Frank Curzio's guests include Larsen Kusick on his "Breakout Stocks," and Rob Holmes on the game makers. Less

We were at the Hilton in Las Vegas recently for the New Media Expo. When we checked in, they offered us an upgrade for $25. We thought that an “upgrade” just meant a better room. But we knew we weren’t going to be in the room much. We’d be at the conference all day and meeting up with people in the evening. So why upgrade?   One evening, we were at dinner with some friends. One of them had upgraded. She got access to the spa and fitness center, a private breakfast, and more! As our friend described it all, we wished we would have gone for it! However, the employee didn’t talk about the benefits (or even the features) when he offered us the upgrade. He didn’t give us a single reason to do it. But at least he offered it; some employees don’t even do that. Or there’s the other extreme – selling so aggressively that you begin to wonder if what you were thinking about buying is any good at all. You start to question the company and its products or services. We don’t know if Hilton… has an incentive to reward employees who are successful at selling upgrades. explains why upgrades are good for customers, employees, and the company. Thoroughly trains their employees to present the benefits of upgrades. We do know that … We would have bought if the upgrade was presented how our friend presented it. “What’s in it for me” applies to employees too! We still love Hilton! The power of offering more Every sale presents opportunities for more sales. One of those opportunities is upselling – selling more of the same thing. According to the great book Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, customers like choices “that fall between what they need at a minimum and what they could possibly spend at a maximum.” The authors say that if you give your customers two choices, they will likely choose the least expensive one. However, you’ll make more sales than if you don’t offer a second choice at all. The magic of 3 When you add a third product or service to the process, magic begins to happen. When that third product costs more than the other two choices, customers tend to go for the moderately priced product instead of the least expensive. One of my businesses was a heating and air conditioning business. We had always offered our customers service agreements – we would schedule preventive maintenance of their furnace and air conditioner. We expanded that offer to include predictive maintenance (we automatically replaced inexpensive items that regularly broke down) and an all-inclusive program (our customers didn’t pay for anything else). We found that we sold more agreements than we did before. About 8% of our customers bought the high-end service, around 12% bought the low end package, and the rest bought the middle one! So it pays to present your customers with a good – better – best offering. Your sales will skyrocket … as long as you can get your employees to tell your customers about it! Do you have any examples to share of good or bad upselling? How about some suggestions on how your business upsells to customers? Share your stories with us by leaving a comment. Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes.  Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.   Related posts 615 Tips to Manage Your Business Better Believe in What You Sell to Succeed in Sales There’s Gold In Them There ... Customers! How To Get Your Customers To Finance Your Business  (Image by Old Shoe Woman, CC 2.0) Less

Author & Founder of Proteus International, Inc, Erika Andersen describes how managers can build & keep an all star staff that epitomizes the company mission & has the skills to implement it. Less

Frank Curzio's guests include Nick Yulico on Home Depot's earnings and casino stocks, and David Peltier on the economy and stock market. Less

Cliff Banks, Editorial Director For Ward Dealer Business Is Harry's Co-Host On This Mornings Car Concerns. The Topic Will Be Harry's Proposal In The AMERICAN MOTORIST VOTE CAMPIGN To Call On Congress To Immediately Impose Tariffs On Cars And Trucks Owned By Foreign Entities, Even If They Are Manufactured On American Soil. Talk About Blood Flow! From Deep Inside The Walls Of The Chrysler World Headquarters At Auburn Hills Comes The News That Nissan Has Struck A Deal With Cerberus Financial Who Has Come To The Expensive, Cruel Reality That Owning A Major Auto Manufacturing Company Like Chrysler Is Not All That It Is Cracked Up To Be. Cerberus Could Have Pulled It Off If They Had Cleaned Out The Executive Offices At The Onset That Had Absolute Dead-Heads In Charge. Of Course Auburn Hills Is Not The Only Section Of Detroit That Has Dead-Wood In The House. Why These Boards Condon Piss-Poor Performance Is Beyond Me. What About Change In The Motor City? Yes? Harry Would Like To Say Thank-You To Each And Every Car Concerns Listener Who Signed-On To The AMERICAN MOTORIST VOTE CAMPAIGN This Week. It Sends A Message To Both Presidentail Candidates That You Really Care About How The American Motorist Is Taken Atvantage Of In The USA! Don't Slow Down Now! Tell Your Friends, Family, And Co-Workers. It's Going To Happen Or My Name Is Not Harry Douglas. To Make Your Engine Roar Like Never Before Sign On To The AMERICAN MOTORIST VOTE CAMPAIGN By Sending Your Name, Address, Phone Number, And Email Address For Cofirmation. Any Donation Will Be Appreciated. American Motorist Vote Campaign P.O. Box 10883 Knoxville, Tn 37919 Or Email: info@carconcerns.com Car Concerns Is The Fastest Growing Car Talk Radio Show In The Country. Car Concerns Is Broadcast "LIVE" From The Ultra-Modern Studios Of The Horne Radio NetWork In Beautiful West Knox County. Heard Daily On These Great Radio Stations: 850 WKVL, 1140 WLOD, 1290 WATO & 1400 WGAP. Tap Into Harry's Vast Knowledge Of Dealership Operations. From The Test Drive, To The Negotiating, To The Financing, To The Servicing. Harry Walks You Right Through The Entire Purchasing Process. Harry Is An Award Winning New Car Dealer With Franchise History With Chrysler, General Motors, Honda, And Nissan. Winner Of The Chrysler Penastar Award And The Nissan President Award. Harry Has Produced A Retail Automotive Consumer CD That Is A Must Before You Begin The Automobile Buying Process. THE TRUTH ABOUT CAR BUYING...Don't Buy A New Car Until You Listen To This CD! To Purchase Send $19.95 (Check or Money Order) To: E/V Media, P.O. Box 10883, Knoxville, TN 37919 No Matter Where You Are In This World You Can Watch Harry "LIVE" AS He Broadcast From The Car Concerns Radio Studios. Listen Via Internet Stream: www.carconcerns.blogspot.com You Can Now Watch Harry Do Car Concerns "LIVE" Every Morning By Going To: www.ustream.tv Search: Car Concerns Harry Douglas Drink Your Orange Juice! Less

While the technology now exists to identify fake photos on one-by-one basis, there's no one-click solution to detect the enormous amount of doctored photos, says Dartmouth Computer Science Professor Hany Farid. Farid has developed sophisticated tools to detect photo forgeries, but it will be five or ten years before it is possible to automatically process the ten thousand photos news organizations like Reuters and AP typically handle in a day, he says. Blame it on Photoshop Inexpensive software, notably Photoshop, is making it easier to doctor photos than ever before . Even the average layperson is using Photoshop to slenderize waists and digitally remove ex-husbands from photos, and sales for Adobe Photoshop Elements rose 20 percent over the last year, The New York Times reported in a story Friday. Now that anyone can practice "revisionist history," as Alex Williams writes, forgery-detecting software will be an important way to get at the truth. Videos are still safe from mainstream tampering for the time being, however. "Doctored video is about where doctored photographs were ten years ago," Farid says. He is currently working on solutions to identify fake videos. Farid works with federal law enforcement agencies detect digital forgeries. --Kelsey Blodget, Associate Producer Disclaimer: Dartmouth College is a client of Plesser Holland Associates. Less

Join Wendy Y. Bailey, president & CEO of Brilliance In Action Enterprises, Inc. and me while we reveal how to measure your influence. Less