The Sales Tactic that added $35M in Sales Ep 259

In a candid conversation, a successful gym owner shares a transformative sales experience that led to a dramatic increase in revenue. Initially struggling to sell supplements at his gym, the owner recounts a pivotal moment where an assumed close technique—offering customers a choice between options rather than asking if they wanted to purchase—resulted in a breakthrough sale. This approach not only improved his sales but also became a cornerstone strategy, allowing him to cover advertising costs with upsell profits and significantly boosting his business's overall profitability. He emphasizes the power of upselling to already trusting customers by presenting them with natural, either-or choices related to their existing purchases, a tactic that can be applied to various products and services.

• Speaker B introduces a highly successful sales tactic responsible for significant company revenue.
• The tactic is presented as a learned skill that can be taught to others.

Is the one sales tactic that has directly made over $35 million for my company. And I want to show you how I learned it.

This quote introduces the main topic of the conversation, a sales tactic that has proven to be very profitable. Speaker B expresses the desire to share the learning process behind this tactic.

• Speaker C outlines the podcast's focus areas: customer acquisition, value maximization, retention, and lessons from failures.
• The podcast is positioned as an educational resource for listeners.

Welcome to the game where we talk about how to get more customers, how to make more per customer, and how to keep them longer, and the many failures and lessons we have learned along the way. I hope you enjoy and subscribe.

Speaker C provides an overview of the podcast's themes, emphasizing the aim to assist listeners in improving various aspects of their business through shared experiences and advice.

• Speaker A shares a personal anecdote about encountering an old college acquaintance who was successfully running two supplement stores.
• This encounter leads to a realization and a new commitment to selling supplements at Speaker A's gym.

And he sits down next to me and he's like, oh, how's your gym? I heard you got a gym. And I was like, oh, you know, it's going well. I was like, trying to be cool. And he's like, yeah, I've got this supplement store for. And I was like, oh, that's awesome. He's like, well, I've got two locations there. I was like, oh, well, fancy you. And I said, well, what do you guys do, like a month? He says, I don't know. We do like 70, 80,000 a month. And I was like, in supplements? He was like, yeah.

Speaker A recounts the conversation that led to a moment of realization about the potential for selling supplements. This quote illustrates the initial interaction that sparked a change in Speaker A's business approach.

• Speaker A describes the initial struggle of introducing supplement sales at the gym.
• Despite commitment, clients were resistant, and Speaker A faced the challenge of unsold inventory.

And so when I came back, I was like 100% committed to selling supplements. I was like, I'm going to figure out how to do this. And every single client walk into my facility after I would sell them our service package, I was like, hey, buy these supplements, right? And they were like, no, I'm not going to. And it felt horrible. And I literally just, again and again and again, I just kept getting beat up. And I had bought all this inventory after I talked to that guy. And so this cash is just sitting on my off.

This quote details Speaker A's initial efforts to sell supplements and the resistance faced from clients. It highlights the struggle of moving unsold inventory, which was a significant financial burden.

• The speaker recounts a moment of desperation after facing repeated rejections during sales pitches.
• They describe a significant shift in approach when encountering an upbeat customer, leading to their first successful sale.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of adapting sales techniques to the customer's demeanor and understanding.

"I was probably like 15 orientations deep. And I just heard no after no after no after no and finally, I was sitting down, and this nice lady walked in, and she had, like, a nice ring and a nice purse. And I was like, okay, if I don't sell this woman, I'm going to kill myself."

This quote illustrates the speaker's state of frustration after many unsuccessful attempts at selling, which is heightened upon meeting a seemingly affluent potential customer.

"And so she sits down, and I remember getting to the end of the presentation, and I just said, instead of my normal pitch around, like, hypertrophy and maintaining lean body mass and just a whole bunch of jargon that she would never even understand, I said, hey, so with the program, I was like, do you want chocolate or vanilla for your protein?"

The speaker decides to simplify their sales pitch, avoiding technical jargon and focusing on straightforward choices to engage the customer more effectively.

"And I was like, I didn't want to scare her away, so I was like, I've got. For the pre-workout, do you want to do kiwi or strawberry? I like the kiwi. She was like, okay, I'll do that one."

The speaker continues to use simple choices to keep the customer engaged, showing a strategic move to avoid overwhelming the customer with too many decisions or information.

"And I didn't want to sell any more because I was afraid that she would somehow back out, and I didn't want her to make any other purchasing decisions."

This quote reveals the speaker's cautious approach, aiming to close the sale without risking the customer changing their mind by presenting too many options or information.

"So I said, do you want to just use the card you have on file? And she was like, yeah, that's fine. And then I took these off the shelf, and I slid them over at her, and she grabbed them, and she smiled, and she walked out of the facility, and I made my first supplement sale, and I was like, holy shit."

The speaker successfully concludes the sale by simplifying the payment process and reflects on the accomplishment with a sense of relief and surprise.

• The speaker, presumably associated with a podcast, encourages listeners to connect on LinkedIn.
• They express a desire to build a network and engage with the audience and others in their community.

"Hey, mozzie nation. Quick break to let you know that we've been starting to post on LinkedIn and want to connect with you."

The speaker introduces an initiative to expand their community engagement through LinkedIn, suggesting a strategic move to strengthen their online presence.

"So send me a connection request and note letting me know that you listen to the show, and I will accept it. There's anyone you think that we should be connected with, tag them in one of my or Layla's posts, and I."

The speaker provides specific instructions on how listeners can connect with them, emphasizing personalized engagement and community growth.

"Will give you all the love in the world."

This quote conveys the speaker's appreciation for their audience and promises positive reinforcement for engagement, fostering a sense of community.

• The speaker reflects on the omission of explaining the product's benefits or usage during the sales process.
• This reflection suggests an awareness of the unconventional approach taken during the sales interaction.

"I didn't even talk at all about what these even did or how to take them or what the benefits were."

The speaker acknowledges the absence of typical sales information in their successful pitch, which highlights the effectiveness of their simplified approach in this particular scenario.

• The assumed close is a sales technique where the customer is presented with options that both result in a purchase.
• This method avoids directly asking if the customer wants to buy, instead offering choices on what to buy.
• Assumed close is highly effective in upselling and can significantly increase sales conversion rates.

"I just simply asked her which one she wanted. And the key was, I didn't ask her whether she wanted them. I asked her which one she wanted. And as soon as I realized that, that is when I was introduced to the assumed close."

This quote illustrates the essence of the assumed close technique by highlighting the difference between asking for a sale and presenting options to assume the sale.

"It is one of the strongest upsells in all of business."

The speaker emphasizes the effectiveness of the assumed close as a powerful tool for upselling in business.

"Like, I can't tell you whenever I hear someone, if there's ever a sales process that generates tons and tons of traffic and they're closing anywhere in the 80% plus range, I usually know that it's an upsell."

The quote suggests that high conversion rates, often above 80%, are indicative of a successful upsell strategy, possibly involving the assumed close.

"And the beauty of an assumed close is that the prospect is choosing between two options, that both are buying from you rather than whether or not they're going to purchase."

This quote explains the core advantage of the assumed close, which is to shift the customer's decision-making from whether to buy to which product to buy.

"And so the beauty is, if you can construct your conversations in a way that makes the sale seamless and make it assumed that they're going to have this extra thing with your program, you can immediately upsell a big percentage of customers."

The speaker highlights the importance of conversation structure in successfully implementing an assumed close to upsell effectively.

"Whereas maybe normally you might close one out of three or one out of four, or if you're really good, one out of two of customers who walk in the door with an assumed close as an upsell, you can sell nine out of ten, nine and a half out of ten of the people that you sit in front of, and you can close them at higher tickets, at higher percentages."

This quote provides a comparison of typical sales conversion rates versus the increased rates achievable with an assumed close, suggesting a possible nine out of ten conversion rate.

"And part of the reason is because in an upsell opportunity, you're selling to a customer who already knows and trusts you, right?"

The speaker identifies trust as a key factor in the success of an upsell, implying that the assumed close works well with existing customers.

"And if you pair the fact that they already know and trust you with the fact that you already have a purchase that's already happened, you have their information on file, and then you simply present them with an either or option that both include buying, you will typically get a huge percentage to take that option."

The quote outlines the strategy of leveraging an existing relationship and purchase history to present buying options that will likely result in a high uptake rate.

"And so this assumed close rapidly transformed our business. I ended up making just as much, if not more, from the supplement sales in profit than I did from my actual facility. It became a staple in all the locations that I had. I was able to cover all of my advertising spends simply from the upsells."

The speaker shares a personal success story, demonstrating the transformative impact of the assumed close on their business profitability and the ability to offset advertising costs through upsells.

• The assumed close can lead to increased profits by driving supplement sales as much as, or more than, the core service revenue.
• Upsells can become a significant source of income and can cover other business expenses, such as advertising.
• Implementing the assumed close can change the financial dynamics of a business, turning service revenue into pure profit.

"It became a staple in all the locations that I had. I was able to cover all of my advertising spends simply from the upsells."

The speaker indicates that the assumed close became a regular practice across their business locations, effectively covering advertising costs, thus highlighting its impact on reducing overall expenses and increasing net profit.

• Upselling is a powerful sales strategy that can significantly increase profits.
• Upselling involves offering additional products or services at the point of sale.
• The strategy can cover acquisition costs and generate high margins, especially for products like supplements.
• A personal anecdote demonstrates the effectiveness of the either-or upsell technique.
• The technique was taught to various facilities that adopted it for selling high-margin products.
• The success of this strategy can be transformative for businesses.

"over all my acquisition costs simply with the upsells. I taught this to all of the facilities that we had, and they ultimately used that for selling prestige labs, which is the brand of supplements that we have that pays really, really high margins for gyms."

This quote highlights the speaker's success in covering acquisition costs through upselling and the subsequent teaching of this strategy to other facilities which then used it to sell high-margin supplement products.

• Upselling can be applied to both products and services.
• Businesses should consider what additional items customers might need or want as part of their journey.
• To identify upsell opportunities, look at what customers typically purchase in addition to the core service.
• In fitness, common upsells include clothing, shoes, home equipment, apps, groceries, and supplements.
• Weaving upsells into the sales process as an either-or decision can lead to a high uptake rate.
• Upsells can sometimes be pure profit and fully offset customer acquisition costs.

"It doesn't have to be a product. It can be a service. It can obviously be any kind of retail stuff, physical products is really easy because you already sold service. So you want to think about what's the next natural thing that they're going to want to need or want, or going to have to normally buy on their journey."

This quote emphasizes that upselling isn't limited to products but can also include services, and it advises businesses to consider the natural progression of a customer's needs following the initial sale.

• Customers often make additional purchases related to the initial service they sign up for.
• Predicting these additional needs can allow businesses to integrate upsells into the sales process effectively.
• Presenting upsells as either-or decisions during the sales process can increase uptake.
• Understanding customer behavior and their decision-making process is crucial for successful upselling.

"And if you can predict what those are, which you should know, and weave those into your sales process as an either or decision, you will usually get a very big percentage to uptake."

This quote underscores the importance of anticipating customer needs and incorporating upsell options into the sales process to improve the likelihood of customers accepting the additional offers.

• The speaker shares the hope that listeners will find the information on upselling valuable.
• Encourages engagement with the content (e.g., liking, subscribing).
• Offers additional free training resources for further learning.
• Upselling is presented as a game-changing strategy that can have a profound impact on business success.

"So I can't even stress how impactful this was on my life. And so anyways, I hope you found that valuable. Hope that was cool. If you like this stuff, like subscribe, all that kind of jazz, and I think I've got some trainings that you can go through for free and go click, do that and catch you sooner."

This quote concludes the discussion on the transformative power of upselling, invites audience engagement, and offers further educational resources, emphasizing the speaker's desire to share their successful strategies with others.