Upselling is a powerful growth lever for Australian SMEs, but it’s easily undermined by aggressive or misleading tactics. In today’s market, customers value trust and transparency. Training your customer-facing teams to upsell ethically isn’t just about avoiding complaints; it’s about building long-term customer lifetime value and positive brand advocacy. We’ve seen businesses significantly increase revenue – and customer satisfaction – by focusing on genuine value-add conversations.
The key is shifting the mindset from ‘selling more’ to ‘helping customers get more’. Here’s how we recommend approaching training:
- Focus on Needs, Not Just Products: Train your team to deeply understand customer pain points and goals. Upselling should only occur when a product or service genuinely addresses an unstated need or improves the customer’s outcome. Role-playing scenarios are excellent for this – practice identifying needs *before* suggesting add-ons.
- Value-Based Language: Move away from features and focus on benefits. Instead of “This plan has more storage,” try “This plan will give you peace of mind knowing you won’t run out of space for your important files, allowing you to focus on growing your business.” We find this resonates far more effectively.
- Transparency is Paramount: Clearly explain the difference between the customer’s current selection and the upsell option. Highlight the *additional* value, not just the increased price. Avoid pressure tactics or creating a false sense of urgency.
- Empowerment to Say ‘No’: Your team needs to feel comfortable backing down if an upsell isn’t right for the customer. In fact, respecting a customer’s decision builds trust. Reward team members for prioritising customer needs over hitting sales targets.
Don’t treat this as a one-off event. Ongoing reinforcement is crucial. Regularly analyse customer feedback – are upsells being perceived positively? Use call recordings (with appropriate consent, of course) for coaching and identify areas for improvement. As customer expectations evolve, so too should your upselling approach. Looking ahead, we anticipate increased scrutiny on sales practices, making ethical upselling even more critical in 2026 and beyond.
To get started, audit your current sales scripts and training materials. Identify areas where the focus can shift from product pushing to value delivery. A small investment in ethical upselling training now will pay dividends in customer loyalty and sustainable revenue growth.
