The Value of Sales Extensions

Published on January 2, 2003

Over the holidays, my family and I went to our usual vacation spot, the Marriott Aruba. This is the first year we went over the Christmas vacation and it was the busiest we have ever seen it. It was so crowded people started lining up at 5:00am waiting to reserve their pool and beach chairs. In an attempt to alleviate the situation and reduce the inconvenience, the Marriott seized the opportunity as a way to produce additional revenue by selling the huts. For $100 a day, you could pre-reserve your huts the day before. Included in the price are 7 bottles of water and two fruit platters.

We chose not to spend the $100, although it was quite tempting. However, even if we wanted to buy a hut, it would have been difficult as they were all sold out.

This is a clear illustration of finding additional opportunities in existing accounts and selling add on products and services. Look around. I bet in many of your accounts you do not have all of their business. There are opportunities all around you to generate incremental revenue. And these add-on sales are more profitable than the original sale you made to open the account. Why? Because you already have invested in the relationship. You don’t have to invest all that time again to crack open the account.

So, as you plan your goals for this year, make it a point to set a target for additional revenue from existing accounts. It will take a shorter amount of time to close, it will be more profitable, and the business is there to be had. Don’t leave those extra dollars on the table for your competitors to snatch up?

One more important thing! If you don’t go after the extra business, you invite your competition to come in and expose your existing business to competitive threats!

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