The $100 MBA Show

Episode MBA2703: How To Make More Money With Upsells & Downsells

Host: Omar Zenhom
Date: November 14, 2025

Overview

This episode focuses on practical strategies to increase your revenue through upsells and downsells—without needing new customers, more advertising, or changing your primary product. Host Omar Zenhom delivers a detailed, actionable breakdown of what upsells and downsells are, why they work, and how any business, especially digital and service-based, can implement them smoothly and tactfully to create more value for both owners and customers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

What Are Upsells and Downsells? (03:30)

• Upsell: Offering a higher-priced or additional product after a customer commits to buying.
  Example: “You order a burger at a fast food restaurant and they ask you, would you like to make it a combo?” (04:25)
• Downsell: Presenting a lower-priced alternative when a customer declines the main offer.
  Example: “This is like Netflix offering you their basic plan when you cancel a premium plan.” (05:29)

Insight: Both strategies are about giving customers optionality—helpful choices, not pushy sales tactics.

Why They Work: The Psychology Behind the Sale (06:20)

• Most difficult sales step: Getting someone to say “yes” the first time.
• Once committed, additional purchases feel like small, low-stress decisions:
  “Once they've decided to buy, they're in the buying mode. They trust you. Psychologically, it feels like a small step to add or adjust the purchase.” (06:48)
• Widely used across industries: fast food, fine dining, airlines, supermarkets, SaaS.

Real-World Examples (07:55)

• McDonald's & Fast Food: “Would you like fries with that?” or “go large.”
• Fine dining: Wine pairing with a tasting menu.
• Airlines: Adding luggage, travel insurance, seat selection at checkout.
• Shoe stores: Recommending socks or cleaning products.
• Gyms/memberships: Adding personal training, nutrition coaching, or supplement sales.

Memorable Quote:
“These are called point-of-sale upsells because hey, you're there already… it's an easy upsell and increases the average order value for each customer.” (07:27)

Tasteful Application: Avoiding Annoyance (09:26)

• Caveat: Too many upsells/downsells (e.g., low-cost airline checkouts) create a frustrating customer experience.
• Best practice: “I do like the idea of having at least one upsell and downsell with your products. So that way your customers at least know what's available and it's frictionless and you want to make this as pleasant as possible.” (09:37)

Digital Products & Online Business Applications (11:18)

Online Courses:

• Main offer: $200 course
• Upsell: $99 one-on-one coaching call
  “A lot of people will go for that upsell just because they want one on one coaching... and for $100 for an hour session…is pretty reasonable for them.” (12:01)
• Downsell: $49 workbook, mini-course, or time-limited access

Membership Sites:

• Main offer: Monthly membership for $49
• Upsell: Annual for $490 (2 months free)
• Downsell: Lite version at $29/month

SaaS/Software:

• Upsell: Extra storage, premium features, concierge onboarding, premium support
• Downsell: Lower-tier plan or limited feature trial

E-Commerce:

• Main product: Camera
• Upsell: Accessory bundle (e.g., lenses)
• Downsell: Cheaper tripod

Pro Tip:
“Digital products have the best margins for upsells because the cost of delivery is basically zero.” (13:44)

How to Implement Upsells & Downsells (14:07)

Step-by-step guide:

1. Map your customer journey: Identify the natural “next step” after your main offer.
2. Create a one-click upsell: Use checkout tools that allow adding extras without re-entering payment details.
3. Define your downsell: Offer a smaller or “starter” version of your main product (could be time- or feature-limited).
4. Test offer placement: Try upsells pre- or post-checkout; downsells can be in cart abandonment emails.
5. Track the results:
   “What gets measured gets managed, right? So you want to watch what your average order value is and the conversion rates.” (15:34)

Illustrative Statistic:
“Even 10-20% take rate of an upsell can transform your revenue incredibly.” (15:46)

Closing Tips & Advice (17:11)

• Think of your offers like building a restaurant menu. The main dish is your core product; sides, drinks, and desserts are upsells; smaller entrees are downsells.
• Focus on total order value and solving more problems for your customer, not just making a sale.
• “People are willing to pay for more value… There’s a lot of people that have enough money…to get more out of what you offer.” (18:09)

Apple Example:
“Apple has a ton of products in its product line… once you consume one product, you're gonna be like, hey, actually I love their products…Maybe I should look at Apple since I love their other products.” (19:41)

• Upsells aren’t always annoying—when done right, they make customers feel served, not sold to.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On optionality: “By giving them the option, by presenting it, you're actually making yourself more valuable to them.” (04:45)
• On customer psychology: “The hardest part in sales…is getting someone to say yes the first time.” (06:24)
• On bad experiences: “That experience is not the best experience for the customer. And I’m not a big fan of that… you want to make this as pleasant as possible.” (09:27)
• On digital product upsells: “Digital products have the best margins for upsells because the cost of delivery is basically zero.” (13:44)
• On tracking: “[Peter Drucker says] what gets measured gets managed, right? So you want to watch what your average order value is and the conversion rates.” (15:34)

Segment Timestamps

• Explanation of Upsells/Downsells: 03:30 – 07:20
• Real-world Retail & Digital Examples: 07:55 – 13:44
• Practical Implementation Steps: 14:07 – 16:45
• Final Strategies, Mindset & Examples: 17:11 – 19:41

Tone & Style

Omar maintains his hallmark style: energetic, clear, highly practical, with plenty of analogies and real-life scenarios. His approach is friendly and encouraging, urging listeners to use these techniques as genuine ways to help customers—not just to squeeze more money out of them.

Summary Usefulness:
This episode is packed with implementable ideas for business owners at any level. You’ll come away understanding not just how to add upsells and downsells, but why they work—and exactly how to do so without harming the customer experience.
If you’re looking to increase profitability with your current audience, this episode is essential listening.