ATD: Cross-Selling Is More Optimistic Than Realistic

 

 

 

September 23, 2015

by Mark Donnolo, Managing Partner, SalesGlobe

During a conversation the other day with the chief operating officer of a manufacturing company, the COO asked about cross-selling. “It’s so important to us,” he said. “How do other companies make it work?”

My answer was, “It’s more realistic than optimistic.” Cross-selling sounds perfect on paper; you’re already in front of the customer, why not sell him more stuff? But complications abound.

Here are a few of the challenges we see with cross-selling—and ways to make it a realistic possibility in your sales organization.

Optimistic Perceptions of Cross-Selling 

We can grow our business! Cross selling seems to hold the potential for greater growth in our customer base.

  • Opportunities are everywhere! White space mapping (by product and/or account) often shows low product penetration and an abundance of open opportunity to cross-sell.