Increase Gross Margin - Active Selling

Richard Huxley looks at active selling: how to boost your sales without alienating your customers

Ok, so ‘up selling’ french fries or asking customers to 'go large’ with their meal is the complete opposite of the products we sell in our health-driven stores, but it is possibly the very best example of active selling in the market today. In fact, it’s part and parcel of what they do. I don't think I even need to mention the name of the company, do I?

And whilst it can be extremely profitable, if executed correctly, often across the retail industry I consistently see very poor examples of active selling – scripted, robotic and impersonal are the three words I would use to describe the majority of active/ up selling I have observed. However, if done correctly it can be very beneficial to your business both in terms of profitability and sales growth.