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Even if our employer pays our fuel bills and we’re not concerned about recent gas prices, the CFO has noticed the price increases and is working on ways to control this cost. If we are currently paying our own fuel bills we directly feel the pain. Here’s a sales tip to keep in mind; we’ll see many companies in the upcoming months change how they handle fuel expenses. Many will stop paying fuel costs altogether.

The great news is that by necessity we are being forced to better manage our accounts in ways that will help us in the long haul…in ways that represent solid basic sales skills.

“…by necessity we are being forced to better manage our accounts…”

• We need to determine who our best customers are (and by that I mean most profitable) knowing that fuel costs are justified for this class of customer.

• Identifying outside customers that are marginally profitable is a valuable exercise. We can handle these customers through another channel (e.g., inside sales, website, etc.) or fire them with a dull pencil. Firing a marginally profitable customer with a dull pencil simply means we raise their prices until they either become profitable or they quit buying from us. This was one of the most important sales tips I got when I first started in sales.

• Our sales manager is constantly preaching to us to sell more products and services to existing customers. He or she is giving us good sales advice. Now is an excellent time to get more out of our existing customer contacts instead of adding small customers at additional locations.

• We must take control of our calendars. Instead of jumping all over town, we need to plan our customer appointments so that they tend to cluster in the same area on the same day. Our customers understand that it is costly for us to drive to their location and will provide sales help in our scheduling.

We have to manage around the reality of $4+ gas. The things we do to help us control those costs will actually make us better sales representatives by improving our revenue within accounts and sharpening our territory management skills.

Related links: Fire a Customer for Fun and Profit, Cross Selling

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I don’t care what you call it, but selling a customer a broader range of goods and services is a major win-win for everyone. I like the term cross-selling, but you also hear it called add-on-selling, associative-selling, connective-selling, up-selling, etc. When I work with salespeople I frequently notice a resistance to cross-selling; the benefits are so impressive that it surprises me that there is any hesitancy. Where is this hesitancy coming from?

1. Fear. Here’s what the salesperson is thinking, “I’m selling Debbie this service that makes me a lot of commission, but if I push to sell her another service she may get upset and throw me out on the street and I’d lose everything…including my home, car and children.” When was the last time a customer got offended because you asked them about one or two related products or services in addition to what they were already buying from you? Usually the customer is pleased to find that they can source other products and services from you. They want their life to be simpler and having fewer vendors helps accomplish this. You must also use common sense when it comes to cross-selling; you can overdo it with customers if you aren’t sensitive to when to stop asking about additional products and services. Cross-selling is something that is done a little at a time.

2. Hassle. Yes, it takes a little time and work to cross-sell. The time investment, however, to add revenue to an existing customer by cross-selling is substantially less than trying to create that same revenue with a new customer. For the majority of my entire career I’ve been an evangelist for cross-selling as one of the quickest ways to increase revenue.

Now that I’ve covered two of the main reasons that salespeople are resistant to cross-selling, let’s discuss the benefits, and they are significant.

1. Vendor Consolidation. I’m not aware of any company that is trying to increase the size of their purchasing department. They want to decrease the number of people purchasing and make them more accountable for partnering with their suppliers. How do they do this? They have fewer vendors and work closely with them. This is called vendor consolidation and the more products and services you sell your customer the more likely you are to be considered a strategic supplier.

2. More Money. If you sell more products and services, you make more commission. If your company’s commission plan is set up correctly you and your employer both win. As stated above, this is one of the quickest ways to increase your sales.

3. Stickiness. All the research, and common sense, indicates that there is an almost perfect correlation between how many products and services a customer buys from you and the likelihood they will remain with you as a customer. The more products and services you sell a customer the greater the probability that you will retain them as a customer.

For me, this one is easy. It’s a win-win for all parties involved when you cross-sell: you, your customer and your employer.