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The “double cat” upsell trick for making your customers buy twice as much

Writer's picture: John BrandtJohn Brandt

I took my step-sister to adopt a cat yesterday at the Animal Welfare League. Her cat unexpectedly passed away a few months back, and while she’s taking it as good as any 10 year old can, she misses her cat.


Since it was her birthday last week, there was no better time to take her to adopt a cat.


And since Peanut’s mom just adopted an adorable kitten from the same Animal Welfare League, we knew they’d have other adorable kittens for my step-sister to choose from. And boy, did the ol’ AWL not disappoint.


(Referral lesson in there, especially because I have surprisingly little knowledge on how or where to adopt cats.)


Anyway, my mom and I met my step-sister and her dad at this joint after school. And as soon as we walked in, we were hit by a “LEGO-sized” upsell: The type of upsell that you simply cannot stop thinking about because you know, deep down in your heart of hearts, that you need (yes, need!) the upsell.


The upsell?


“Instead of getting just one kitten, you should think about getting two.”


Why?


Well, taking care of two cats ain’t much harder than taking care of one. Yes, you need a little more food and a little more cat litter, but the difference in caretaking from one cat to two cats is barely even noticeable.


Then on the positive side, your kitten gets a best friend they can grow up with, play with, and get into “catanigans” with. In fact, the second cat actually takes more of the burden off of you because it can provide the first cat with entertainment instead of it all falling on your shoulders.


(Then, of course, there’s the reason to say this from the AWL side: They find abandoned cats and dogs in the wild, and give them a decent place to live, with a chance to find what they kinda cringingly, kinda wholesomely refer to as their “furever” home. And the more cats per person you sell to any one family, the more room you have to bring in other cats.)


Well, turns out, the kitten that my step-sister wanted had got fixed mere hours before we met him, so we weren’t allowed to take him home. We’re going back later today to do that. But the idea of the second cat has been on my mom’s mind (and if I’m being honest, my mind too) ever since the receptionist tried to upsell us.


Because she’s right:


Two cats are better than one, especially after factoring in the additional food and litter and other cat toys costs.


And so it is with your brand.


Think for a second…


How can you offer your customers (who already have their proverbial credit card in hand) a “double cat” upsell like AWL did?


Do you have a complementary product that makes your main product work better? Think Airpods and iPhones.


Do you have another product in your product line that will give your customers more joy than they’d get if’n they only bought your main product? Think YouTube TV and NFL Sunday Ticket.


Do you have another product that would seep its way into your customers’ minds, forcing them to sell themselves over the course of days or weeks that they NEED this other product? Think, well, one cat or two cats.


Here’s the thing…


You probably already have these products in your store. (This is a big motivation I rely on when I build out unique post-purchase email automations for my clients, where I drop a bunch of complementary products—and even the same exact product they just bought, encouraging them to order more of what they just ordered—and other best sellers based on the unique product they just purchased.


And you know what?


Even if you don’t have these products or services built out, they ain’t hard to create. In fact, after interviewing a few of your best customers, you’ll leave with a full stack of possibilities…


So, here’s your homework for the rest of the day:


Figure out what the perfect “double cat” upsell is for your unique business and brand. And if you need help implementing it (via a launch or via a post-purchase automation), hit reply, and we’ll set up a call to see if I’m the man who can help you implement the plan.


Capisce?


John

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