There’s a trend in Internet marketing to present buyers with what are known as “upsells” after they have ordered a product online.
It works like this. A buyer clicks on the Order button but instead of being taken directly to a place where they can enter their credit card details they are faced with a special ‘one-time’ offer. This is usually along the lines of “spend a bit more” and you’ll get a deluxe version of whatever it is you’ve just ordered.
This kind of upsell annoys me intensely. I feel cheated and lied to because the marketer has not told me the full facts on the main sales page. Only after I’ve clicked on the Order button do they present me with this new, improved offer.
In most cases, if I am presented with an upsell, I feel so infuriated that I decide not to purchase. In my head I’m thinking, “Why are you messing me around? I have just read your sales pitch and I’m ready to buy. So just let me buy!”
In fact, when I’m hit with an upsell I go from a ready-to-buy prospect, about to make a leap of trust, to an upset prospect who is unlikely to trust that marketer again.
Based on my own experience, and the opinions of other marketers whose views I respect, I believe that adding an upsell results in fewer sales than taking people straight to the order form.
I predict upsells will be a passing fad. It’s far better to be upfront with your prospects and tell them on your main sales page the sum total of what you are offering them.
As one smart marketer puts it, the job of your sales letter is to get the click to your order form. The job of your order form is to GET THE CASH. End of story. So don’t mess me around with upsells!