A few years ago, I came across an excellent example of up-selling. A ninja shared her experience as a solar professional that was offering other energy efficiency incentives as a package deal. She said, “People were really excited about solar, but when we got into energy efficiency it wasn’t as tangible, and after a while, it was like a wet blanket on a fire. They weren’t even excited about the solar offerings anymore.”
I told her, "Well, the next time you pitch this you need to keep it framed in what got them excited in the first place. In this case, it’s solar. Borrowing a page out of the McDonald’s playbook, where they ask, ‘Would you like to Super-Size it?’ you might ask, ‘Would you like to super-solarize your building?’”
Now, what does that mean for the tenant? In this case, you tell them that you’ll add weather stripping to their windows and doors or upgrade their air conditioning. Tell them you can make lighting improvements or offer energy-efficient appliances. These are additional steps they can take to get closer to a zero in their energy usage.
Besides, when a sales professional tells you, “Would you like to solarize or would you like to super-solarize,” what is the most likely reply? Faced with that prospect, it’s doubtful that many people would say, “Nah, I’d rather not super-solarize. I’ll just have the regular one.”
