Some people believe upselling is manipulative–for obvious reasons. However, some freelancers successfully use upselling to bring additional work to their freelancing business on a regular basis. In this post, we’ll discuss responsible upselling.

How Does a Freelancer Upsell His or Her Services?
A freelancer is engaging in upselling if he or she suggests an additional (usually more expensive) service to a client. Here are some examples:

• A freelance copywriter who is hired to write a press release for a company encourages the client to also use their services to write the copy for their corporate web page.
• A freelance designer who is hired to re-design a website encourages the company to let them redesign the company logo as well.
• A freelance photographer who is hired to take pictures of a company’s new product for an ad encourages the senior management team members to get new corporate photos.

Here are seven guidelines to follow if you use upselling as a marketing technique for your freelancing business:

1. Take the time to understand the client’s business.
2. Don’t offer something that isn’t in the client’s best interest.
3. Do take “no” for an answer (at least initially).
4. Don’t argue with your client.
5. Use compassion and common sense
6. Don’t try to upsell if the client isn’t already happy with your work.
7. Care about your client.

See: Freelance folder