The power of Suggestive Selling Techniques

For any retailer, increasing sales while elevating their customer experience is the top priority. But how can your sales associates balance pushing the sale without turning customers off?

The answer may lie in suggestive selling…

Suggestive selling is a powerful and incredibly effective way to do exactly that, gently nudging customers towards higher-value purchases (or more items purchased per transaction) that benefit both them and your business.

Suggestive selling is only effective when leveraged correctly. In this post, we’re going to take a look at proven suggestive selling techniques for retailers and how your staff can use them.

Let’s get started!

What is suggestive selling?

The psychological concept behind suggestive selling is that, if someone buys a product, they’re likely to be okay with purchasing cheaper, complimentary products along with it.

For example, if someone is buying a new tour bike, they’re likely to take a sales associate up their suggestion to buy a more comfortable seat to improve their ride.

16 suggestive selling techniques and examples –

There are a number of different suggestive selling techniques that you can use to increase sales for your retail business, both online and in-store. Let’s take a look at five of the most effective selling techniques you should implement immediately both in person and on your site.

1. Showcase complementary products together –

Framing different products as “perfect pairs” is an excellent way to increase add-on purchases that boost your purchase value. In fact, grouping items that are commonly bought together or naturally complement one another Example, think how Apple places a pair of headphones next to their phones and tablets in-store, it’s one of the top visual merchandising tips.

2. Welcome your customers –

Research shows that simply welcoming customers by saying “ hi ! is this your first time shopping here? ” can increase sales by 16%. That close-ended question helps you throughout the rest of the interaction.

3. Get the timing right –

You have to know the right time to cross-sell. Often, the best window comes when the customer has committed to buying a product and you’ve already spent time getting to know them.

For example, if someone is buying a dress and you know they’re wearing it to a casual event, then you can use cross-sell matching accessories.

4. Mention special sales and offers while up-selling-

Up-selling can be tricky; you don’t want the customer to think that you care more about closing a high sale than you do about finding the product that’s right for them, so tact is important here.

Let’s say that you sell kitchenware and you have a customer looking to purchase a new set of knives. They’re worried about pricing, so they’re looking at a Rs.300 set. If you mention that a far superior set is on sale for Rs.450 but is normally Rs.700, however, you’ll likely capture their attention.

5. Use customer reviews-

For eCommerce merchants, using customer reviews to make more sales is a must.

In a study, 90% of respondents said that reading positive online reviews positively influenced their decision to make a purchase but online reviews can be a double-edged sword. The same study found that 86% of respondents didn’t make a purchase based on negative online reviews.

Either positive or negative, online reviews are highly-influential social proof—a trustworthy testament to a product’s quality from unbiased sources.

6. Create bundles and buy-more-save-more opportunities-

Customers love to save money and feel like they’re getting more bang for their buck. Buy-more-save-more sales are a great way for retailers to use behavioral economics to their advantage and make a product’s cost seem less painful.

Retailers can also create product bundles and sell them for a lower price.

Example, Phone companies are notorious for using bundles to encourage customers to purchase a phone case, screen protector and car charger simultaneously.

7. Launch a customer rewards program-

Loyalty programs are a great way to nudge users to purchase more. If they’re getting some sort of incentive for doing so, it makes spending more a lot more appealing.

In many cases, loyalty programs offer points for every dollar spent, and after customers accumulate a large number of points, they can use it for a gift card or a free product.

8. Use personalized suggestions to your advantage-

Personalized suggestions are the most effective way to cross-sell and up-sell products and services.

Example If you were to own a plant nursery, for example, you’d likely have plenty of customers walking in and quickly becoming overwhelmed with all of the choices. Asking probing questions such as what look they’re going for, how much time and maintenance they’re willing to put in and what plants they already own is an important part of suggesting products and are actually a good fit.

9. Tell a story-

It’s been scientifically proven that our brains respond well to stories, so it’s a good idea to incorporate narratives into your sales practices. There are a couple of ways to do this:

Tell stories about your products

Got any interesting products in stock?

Tell your customers about them. Give them an inside look into the items they’re interested in, so they can have more info on the products they’re buying. Aside from helping shoppers make a more informed decision, telling a story behind each item makes them memorable and sets your products apart. So, don’t be afraid to share those tales when shoppers ask about an item. If you know the designer of a purse, for instance, why not tell the customer more about them?

Tell customer stories

People are more inclined to buy a product if they know that it’s worked for someone else. That’s why you should never shy away from sharing stories from other customers. Did your product help someone lose weight? Have you sold items that greatly improved another person’s quality of life?

Collect success stories from your customers and be ready to tell them when the opportunity comes up.

10. Do product demos and testing-

One of the best ways to sell a product is to show it action, or better yet, let the customer experience the item for themselves. You can do both by running product demos and testing stations in your store.

TOOD allows customers to taste their olive oils and vinegar products before buying, and this sets them apart from competitors who keep all their products in bottles and cases. TOOD’s products are inside dispensers with taps and there are small cups beside each one, so customers can pour themselves a sample.

11. Instill a sense of urgency and scarcity-

This one is a classic selling technique, but it’s still relevant today. Fear of missing out (also known as FOMO) is a real thing. When leveraged properly, you can use FOMO to drive sales.

Limited-time offers or scarcity promotions people to take action. Consider the following Examples.

Bath and Body Works has a “today only” promotion on its checkout counter.

12. Educate your customers-

Educational initiatives can do wonders for your sales. Teaching your customers something new not only positions you as an authority in your niche, it also builds trust, drives sales and inspires loyalty.

So, find ways to educate your customers. Hold classes or invite experts to your store to impart their knowledge. One example of a retailer doing this, The beauty retailer holds free makeup and skincare classes in its stores. The subject matter ranges from beginner topics (e.g., “Makeup 101,” skincare basics, etc.) to more advanced makeup tricks (e.g., contouring, eyelash wings, etc.). What’s great about classes is that in addition to getting people to stick around, they also pave a natural path to purchase.

13. Practice clienteling-

Clienteling is exactly what it sounds like: you treat people as clients and not just customers.

Associates use clienteling as a sales technique to develop long-term relationships with shoppers. It involves recording each shopper’s purchase history and keeping in touch with clients to further get to know them and drive repeat traffic and purchases.

14. Implement aspirational selling-

This selling technique is all about selling something that your customers aspire to have or become. Think of it as selling “the dream”.

for example, display images of your customers’ role models using or promoting your products. Take Ulta, which once had banners featuring a number of beauty influencers in its stores &  ensure that your sales associates have great-looking skin.

15. Align with your customers’ values-

Shoppers are much more likely to purchase from brands that share the same values. So, demonstrate your brand values and find ways to bring them to life in-store.

If you’re a company that promotes sustainability, for example, it makes sense to hire associates who deeply care about the environment. Why?

Simple: when you hire team members who share your (and your customers) values, they’ll be able to communicate, connect, and sell in the most authentic way.

16. Don’t overwhelm customers with too many options-

Whatever you do, don’t overwhelm a customer with too many suggestions; it could cause “choice overload”.

Example, where grocery shoppers were given the option to sample 24 different jams, while others were only offered six to sample. While the larger selection attracted more samplers, fewer actually made a purchase when compared to those who were offered a smaller selection. In fact, when offered less choice, sales were five times higher! When you reduce the number of products you suggest, it’s more likely that the customer will buy one of them and be more satisfied with their purchase as well.

Conclusion - Suggestive selling is a surefire way to increase your store’s sales without needing to break the bank on fancy tools or marketing campaigns. It all starts with how you merchandise your store; group related products together increase product awareness. The rest comes down to your sales associates being friendly, inquisitive and hyper-informed on the products they sell.

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