Cross-Sell
Definition
Cross-sell is the practice of offering a customer a service from a different trade or department than the one they originally called for.
What Cross-Sell Means for Your Business
What it means
A customer calls your plumbing department. While the tech is there, they mention that your company also does HVAC and the customer's system is 18 years old. That is a cross-sell into a different trade.
Why it matters
Cross-selling unlocks revenue from customers you already have. Multi-trade shops that cross-sell effectively can double or triple the revenue from each customer relationship without buying a single new lead.
How contractors use it
Shops train techs to spot and refer cross-department opportunities, tie bonus pay to accepted referrals, and route the lead into the correct team with full customer context.
Real-World Example
A plumbing and HVAC company turned on formal cross-sell from plumbing techs to HVAC sales. They booked 210 HVAC estimates in 12 months at a 42% close rate and $8,200 average ticket, adding $723,000 in revenue.
Related Terms
Upsell Rate
Upsell rate is the percentage of service calls on which a technician successfully sells additional work beyond the original reason for the visit.
Customer Lifetime Value
Customer lifetime value, or CLV, is the total amount of revenue a customer is expected to generate for a business over the entire duration of the relationship.
Close Rate
Close rate is the percentage of presented estimates that result in a booked job or signed contract.
Average Ticket
Average ticket is the mean revenue generated per service call, calculated by dividing total invoiced revenue by the number of completed jobs.
Customer Retention
Customer retention is the percentage of customers who continue doing business with a company over a defined time period, usually measured annually.
Put This Into Practice with Free Software
Kaldr Tech handles cross-sell and everything else you need to run your shop. $0/month, 3.5% + 30¢ per transaction.