It’s suitability will depend on the approach taken during selling and the results of win/loss analysis.

If you sell with the approach of “make the first sale and easy one”, you have little room to downsell further but if you take a bolder “go for it” approach then a reduced value, reduced price offer can certainly help.

Depending on client it can be nice to put the options on the table and let them choose but other clients have a problem making a decision – Yes or No is tough – so “if you want one, which one do you want” makes the decision harder. Downselling means you can lead with what you believe is the most appropriate and bring out the back-up if you get a No.

I remember trying to buy a new kitchen and I was totally overwhelmed by the options and we bought from someone who narrowed down the choices.

One thing I’d say is that the internet marketers have the advantage of being able to test different approaches to see what works. Even if most of us dislike those “wait – don’t go away until you’ve seen” boxes – they work. The stats I saw from a recent downsell from a physical DVD to a digital download saw a 50% increase in take-up. So I’d say it’s worth playing around with.

I think the secret is to have something different enough that it doesn’t just feel like a desperate discount – but similar enough that it hits the same area of need.

Ian

I’ve never offered a downsell but have experienced them on websites – and I had to smile when I read your summary of the two problems because that’s exactly how I felt.

It’s a risky tactic for a professional firm – unless it is:
1) Included as a negotiable option
2) Timed appropriately. Offer it too soon and it encourages bad buyer behaviour. Too late and the buyer has forgotten they even wanted it. With the right timing, it’s possibly reassuring for the buyer that you’re thinking about them.

Like I said, I haven’t offered one myself, but it’s interesting thinking about it now.

The internet folks have the “advantage” of knowing that if someone doesn’t buy now, the chances of them returning to the site are minimal. Not so in the real world where the chances are that we will talk with them again.

In the case you mention (not yet vs never going to buy) the thought that occurs to me is to focus the downsell on complementary but not replacement services.

When nurturing/recycling leads, we’re trying to build our relationship with the potential client to establish our credibility and that they could work well with us. In some ways, what better way to do this that to actually work for them in a related field?

The thing that’s in my mind though is that the downsell concept feels a little too product oriented rather than solution oriented. Again, on the internet there’s not much chance to explore exactly what a client needs – so you have to suggest products. In professional services we design solutions to exactly meet our clients needs. There shouldn’t be a need for a downsell.

As I say, I’m still playing around with this one.

Ian

Classical lead recycling (some people call it nurturing) suggests to stay at the client’s top of mind because very often the the client does not want to buy right now. There are studies suggesting that a big portion of those will though buy within 12 to 18 months. You want to have top client’s top of mind when he/she is ready to buy.

This is why I struggle a bit with using down-selling as a lead recycling tactic from a conceptual point of view. How do I distinguish a lead who will never buy what I offered (down selling candidate) from a lead who is just not ready to buy yet what I offered (classical recycling candidate)?
Not being sensitive to this question could lead to bad buyer behavior. Something as you mentioned, we should try to avoid.

Thanks
Christian