Sales Loves MarketingThe most effective upselling techniques offer a customer a better version of what they already want, at the moment they can see why it is worth more. Upgrades, bundles and add-ons all work when they solve a real need. They stop working, and can break consumer law, when they rely on pressure, confusion or boxes the customer has to untick.
What is upselling?
Wikipedia defines upselling as a sales technique where a seller invites the customer to buy more expensive items, upgrades or add-ons to increase revenue. It can also simply mean showing a customer options they had not considered.
Typical upsells:
- A higher plan or tier with more features
- A larger size, more storage or a higher usage limit
- Premium support, faster delivery or an extended warranty
- More seats or licences for a growing team
What is the difference between upselling and cross-selling?
Upselling moves the customer to a better version of the same purchase. Cross-selling offers something else that goes with it.
| Upselling | Cross-selling | |
|---|---|---|
| What you offer | An upgraded version or add-on of the same product | A different, complementary product |
| Ecommerce example | A laptop with more memory | A laptop bag and mouse |
| SaaS example | Moving from the basic plan to the pro plan | Adding a separate reporting module |
| Goal | Higher value per purchase | More products per customer |
Most companies use both. For more on the second, read our cross-selling examples.
Which upselling techniques work best?
Tiered plans and good-better-best options
Offer two or three versions side by side, with the differences clearly listed, so customers can compare and pick the one that fits. Make the extra value of each step obvious: what problem does the higher tier solve?
Upgrades at the moment of need
The best time to upsell is when the customer runs into the limit the upgrade removes. In software, that is when they hit a usage cap, invite more users or try a feature on a higher plan. In ecommerce, it is on the product page or at checkout, when they are already choosing.
Customisation and add-ons
Let customers build the version they want, with small paid options such as extra storage, a personalised finish or premium materials. Each choice is a small upsell, and customers see it as making the product theirs.
Protection and service upgrades
Extended warranties, insurance, premium support and setup services are among the oldest upsells. They work for expensive purchases where a customer wants peace of mind. They also need clear terms about what is and is not covered.
Which cross-selling techniques work best?
"Frequently bought together" and recommendations
Show products that other customers often buy with the item in the cart. Amazon is the best-known example. In a 2003 paper in IEEE Internet Computing, Amazon engineers Greg Linden, Brent Smith and Jeremy York described its item-to-item collaborative filtering: rather than matching customers to similar customers, it finds items that are related because customers who buy one are unusually likely to buy the other. The journal's editorial board later named it the paper that best stood the test of time in its first 20 years, according to Amazon Science.
Bundles
Package complementary products at a lower price than buying each one separately. The customer gets a clear saving, and you sell more per order. Bundles also help introduce customers to products they would not have tried alone.
Follow-up offers
Not every cross-sell belongs at checkout. A well-timed email after delivery or onboarding, suggesting the next useful product, can work better than crowding the first purchase. Our guide to emails that build customer relationships has ideas.
How do you upsell in B2B and SaaS?
In B2B, upselling usually means expanding an existing account rather than adding one-off extras. Common upsells are higher plans, more seats, higher usage limits, add-on modules and premium support.
What works:
- Use the customer's own data. Show how close they are to a limit, or which feature on the next plan solves a problem they have raised.
- Let customer success lead. Account managers and customer success teams who know the customer's goals make upgrade suggestions that sound like advice, not a pitch.
- Time it with the customer's milestones. New hires, new teams, a successful project or a renewal are natural moments to review the plan.
- Tie the upgrade to a result. "This plan removes the manual export your team does every week" is stronger than a feature list.
See our guides to relationship selling and sales skills that build loyal customers.
Where does upselling cross the line?
An upsell should be a choice, not a trap.
- No pre-ticked boxes for extras. In the EU, the Consumer Rights Directive requires a trader to get the consumer's express consent to any extra payment. If the trader relies on default options the consumer has to reject, the consumer is entitled to a refund of that payment.
- No sneaking items into the cart. The US Federal Trade Commission's 2022 report on dark patterns names pre-checked boxes and sneaking unwanted products into online shopping carts among the tricks it targets, along with hiding part of the total price.
- No pressure or half-truths. Wikipedia's upselling article notes that pushing higher-cost items or add-ons can become unethical, and that too many offers make customers ignore them.
How do you build an upselling strategy?
- Start with customer needs. List the problems customers hit after buying, and match each one to an upgrade or complementary product.
- Choose the moment. Decide where each offer appears: product page, checkout, onboarding, a usage limit or a renewal call.
- Keep offers few and relevant. One or two well-chosen suggestions beat a page full of extras.
- Make the value clear. Explain in one sentence what the customer gets for the extra cost.
- Measure the right numbers. Track average order value, upgrade rate and revenue per customer, but also refunds, complaints and churn. An upsell that customers regret costs you more later.
Done well, upselling and cross-selling help customers get more from what they buy, and the extra revenue follows from that.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between upselling and cross-selling?
Upselling is offering a higher-end version, upgrade or add-on of the product the customer is already buying, such as a bigger plan. Cross-selling is offering a different, related product that goes with it, such as a case with a phone.
When is the best time to upsell?
When the customer has just seen value or is about to hit a limit. In ecommerce that is usually at the product page or checkout. In SaaS and B2B it is when a customer approaches a usage limit, adds team members, renews, or reaches a goal they bought the product for.
Is upselling ethical?
Yes, when the offer helps the customer and they choose it freely. It becomes a problem when it relies on pressure, confusing terms or default options. In the EU, extra paid options cannot be added through pre-ticked boxes, and the US FTC treats sneaking products into carts as a dark pattern.
How do you upsell in B2B or SaaS?
Most B2B upsells are plan upgrades, more seats, higher usage limits, add-on modules or premium support. They work best when account managers or customer success teams can show how the upgrade solves a problem the customer already has, using their own usage data.