Have you ever gone into a retail store, and while shopping for one particular item, spotted another you liked? And because the salesperson never got around to pulling that information out of you, you purchased only the first item?

Of course, you can't expect every customer to buy more than one item, even if you do ask all the time. But you certainly won't sell add-ons without posing the question. If every salesperson asked every customer to buy something extra every single time, add-on sales would increase and so would profits. If you take the risk that they'll say "no," you'll be surprised how many times they say "yes"!

Add-on Selling: The Golden Trial Close

Add-on selling is when the total that your customers buy is more than they intended to spend. It happens when your customer comes in for one item and you sell that item plus two others. It works when shoppers tell you they won't exceed a specific price limit, and by the time they leave your store, they have spent double. Add-on selling can be a thoroughly enjoyable way to do business, because it can be lots of fun.

The Golden Trial Close is intended primarily to help you move into the close on the major item; there's no point in your being on the floor if you aren't closing sales. However, the technique also gives you opportunities to increase the number of sales you make and the profits you reap. The result is synergism, because adding on gives you the opportunity to sell multiple items to one customer. It is called golden because it turns the trial close to gold.

The best time to attempt the add-on is right after or during the demonstration. You've gone through all the steps leading up to the demonstration and you've done a spectacular presentation. Your customer has been receptive, and you feel confident that he will make the main purchase. The wheels are turning in the customer's mind and enthusiasm to buy is at its peak; that is the time to add on.

The Trial Close

The Trial Close is one simple question that closes the sale on the main item and adds on as well. It is a low-key, customer-oriented question, designed to keep you directly involved with that particular customer and his or her needs. Offering your expertise in this way does two important things: it facilitates the purchase of the item and it enhances your service to the customer by providing everything the customer needs.

Nearly everyone can relate to a closing situation with a customer when there is an uncomfortable pause. You've been through the entire selling process; you've pointed out all of the benefits of the item you are demonstrating; and you've matched the item to the customer's needs. You thought things were going well, yet nothing seems to be happening. This is the dreadful moment in the process, the terrible lull when the salesperson needs to ask the customer to buy. You can't simply hope or wish real hard that the customer will say, "I'll take it."

What happens now is the Trial Close. It is your chance to fulfill your mandates: to close the sale and add on. Your simple question has to contain language that simultaneously ties the add-on to the main item and the customer's ownership to the merchandise. Here's how one might sound: "How about this perfectly matched tie and pocket square to complete the look of your new suit?" Notice we used the words your new suit to accomplish this objective. These words give the customer automatic ownership of the main item and the suit as well as presenting an opportunity for the customer to consider the purchase of the accessories that will enhance the suit.

Heap It On!

Whenever you trial close by adding on, heap it on. It's a simple theory that works. I can't remember who told me this story, but it was brilliant. It's about an egg salesperson who was calling on a free-standing hamburger stand. The egg salesperson asked the owner if he'd sold very many eggs to go in people's milkshakes. The answer was no. The salesperson pointed out that the price of a milkshake made with eggs is higher than a milkshake made without eggs. If the customer says, "I want a chocolate milkshake," he suggested the owner say, "Would you prefer one egg or two?" I think you know the result: there were lots of eggs sold in shakes.

While working with clients recently in Australia, who sold mostly electronics, I suggested they could double their battery sales by pulling out a four- or eight-pack of expensive alkaline batteries and saying to the customer, "I recommend these." It puts the burden on the customer to say no. Also, it seems as though when offering customers six items, they take four; if you offer them four items, they take two; if you offer them two items, they take one. It's incredible how many times when customers are offered additional items they wind up with some of them. Every time the customer purchases additional items, the store's profits and your commissions increase.

Constructing a Trial Close

Here is the five-step process to heap it on and secure additional sales for yourself. The steps are easy to learn and will help you have fun closing the sale. 1 2 3 "[How about] this [perfectly matched] [tie and pocket square]

4 5 [to complete the look] of [your] new suit?"

Step One: HOW ABOUT "How about . . ." Starting with these words ensures that your Trial Close will be phrased as a question. Far from being pushy, this way of starting the Trial Close begins with two completely unassuming words and sounds like a friendly, discovery question.

Step Two: THE ENHANCER "this perfectly matched . . ." Before you state the add-on itself, no mere mention of it will do. Be creative; paint a word picture. Speak of the add-on as something that is functional, special, or necessary and falls within the framework of your customer's stated needs. Consider the difference between saying, "Do you want anything for dessert?" versus "We have some fresh baked, homemade, hot apple pie that's absolutely sensational."

Step Three: THE ADD-ON "tie and pocket square . . ." Suppose that during probing you learned that the customer who came in for the suit is going to wear it for an important interview, so you have carefully chosen the accessories that you suggest as add-ons. You don't want to recommend just any tie and pocket square; you offer finely made accessories that are perfectly matched to that outstanding suit.

Step Four: MUST HAVE "to complete the look . . ." This is a word or phrase that encourages the customer to feel as though the add-on is absolutely essential to the main purchase. If we say that the accessories "will complete the look" of the suit, it suggests that, although the suit is handsome and looks splendid on the customer, the image created will be incomplete without the addition of the accessories. It makes your customers feel that they "must have" the add-ons.

Step Five: POSSESSION "of your new suit." Adding the word you or your ties customers to the main items by giving them automatic possession of it, and also gives customers the opportunity to see how the accessory items add value to "their" new merchandise.

This technique is a far cry from "Will there be anything else?" and "Would you like a new tie also?" Those tired lines are ready for retirement. You don't have to be embarrassed by them, and your customers don't have to hear them anymore. The Trial Close is such a simple and effective method and requires so little training, that it's fascinating how few salespeople ever use it. Don't be afraid to give it a try. While the Trial Close won't get every customer to purchase add-on items every time, it's almost guaranteed to at least sell the main item.