In a time of ongoing pressure on costs and margins, upselling opportunities are more important than ever. According to the recent PRINTING United Alliance Effects of Tariffs on the Printing Industry Survey, 70% of respondents expect higher tariffs to increase operating costs, 62% to reduce profit margins, and 36.6% to limit sales growth.
Broad industry upselling research shows that systematic upselling can add between 10% and 30% to overall company revenue, depending on the sector and implementation quality.
Upsell Research Studies
Upsell Research Studies
| Source/Study | Revenue Increase (%) | Notes |
|---|
| Accenture Industry Research | 10–30% | Broad range across many sectors |
| University of Georgia Study | ~23% | Controlled experiment in restaurant industry |
| Harvard Business Review | 20% (Customer LTV) | Increase in customer lifetime value with upselling |
| Forrester & Gartner Research | Up to 300% | Revenue increase with personalized upselling |
It's also important to note that aggressive or misaligned upselling that doesn't meet customer needs can have a negative effect on revenue and margins.
Checklist – Print Service Provider Upsells and Techniques
Below is a checklist of upselling opportunities. Some are obvious and widely used. Others may not be so well known. And many print service provider clients may need to be reminded about them periodically. We also included some suggested upselling techniques.
You can download a PDF checklist here.
Table of Contents - Upsell Opportunities in Print
Overs - the Easiest Upsell
Consultative Selling
Premium Print Finishing Options
Die Cutting Options
Design and Creative Services
Mailing and Distribution Services
Binding Services
Fulfillment and Inventory Management
Specialty Papers and Substrates
Digital Integration Services
Additional or Ancillary Products
Value-Added Project Management
Upsell Presentation Techniques
Upsell Training and Implementation
Key Performance Indicators in an Upsell Program
Summing Up Print Upsells and Add-Ons
Overs – the Easiest Upsell
Let’s start with one of the easiest upsells of all—that of selling “overs” at a reduced rate. It doesn’t require any expertise or in-depth conversation. It only requires an overage/underage billing policy that clients clearly understand. For companies without an over/under policy, then the question of whether either is acceptable should be discussed when the order is being quoted.
Overages benefit clients in that they can get better pricing per unit. It also ensures that at worst, they get the quantity needed for the job.
Consultative Selling
For those companies not already doing so, a consultative sales approach can position them better to sell add-on products and services. As the name implies, consultative selling is a matter of positioning the salesperson as an expert consultant. This can include some or all of the following methods:
❑ Discovery questions to identify opportunities
❑ Needs assessment techniques
❑ Building value propositions
❑ Problem-solution pairing
❑ Sample-driven discussions
Premium Print Finishing Options
The following are some common and specialty print finishing techniques. The added value of all the finishes listed below is extensive and depends on which finish is being discussed, the product to which it will be applied, and what the client needs.
❑ Spot UV and specialty coatings
❑ Overall UV coating
❑ Raised spot gloss UV coating
❑ Foil stamping and metallic effects
❑ Raised foil stamping
❑ Soft-touch lamination and tactile finishes
❑ Gloss lamination
❑ Dull or Matte lamination
❑ Aqueous coating with matte or gloss finishes
Upselling Tactics for Premium Finishes
Show samples so that clients can see and feel the difference that coatings and foils can make.
Premium finishing can highlight brand impact. Demonstrate, for example, how coatings make logos and images pop, how they add a luxury feel to materials.
Explain the longer lifespan and increased perceived value of coated products.
If foil stamping is a good fit, discuss and demonstrate the luxurious appearance it adds to print marketing materials. Talk about foils resistance to fading and smudging, and the variety of foil colors and finishes available. Show how it stands out on store shelves. Suggest it for special editions, VIP events, or high-end promotions.
Die Cutting Options
Custom shapes can really stand out in a crowded marketplace. A unique silhouette, for example, can reflect a brand’s identity. Die cutting and embossing lets brands create unique promotional pieces.
❑ Die cutting and custom shapes
❑ Embossing and debossing
❑ Die cut transparent windows in packaging
Upselling Tactics for Die Cutting
A portfolio display can illustrate a variety of finished die-cut products to spark ideas and conversation.
Come prepared to a meeting with creative, novel designs for a handful of their marketing or packaging materials.
Design and Creative Services
Design and creative services are another area of expertise to offer clients as an upsell or as a “foot in the door” sales method.
Design adds value by ensuring print and digital materials align with brand identity and marketing goals. It helps prevent costly reprints through a more streamlined, internal process. It gives clients access to professional insight for color palettes, layouts, and typography. It makes for faster approvals and fewer revisions.
This can include:
❑ Design consultation packages
❑ File preparation services
❑ Custom illustration
❑ Brand identity development
❑ Template creation
❑ Variable data design and implementation
❑ Design for websites
Upselling Tactics for Design and Creative Services
Offer tiered design service packages from basic to premium.
Host webinars or workshops to educate clients. These can cover any number of topics that are important to the client and that relate to your design and printing services.
Mailing and Distribution Services
Direct mail services can save clients time by offering a seamless transition from printing to mailing. Correct handling of data minimizes errors, reduces postage costs, and increases ROI.
There is also the opportunity for repeat mailings in ongoing campaigns and in newsletters.
Some mailing services include:
❑ EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) services
❑ Sectional Center Facility (SCF) Entry Discount
❑ Address Change Service (ACS)
❑ National Change of Address (NCOA)
❑ Walk Sequence Discounts
❑ Other List Enhancements
❑ Tracking and reporting
❑ International mailing expertise
❑ Multi-channel campaign integration
Upselling Tactics for Direct Mail Services
Demonstrate how much clients can earn in postage discounts. In our years of managing direct mail, we’ve found that on average, it only costs $350 to earn $2000 in postage discounts. We can demonstrate exactly what your clients can save by putting their list through out WTP Bulk Mailing Process.
Demonstrate the ROI of successful direct mail campaigns.
Package deals are always effective. Combine printing + mailing for a discount on the printing.
Offer variable data printing (VDP) to increase impact and response rates.
Binding Services
Clients sometimes don’t know which binding method is best for a job. A common scenario is the saddle-stitched book with too many pages. That’s when a perfect bound book or a lay-flat binding is the better option.
Some of the common binding methods include:
❑ Perfect binding
❑ Saddle stitching
❑ Wire-O binding (double loop)
❑ GBC binding (plastic comb)
❑ Custom edging and gilding
❑ Inserts and outserts
❑ Side stitching or corner stitching of collated sets
Upselling Tactics for Binding Services
Use your expertise to appeal to clients who want a professional look for reports, manuals, catalogs, or booklets. A few samples of jobs gone wrong could be a strong persuader.
Fulfillment and Inventory Management
One-stop shopping saves clients time and money. It reduces overhead for clients who don’t have or don’t want their own storage and shipping facilities. It adds an ongoing revenue stream and positions you as provider of ongoing services rather than one-off print jobs. Some areas of fulfillment and inventory management include:
❑ Warehousing solutions
❑ Pick and pack services
❑ Inventory tracking systems
❑ Just-in-time delivery
❑ Returns processing
❑ Kitting and assembly
Upselling Tactics for Fulfillment and Inventory Management
Offer bundled deals or volume discounts that include both printing and fulfillment.
Highlight your expertise with case studies or testimonials of successful fulfillment programs.
Specialty Papers and Substrates
The inventory of available papers and substrates is constantly changing. Your up-to-date knowledge can be an asset for clients. Some areas to consider include:
❑ Premium paper options
❑ Sustainable materials
❑ Synthetic substrates
❑ Unique paper textures
❑ Security features
❑ Custom material sourcing
Upselling Tactics for Specialty Papers and Substrates
Swatch books of the latest papers and substrates could be helpful for clients who want something different. Printed samples on the newest materials are also helpful.
Digital Integration Services
Many clients might be surprised at the extent to which data can be integrated into print marketing campaigns. Some of these areas for potential integration include:
❑ QR code integration
❑ AR (Augmented Reality) features
❑ Variable Data
❑ PURL (Personalized URL) campaigns
❑ Cross-channel marketing
❑ Marketing automation integration (print + digital + CRM)
❑ Analytics and tracking
Studies demonstrate print-digital campaigns are up to 400% more effective than digital alone. Conversion rates average 28% higher when direct mail uses digital follow-up. Brand recall increases as do website visits.
Upselling Tactics for Digital + Print Integration
Have samples of each type of digital + print integration with data to show the impressive results of an omni-channel approach.
Additional or Ancillary Products
Perhaps there are ancillary products that you don’t currently offer that are a good fit for your client base. Outsourcing these products is a fast, effective way to add revenue without adding overhead. Some products for consideration include:
❑ Packaging
❑ Labels
❑ Signage and Banners
❑ Promotional items
❑ Large format
❑ Apparel
❑ Forms
Value-Added Project Management
Larger companies and enterprise clients might appreciate help in print project management. Your industry expertise can fill in gaps in their internal management in areas such as:
❑ Production scheduling
❑ Project coordination
❑ Vendor management
❑ Quality control oversight
❑ Timeline optimization
❑ Budget management
Upselling Tactics for Print Project Management
This area of expertise could be framed as an opportunity for clients to facilitate growth or efficiency without adding internal staff.
Upsell Presentation Techniques
We listed quite a few services above to consider as potential upsells. It also helps to think about how these services might be convincingly presented. These could include:
❑ Sample kit development – tangible print examples and swatch books of coatings, foils, papers, inks
❑ ROI demonstrations
❑ Case study presentations
❑ Before/after comparisons
❑ Interactive demonstrations
❑ Cost-benefit analysis
❑ Bundled service packages – combine multiple services at discounted rate
❑ Marketing packages – Present packages that align with common client objectives such as launching a product, rebranding, or event promotion.
❑ Add digital reminders, pop-ups and “you might also like” suggestions in online ordering
Upsell Training and Implementation
Once a decision is made on what to upsell, it comes down to training and implementation. Upselling is a sales and customer service skill that can be taught and systematized. Some of the items to cover include:
❑ Implementation checklist
❑ Staff training program on upselling
❑ Timing strategies
❑ Objection handling
❑ Price presentation
❑ Customer education approaches
❑ Sample scripts and dialogues
❑ Follow-up procedures
AI can be used as a helpful tool to uncover upsell opportunities in an existing database. It can also be used to suggest appropriate add-ons with prospective clients.
Key Performance Indicators in an Upsell Program
There are several key performance indicators (KPI) that are helpful to track in an upselling program.
Add-on penetration rate. What percentage of orders currently have upsells added? Set a target for future growth, for example, 35% of orders to have at least one add-on.
Average upsell value. What is the current average value of an upsell? What is a reasonable target value for future upsells?
Average lifetime customer value (LTV). What does an average client currently spend over their lifetime with your company? How long is the current average life span of their relationship with you? Monitor periodically to see how well your upsell program is working. LTV and life span will grow with a successful upsell effort.
Summing Up Print Upsells and Add-Ons
Successful upselling is easier when add-ons are seen as natural extensions rather than afterthoughts. It’s most effective when used as part of a long-term relationship building process. And why stay quiet when a client needs more?
Companies who can master hybrid physical and digital add-ons are likely to lead in print profitability and growth.
As with all things in marketing and sales, it’s important to track and measure upsell success, and to continuously make improvements.
As an experienced trade printing company, WTP help print service providers with many of the services listed above. If you have an upsell opportunity, call us at (559) 251-8595 to talk about how we can save your clients money and increase your revenues and margins.
