Upselling
Verb
[uhp·sel·luhng]
Upselling is the act of persuading a customer who is already making a purchase to switch their lower tier choice for a more premium option.
Upselling is a common sales tactic in both B2C and B2B marketing. Upselling is similar to cross-selling, which is when a salesperson persuades a customer to add additional complementary products to their purchase.
In B2B SaaS, this might be a longer subscription, or a more premium package that offers additional features or add-ons. In partnerships, your ecosystem partners can upsell or cross-sell your SaaS product to their existing customers as an effective marketing technique. Upselling is particularly effective when two SaaS companies partner together to offer a more inclusive service package of their complementary products.
Example: Ecosystem partners can up the value of each customer by employing upselling and cross-selling tactics.
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The Ultimate Guide to Partnerships for Ecosystems in 2023
Noun
[saylz pipe·line]
A sales pipeline is a marketing model for understanding the steps and opportunities in a sales process. It is represented visually as a a vertical bar broken into the various different stages of the sales cycle. It is used to summarize through an easy to understand visual representation, all the deal opportunities available to a sales or partnerships manager. The sales pipeline is an important tool used to project revenue and determine leaks or bottlenecks in the sales process.
There are seven widely accepted steps in a sales pipeline: prospecting, lead qualification, meeting and demo, proposal, negotiations, closing the deal and retention.
Not to be confused with a sales funnel, the sales pipeline tracks data around deals, while the sales funnel focuses more specifically on leads. The two terms are often used interchangeably, though they represent distinct sets of data.
Example: A sales pipeline is a helpful tool within a sophisticated CRM that helps serve sales teams in growing revenue.
Noun
[sayls spiff]
A sales spiff is a sales performance incentive fund (often written with an extra "f"), which is a short-term incentive used to motivate sales representatives. Sales spiffs can incentivize sales rep engagement and help to meet immediate sales goals.
A sales spiff requires a set sales goal and an incentive, often a financial incentive or another kind of reward like prizes, recognition, or time off. A successful sales spiff requires a clear objective, a clear articulation of how reps will achieve the goal, a timeframe, a budget, and an incentive. When planning a sales spiff, consider the risk of sandbagging (when reps know a spiff is coming so they wait to close deals they could close earlier) and creating an overly competitive work environment (team spiffs rather than individual spiffs can help avoid this).
Example: Kristin was noticing a drop in new leads and sales rep engagement. She planned a sales spiff for her team wherein if they brought in 500 new leads by the end of the quarter, they each received a $500 bonus. The reps worked hard to meet the goal and were happy with their bonus cash.
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