You'd think there was no such thing as 'overselling' your goods or services. Think again. Push people too hard and you risk losing all hope of a sale, alienating other customers who hear about your sales style.
Poor salespeople have a tendency to continue selling a product even when a customer has already decided to buy. Sometimes they see this as a route into upselling add-on items, forgetting that the original transaction hasn't been finalised. That puts the entire sale at risk. Overselling can make people back off and doubt their decision, frustrating some customers and causing them to lose trust.
These days, it's not just that one sale you risk losing. People who have bad experiences and feel pressurised will almost certainly leave negative reviews. It's likely they'll quickly jump online and tell others how they felt, and that negative feedback can quickly cause damage to your brand and reputation.
Pressure selling is one of the biggest gripes customers have, and one of the major reasons they either don't make a purchase or don't return to you in the future. The same is true both online and offline.
If you're selling online, you may see your overselling reflected in a number of ways. On social media, self-promotion through too much direct marketing can see customer trust rates halve. You may see fewer people engaging with your posts and more people unsubscribing.
Aggressive upselling online will lead people to seek out your competitors. You may find that while your site is getting hits, few people complete the customer journey and actually pay for the goods in their basket.
Overselling may be done with good intentions, but it's a tactic which almost always backfires. Push only as hard as it takes to conclude the transaction and don't give people cause to back out.
Overselling risks initial and future sales
Overselling leads to negative reviews
Overselling undermines trust in a brand
