Upselling and Cross-Selling

Selling to leadership is tough. Learn to speak finance, and everything changes. (This works for both B2B sales and internal pitches.) Speak the language of financial metrics and business impact, and you’ll earn buy-in. Whether you’re pitching a product, service, or internal idea, this skill makes you a trusted partner to decision-makers. Want to dive deeper? Download my free guide “10 Levels of Profitability” here: https://bit.ly/40pY3CQ Here’s why: Executives don’t want fluff. They need to know *how* your solution or proposal will impact their business financially. Here’s how to make your pitch resonate: 1️⃣ Talk Margins, Not Just Savings ↳ Show how your solution improves gross, operating, or net profit margins. Make it clear how it improves topline or streamlines processes to ultimately add value to the bottom line. 2️⃣ Connect to Cash Flow ↳ Highlight how your solution will boost cash flow, not just the bottom-line. Smart executives prioritize cash flow over simple revenue increases or cost savings because it keeps the business stable and flexible. 3️⃣ Show ROI and Payback Period ↳ Present clear numbers on return on investment (ROI) and how quickly they’ll see a payback. Executives need to know when their investment will yield results. 4️⃣ Impact Key Financial Ratios ↳ Explain how your proposal enhances key metrics like ROE (Return on Equity), ROA (Return on Assets), or EBITDA. This demonstrates that you understand their financial framework and how your solution strengthens it. 5️⃣ Talk Risk Management ↳ Show that you’ve considered potential downsides. Demonstrate how your proposal mitigates financial risk and supports long-term stability—not just quick gains. Why this matters: 1️⃣ You Stand Out ↳ Most sales pitches and internal proposals focus on benefits. When you speak in terms of financial strategy and impact, you differentiate yourself. 2️⃣ You Build Trust ↳ Speaking their language shows you understand their challenges, priorities, and goals. 3️⃣ You Become Indispensable ↳ When you can prove your solution impacts key business metrics, you shift from being just another vendor or team member to a trusted advisor. If you want to learn finance strategy to elevate your pitch and proposals, join 3,000 learning with me here: https://bit.ly/famcol Remember: Learn to speak finance, and you’ll open doors that most can’t. ♻️ 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 to help someone else. And follow Oana Labes, MBA, CPA for more  

2023 and 2024 have been the hardest years to sell in a long time. I've spent 18 months selling every day through it. Here's 11 tips I've learned about selling in bad economic conditions:    1. Building a business case is more powerful when you measure the cost of the status quo than when you measure the ROI of your product.     2. Understand the “need behind the need.” Keep peeling back the onion until you get to its core. The first few things customers share are always surface-level.     3. Agonize over how you phrase questions. “What are the ripple effects of X challenge on your business?” is far more powerful (and less salesy) than “how does that impact you?”     4. You can gain access to power by asking “who else is impacted by this challenge?” When your buyer answers, request that they be involved. This has a high hit-rate.     5. Test your champions. Do they get things done? If so, they’re not a champion. Give them “homework.”     6. Things are always changing. If you don’t stay on top of them, you’ll lose the deal. Start every call with “what’s changed since we last spoke?”     7. Social proof is so much more powerful when the customers you’re showing off are part of your buyer’s “tribe.”     8. You can’t treat discovery calls with inbound deals and outbound deals the same. You have to “earn the right” to discovery with outbound deals.     9. Sell the hell out of next steps. Don’t assume your buyer will show up just because they showed up to the first call. Sell the WHAT, the WHO, and the WHY of the next step you’re proposing.     10. If you’re having trouble quantifying a problem, try asking “what metric would solving this most improve?” Bingo.     11. The best questions you’ll ever ask aren’t pre-planned. They’re based on whatever the buyer just said. LISTEN.   What would you add? P.S. I've watched over 3,000 discovery call recordings in the last six years. Here's a free list of 39 of the best questions that sell: https://go.pclub.io/list

I've analyzed 10,000+ sales calls and discovered something shocking… Elite closers NEVER discount when asked, "Can I get a better price?" While most reps panic and immediately cave, the top 1% have a completely different playbook 👇 Instead, they have a systematic approach that PRESERVES margins while CLOSING more deals. When you're quick to discount, you communicate TWO things that DESTROY trust: 1️⃣ "YOU CAN'T TRUST ME". They'll think: "Why didn't they give me the best price initially?" This makes them suspicious of everything else you've said. 2️⃣ "MY PRODUCT ISN'T WORTH IT". You're telling them you don't believe in your own value. If YOU don't believe it, why should THEY? Before using any strategy, run the objection through my H.E.A.R.T. framework: - H-ear them: "Cari, I appreciate the ask." - E-laborate: "Help me understand why you're asking?" - A-side: “Aside from the pricing, is anything else giving you pause?" - R-eclarify value: "What did you like most about our solution?" - T-ransition: Now use one of these 5 strategies... ➡️STRATEGY #1. THE REDUCTION CLOSE "Let's review everything in your package and remove what's 'nice-to-have' versus 'must-have.' Then we'll recalculate." You're NOT giving a discount. You're reducing what they're buying. Most prospects realize they want everything and end up paying full price anyway. ➡️STRATEGY #2. THE SUBSTITUTE CLOSE "I know we discussed Option X. Another option is Y, it does things 1, 2, and 3 but doesn't have 4, 5, or 6. However, it's $XXX less." Again, NO discount. Just a lower-priced alternative that creates value comparison. When they see what they lose, they often stick with the premium solution. ➡️STRATEGY #3. THE UPSELL VALUE GIVE "I can't discount, but I CAN include Premium Support for 30 days. Normally reserved for our highest tier and costs 30% more." The magic? They often upgrade after experiencing the premium feature! This is my personal favorite with the highest conversion. ➡️STRATEGY #4. THE 3 OPTION CLOSE Present good/better/best options BEFORE the price objection happens. When they ask for a discount, guide them to the lower option. This makes THEM decide between features vs. price. Instead of YOU deciding between discount or no deal. ➡️STRATEGY #5. FLEXIBLE PAYMENT TERMS Instead of cutting price, adjust WHEN and HOW they pay: → Half now, half in 30 days → Payments over 3 months → Net-30 instead of Net-15 One Fortune 500 client increased close rates 32% with this approach alone. ➡️THE LAST RESORT: GIVE TO GET If you absolutely MUST discount, NEVER give without getting something in return: "I can do 10% off if we add 5 more licenses." OR "I can do 10% off if you introduce me to 5 other business owners who could use our solution." You're conditioning how you do business AND maximizing value. — Hey sales pros, want to handle objections better? Go here: https://lnkd.in/g-uJ7ECX

The shift from Customer Success to Account Management isn’t just a title change. It’s a complete mindset shift. Top organizations are walking a tightrope - realigning incentives, enabling their teams, and making tough calls on who truly fits this new hybrid role. Incentives? It’s not enough to say, “go sell more.” Comp plans need to strike the right balance between rewarding customer retention and driving revenue growth. Here’s what works: 1. Base + Variable: Maintain a stable base salary but introduce a variable component tied directly to upsell and expansion targets - typically 10-20% of total OTE. 2. Retention Bonus: Reward CSMs for renewals with a lower commission rate (2-3%) to maintain focus on customer success. 3. Expansion Accelerator: Upsells and cross-sells should have a higher commission rate (5-10%) to encourage revenue-generating behaviors. 4. Team Targets: Consider overlaying team-based bonuses to promote collaboration between CSMs and AEs on complex deals. The key? Make sure incentives don't push CSMs to prioritize revenue at the expense of customer trust. It’s a fine line. Enablement? It’s not just about product knowledge anymore. CSMs need: - Sales Training: Discovery skills, objection handling, and negotiation techniques. - Commercial Awareness: Understanding pricing structures, contract terms, and how to position upsell opportunities naturally during success calls. - Playbooks: Clear frameworks that outline when and how to introduce commercial discussions without derailing the customer relationship. And the hardest part? Tough calls. Not every CSM will thrive in this hybrid role. Some are natural relationship builders who shy away from sales. Others will embrace the challenge and flourish. The best orgs are upfront about this and are offering distinct career paths: - Customer Advocate Path: For CSMs who want to deepen relationships and focus solely on retention. - Commercial Growth Path: For those eager to take on upsell/expansion responsibilities and earn variable compensation tied to revenue. Balancing customer happiness with revenue growth isn’t easy. But when done right? It’s a force multiplier.

Partnerships have a honeymoon period. But you can't build a successful partnership strategy that way. A successful partnership strategy can't survive on starry-eyed excitement. It needs consistent tracking, review, and adjustment. Setting up a routine for regular partnership reviews helps ensure that every partner continues to contribute value and align with your goals. Here’s a straightforward guide to establishing an effective review cadence: DURING MONTHLY CHECK-INS: Monitor Engagement and Pipeline Health: - Partner Engagement: Are partners actively promoting your solutions? Monitor how frequently partners engage, share leads, or collaborate on content. - Pipeline Health: Review the current status of partner-sourced leads. Are they progressing through the pipeline or stalling? This provides a pulse on lead quality and pipeline velocity. (Pro Tip: Use CRM dashboards to quickly visualize monthly trends. A partner falling behind in engagement or lead generation can be flagged for extra support before the issue impacts quarterly goals.) DURING QUARTERLY CHECK-INS (Quarterly Business Reviews or QBRs): Assess KPIs and impact: - Revenue Contribution: Track revenue from partner-sourced leads. Are partners contributing to target revenue goals? Compare this against previous quarters to detect any patterns. - Deal Velocity: Examine the average time for partner-sourced deals to close. Faster deal cycles may indicate strong alignment with your audience, while slower cycles could highlight areas for enablement improvement. - Retention and Renewals: Review retention rates for customers acquired through each partner. Higher retention often suggests the partner is bringing well-aligned, high-value leads. (Pro Tip: Share a summary of the QBR data with the broader team and executives. Keeping everyone informed boosts alignment across departments and reinforces the value of your partnerships.) DURING ANNUAL CHECK-INS (Annual Pipeline Audit): Evaluate & adjust long-term strategy - Trend Analysis: Review metrics like partner-sourced revenue, pipeline growth, and retention over the year. Look for trends that show which partnerships delivered consistent value and which may need reevaluation. - Resource Allocation: Identify high-impact partners and consider how to deepen those relationships. This could mean exclusive training, co-marketing, or more dedicated support to further accelerate growth. - Forecasting and Goal Setting: Use annual metrics to set achievable targets for the coming year. Which partner types or industries contributed the most? (Pro Tip: Use insights from the annual audit to adjust your Ideal Partner Profile and refine your partner strategy. Trends from a full year’s data will guide resource allocation and pinpoint where to focus for maximum impact.) Anything you'd add?

Navigating Sales in an Uncertain Economy: The Power of Existing Customers A founder recently asked me a critical question: "When the pipeline looks dry, and the economy is turbulent for my industry, how should I navigate?" It’s a challenge many businesses face. In uncertain times, new customer acquisition slows, budgets tighten, and sales teams feel the pressure to generate fresh leads. However, the most effective strategy isn’t always looking outward—it’s strengthening existing customer relationships. A data from HubSpot highlights this: 72% of company revenue comes from existing customers, while only 28% comes from new ones. Yet, many businesses continue to prioritize acquisition over expansion. A Strategic Shift: From Hunting to Nurturing Instead of asking, “Where can I find new customers?” the right question is: “How can I help my existing customers sustain, grow, and navigate this phase?” Engaging with current customers provides critical insights into shifting industry trends, evolving needs, and new challenges. These conversations often reveal untapped opportunities for value creation, whether through: ✔ Cost optimization—helping them do more with less. ✔ Technology enhancements—offering solutions that improve efficiency. ✔ Revenue acceleration—identifying ways your product can drive business growth. A Case in Point During a market slowdown, one of our key customers—a well-established company in their industry—was struggling to acquire new business. Their growth had stalled, and they were losing deals to competitors that offered a more modern, tech-driven experience. Rather than focusing on immediate renewals, we sat down with their leadership team to understand the core issue. Through deeper discussions, we uncovered that their existing technology was outdated, making them less competitive. By integrating modern tech capabilities through our solution, we helped them close this gap. Within months, they were not only retaining existing clients but also winning new deals, putting them back on a growth trajectory. This didn’t just secure our relationship—it reinforced our position as a strategic partner rather than just a vendor. Go Deep, Not Just Wide Market turbulence is not the time to sell harder—it’s the time to engage smarter. Businesses that embed themselves in their customers’ success unlock long-term growth. 📌 Deepen engagement by identifying new use cases and challenges. 📌 Leverage customer insights to refine offerings and improve solutions. 📌 Encourage referrals—a warm introduction from an existing customer is far more effective than a cold outreach. Final Thought Sustainable growth is not just about expanding the pipeline—it’s about maximizing the value within it. The companies that thrive during downturns are those that prioritize relationships over transactions. How do you approach customer retention and expansion in uncertain times? Let’s discuss. 👇 #Sales #SaaS #RevenueGrowth #B2BSales #SalesStrategy

The Halo Effect is a quiet profit machine in ecommerce. It happens when one great product creates trust in your brand—and that trust makes customers buy other products. Ridge Wallet is a perfect example. They started with a sleek, minimalist wallet. It wasn’t just functional—it solved a real pain point: bulky pockets. Customers didn’t just love the wallet. They trusted the brand. That trust opened the door for Ridge to sell phone cases, backpacks, and key organizers. The Halo Effect turned one wallet into a multi-product empire. Amazon did the same with Prime. Fast shipping wasn’t just a perk. It made customers browse Amazon first for everything. The Halo Effect turned Prime’s $139 annual fee into billions of sales across unrelated categories. The data backs this up: → A study by McKinsey found that 70% of shoppers plan to participate in Amazon Prime Day 2019 because of their membership. → A HubSpot study showed that businesses that utilize cross-selling and upselling strategies see an average 10-30% increase in customer retention. You can build this into your ecommerce strategy: Start with one exceptional product. Overdeliver so customers associate your brand with quality. Use the trust you’ve earned to position and sell related products. The Halo Effect isn’t luck. It’s a strategy. Is your flagship product creating trust—or leaving it on the table?

I lost a client despite hitting all our metrics. Every number was up and to the right. Weekly calls were full of congratulations. Their Director of Marketing couldn't be happier. Then a new CMO arrived and replaced us with the agency she used at her last gig. At first, I felt blindsided. Then, I figured out what'd happened: We'd been optimizing for what mattered to the Director, not C-suite. After that loss last year ago, I realized something uncomfortable: once I signed a deal, I hardly checked in with executive stakeholders. Here's what we do differently now. When talking to C-suite, our team meets more regularly (monthly or every 90 days) to have direct conversations about what’s working and what’s not. For PE port-cos, I also make sure I align with operating partners re: how marketing spend drives toward their goals. The check-ins are simple, but powerful: • First 5-10 minutes: High-level updates on numbers and performance • Next 5-10 minutes: Asking specific open-ended questions • Final portion: Discussion of expansion opportunities Earlier this year, just by asking those specific open-ended questions, a CMO mentioned their additional desires about channel expansion.  It led to a new SOW with an incremental $20K MRR.  And a new north star metric (incremental cost per purchase) to focus on.  Had I not checked in, I’d never have known. Bottom line: It’s easy to become complacent when you’re hitting KPIs. But if they’re not the ones that matter to the top stakeholder, you're just counting points in a game only a few people are watching.

Community banks control 57%+ of deposits in nearly 2,000 U.S. counties. Most people think community banks are losing ground everywhere. The data proves otherwise in rural America: This is structural market dominance across a significant portion of the country due to one word... Trust. You have built trust by playing the long game, investing in the relationship. When customers buy from you based on a complete value proposition, the difference is tangible. • Trusted customers bring 3-5x more deposits than rate-shopping customers. • They hold those deposits 40% longer on average. • Your cost of funds stays structurally lower without giving away margin across your entire book. The problem is that most banks treat trust as something they inherit, not something they actively scale. Traditional marketing feels like it betrays the relationship model. Billboards advertising rates feel desperate. Digital ads targeting demographics feel impersonal. So, most community banks under-invest entirely, relying on word-of-mouth. This cedes ground to competitors. Larger banks are actively marketing in these same markets, using sophisticated data to identify and target the exact households you've historically served. The Opportunity: Scale Trust with Data Data-driven marketing doesn't replace relationship banking; it scales it. You have the relationship. Data gives you the precision. Your transaction data reveals which households maintain significant balances at competing institutions. Instead of rate-bombing your entire market, you target those specific high-value households with relevant offers. For example, a farmer who uses you for equipment loans but banks elsewhere for operating capital is a known entity. Data helps you earn the rest of their business. Cross-sell becomes predictive rather than reactive. Retention campaigns focus on your most valuable relationships before they start shopping for alternatives. The result is a measurable balance sheet impact that reinforces trust, rather than compromising it. We’ve spent years solving this execution challenge for community banks. Our clients have generated $26 billion in balance sheet growth by treating marketing as a measurable balance sheet driver, not a brand exercise. The difference is our pay-for-performance model - we only get paid when actual accounts and balances are delivered. One client grew deposits by $497M with 87 basis points better cost of funds than their benchmark. Community banks already own local America's trust. The strategic question is whether you will use modern tools to defend and grow your rural dominance, or cede ground to larger competitors who are investing heavily in your markets. If you are leading a community bank with a strong rural presence and want to discuss how to defend and grow your deposit base in these markets, reach out to me. I will show you exactly how we are helping banks turn trust into measurable balance sheet impact.

One of the most misunderstood challenges in GovTech is cross-sell. It’s not procurement friction. It’s not product visibility. It’s trust—and who owns it. Most GovTech companies don’t have an institutional relationship with “the government.” They have a personal relationship with a specific buyer, champion, or department head. That trust is hard-earned, narrow, and contextual. It lives with a person, not a logo. Cross-sell breaks when vendors assume trust is transferable across departments. It isn’t. The fact that a procurement director trusts you doesn’t mean the CIO does. Or the budget office. Or the city attorney. Each has different risk tolerances, political exposure, and professional incentives. Even within the same organization, those networks barely overlap. So cross-sell becomes less about account expansion and more about relationship translation: Who is willing to make the introduction? Who will vouch for you when something goes wrong? Who is putting their own credibility on the line? The GovTech companies that succeed at cross-sell invest as much in connective tissue as they do in product. They map trust networks. They cultivate internal champions who can bridge silos. They treat credibility as a scarce, non-fungible asset. The uncomfortable truth: in GovTech, growth doesn’t compound automatically. Trust does—but only through people. That’s not a sales problem. It’s an institutional one.