the customer a more comprehensive service. This drives higher revenue for your business by increasing the average order value per move. 

How to Upsell?

Understand Your Customer's Needs

Start by understanding why your customer is moving and their challenges in the moving process. Being empathetic to their needs and concerns will help you tailor your services to address their specific pain points. For example, 

Offer Services Based on Their Customer Needs:

• Downsizing: Offer storage solutions.
• Tight Timeline: Provide expedited packing services.
• Past Bad Experience: Offer valuation coverage to ensure their items are protected.

A proactive sales team is the core of upselling, offering add-on services when the customers really need it. 

Types of Services to Offer:

• Packing / Unpacking
• Furniture Assembly / Disassembly
• Cleaning / Decluttering / Junk Removal
• Storage 
• Specialty Moving
• Valuation Coverage
• White Glove Service

How do you get started?

1. Select Complementary Services: Determine which additional services complement your core moving services. Common options include: storage, packing, furniture assembly, or decluttering.
2. Train Your Crews or Outsource: Ensure your staff is trained and equipped to handle the new services you plan to offer, or outsource to a trusted service partner.
3. Train Your Sales Team: Equip your sales team with the knowledge and skills to effectively offer these additional services to customers on every sales call. Ensure they understand how to identify opportunities for upselling during customer interactions.
4. Promote Your Services: Update your website, Google My Business page, marketing materials and social media profiles to reflect the new services. Make sure you create a separate page on your website for each new service you add, and optimize it for organic search in your locale. 

How do you scale once you’re ready?

5. Bundle Services: Create service bundles that combine moving with one or more of these complementary services. Offer these bundles at a discounted rate compared to purchasing each service individually to incentivize customers.
6. Automate Follow Up With Upsells: Set up an automated email after a customer books a move with you. In this email, include a list of other services you offer that they can add to their booking. Even if your sales and office team miss mentioning it, you cover it in the email.
7. Promote Add-Ons: Use your website, email marketing, and social media to promote these additional services to your customers.
8. Monitor Performance: Track which services are getting added on to jobs the most, and which ones are the least. Use this data to refine your service offerings, sales training and marketing.

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Here's a moving company who used automated emails to boost their upsell revenue:

Handling Objections to Other Services

Once you’ve already secured the move, it’s much easier to sell other services to the customer. However, you may face some resistance to the value of additional offerings so being prepared is necessary.  

Handling objections  requires empathy, thorough service knowledge, and simple communication. Here are three practical ways to handle resistance:

1. Listen to your customers: Be empathetic. Be upfront and ask questions like, “Why are they moving?” and “What are the challenges they’re facing for this move?” Recommend services to make the move smoother for your customer.

2. Highlight Value:  Emphasize the value of each service rather than its cost. Connect the service to a specific pain point the customer has mentioned. For example, if a customer asks,“Why are your packing charges so high”? 

Sample Response: “Our packers are professionals and well-trained with a no damage policy. But to be extra cautious, we are offering you valuation coverage in case of any accident outside our control.”

3. Be Transparent and Honest. Sell only what the customer needs. This will make them more receptive to your suggestions. Tell them when they don’t need an extra service if they are contemplating it. Being direct and honest will easily build trust so they are comfortable opting into the services they will need.

Tip: A great way to highlight your services is to record a video of your movers in action. For example, record a video of the kitchen being packed and loaded. When customers see your team’s skill, speed, and professionalism, it speaks louder than words and helps upsell services.

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Training Your Sales Team

In order to be successful at selling more than one service, it all comes down to the efficiency, consistency and promptness of your sales team. To effectively upsell, your sales team needs to be well-trained on offering services on every sales call or follow up. 

Focus on the following areas:

1. Service and Product Knowledge: Ensure your team has a thorough understanding of your services, including their value to the customer, benefits, and differences. 

2. Effective Communication Skills: Train your team to listen actively, ask the right questions, and articulate your services’ value propositions. 

3. Take a Customer-Centric Approach: Use role-playing to help your team match customer pain points with the appropriate services. This helps you simulate real-life sales calls that they can apply in a real scenario..  

4. Add your upselling training guidelines to your internal sales manual. If you don’t have one, you can download this free one here: The Modern Sales Playbook.

Overall, when customers notice you are asking more relevant and specific questions than your competitors, you already have a leg up in earning their trust. 

By mastering the art of upselling, you can significantly boost your revenue while providing a better moving experience for your customers.