The Game w/ Alex Hormozi — Ep 942

Part 5: Upsell Offers | $100M Money Models Audiobook

Date: August 19, 2025
Host: Alex Hormozi

Episode Overview

In this episode, Alex Hormozi breaks down the core strategies behind “upsell offers” — the art, science, and tactics of making more money from each customer by presenting and timing the next purchase. With memorable stories and practical frameworks, Alex argues that upsells are the backbone of nearly every scalable, high-margin business, sharing real world examples, personal anecdotes, and actionable steps. The tone is candid, direct, playful, and sometimes blunt, with Alex aiming to make upselling both accessible and ethical.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Upsells Matter (00:00–03:44)

• Upsell Offers Defined: “Upsells just means whatever we offer next. When an offer solves a problem, upsell — another appears. Every offer opens the door to an upsell. Even upsells.”
• The McDonald's Example: Alex explains the iconic “Do you want fries with that?” approach. The profit on upsells like fries, drinks, and supersizing eclipses the tiny margins on the main product.
• Main Idea: Your first offer doesn’t always have to make a profit. Most profit is often found in the add-ons.
• Classic line: “If McDonald's didn’t upsell fries and soda, there wouldn’t be a McDonald’s… If you want to win, you have to figure out your version of ‘do you want fries with that?’” (01:52)

2. When & Why Upsells Fail (03:44–05:14)

• Mistakes: Upsells flop when you offer something they don’t want, it's unrelated, or it's poorly timed.
• “Offers tend to offer more of what they just got (quantity), better versions (quality), or new/complementary stuff.”
• Ethics Note: This section is “brutally effective and must be used ethically.”

3. The Four Killer Upsell Models

A. The Classic Upsell (05:15–19:44)

• Structure: “You can’t have X without Y.” Solve the immediate new problem the first offer creates.
• Mentor Story: Alex shares a fur coat shop story: they offer free earmuffs with coat storage, then upsell paid earmuff storage, masterfully flipping a “no” into a “yes.”
  • Quote: “He knew people had been trained to say no in response to ‘you don’t want anything else, do you?’ But this actually turns a no into a yes.” (12:16)
• Tactics:
  • More Profitable Upsells First: Present the higher-margin option first.
  • Surprise & Delight: Always give all bonuses, even if the buyer agreed before hearing them, to create extra goodwill.
  • Hyper Buying Cycle: People spend most when excited about a new thing—so double down on upsells in this window.
  • Bundling: Name and bundle upsells into packages (“Fastest Results Bundle,” etc.).
  • Integrate Upsells Throughout: Seamlessly link next-step offers with the core product/service.
  • The “BAMFAM” Principle: “Book a meeting from a meeting” — set up the next offer/appointment before ending the current.
  • Pro Tip on Nudge Pricing: Use a “magnetic middle” by adding a third option to steer preferences (e.g., small, medium, large popcorn).
• Key Takeaway: “If you can solve their next problem, offer it. The second worst thing that happens is they say no. The worst is if they would have said yes, but you never asked.” (18:41)

B. Menu Upsells (19:45–32:44)

• Background: Standard pitch failing—until Alex learned to just ask: “You’ve got a protein shake for breakfast. Do you like chocolate or vanilla?” (22:02)
• Menu Model Components:
  • Unselling: Tell customers what they don’t need.
  • Prescription Upsell: Personalize and explain exactly how to use what they do need.
  • AB Upsell: Ask which of (at least) two similar things they prefer (not “do you want it,” but “which one do you want?”).
  • Card on File: Assume the close by asking if they want to use their card on file to pay.
• Prescription Upselling: Detailed instructions tailored to the buyer sell more than vague ones.
• Memorable Moment: “I kept products just to cross them out. I called this process unselling description. In a menu upsell, you tell customers which options they don’t need, then tell them what they do need…” (27:55)
• Pro Tips:
  • Make anything “AB-offerable” (flavors, sizes, delivery speeds, staff choices, etc.)
  • Use nudges (“A lot of people love this”).
  • Sell out? Accept payment, set up expectation for delayed delivery.
  • Get employees to “unsell” low-margin stuff and “game the system” for customers, with smart insider suggestions.
  • Economist Play: Present three options—make the bundled option the same price as one premium solo option, so more people take the bundle.

C. Anchor Upsells (32:45–43:38)

• Core Principle: Present a premium (expensive) offer first — so your “main” offer looks like a steal by comparison.
  • “The only thing worse than making a $1,000 offer to a person with a $100 budget is making a $100 offer to someone with a $1,000 budget.” (33:08)
• Suit Shop Story: Alex is shown a $16,000 suit (“gasp!”), then a $2,200 suit (“not $500, but it’s not $16k…”), and walks out happy, having spent way more than planned.
• Framework:
  1. Present the anchor (expensive) product
  2. Wait for the gasp
  3. Come to the rescue: ask if they care about the big differentiator
  4. Present your main (reasonable) offer
  5. Ask how they’d like to pay
• Practice: Real premium offers, not “fake” ones, are essential. If you present the anchor sincerely, you'll get huge wins from a small percent of buyers.
• Key Insight: “A proper anchor gets the gasp. When you do an anchor upsell correctly, customers will have a mini panic attack. I call this the gasp. The bigger the gasp, the more they bought.” (39:17)
• Tips: The main and premium offers share the same primary feature, but the premium has spruced-up secondary features.
• Bottom Line: Some will always buy premium, so always have it available.

D. Rollover Upsells (43:39–56:58)

• Context: Alex’s failing gym profits are saved by seeing a friend use a “rollover” model—rolling customers’ “win back” credit into long term paid memberships.
• Definition: Credit some (or all) of a prior purchase toward the next, incentivizing upgrades or longer-term contracts.
• Four Use Cases:
  1. Re-engage old customers (“win back” campaigns)
  2. Rescue upset customers (better than refunds)
  3. Win over competitors’ unhappy customers (credit their sunk costs)
  4. Upsell regular customers to bigger deals
• Examples:
  • Chiropractor offering unused credit from old visits
  • Dentist crediting cleaning cost toward whitening packages
  • SaaS company targeting negative-review customers at competitors
  • Membership gyms spreading a big initial payment as ongoing monthly discounts
• Pricing: Price the upsell at least 4X the rollover amount (25% or less as a discount).
• Urgency: Make rollover offers one-time, “now or never” to prompt quick decisions.
• Key Tactic: Alex’s personalized video win-back campaign netted $1.9M in extra annual revenue in one day with only a 20% response rate. (53:55)
• Pro Tips:
  • Use rollovers for both old customers and prospects from other brands.
  • “Gift card” play: Sell $200 gift cards for $20, usable only on high-ticket packages, and only for other people (referrals!).
• Summary: Rollover offers are meant to ensure you have repeat, higher-ticket buyers, not just one-time-only flukes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The thing you sell the most isn’t always the thing you make the most profit on.” (02:25)
• “Current customers always have a higher chance of buying your stuff than strangers, and, when timed right, customers upsell themselves.” (13:02)
• “If you have a lot of customers buying small, bump them into mediums. If you have a lot buying mediums, bump them to large. If you have a lot buying large, raise all your prices.” (17:59)
• On prescription upselling: “I learned detailed and personalized instructions upsell more people than vague and general instructions.” (25:14)
• “If you make it easy for people to buy, more people will.” (30:58)
• “The only thing worse than making a thousand dollar offer to a person with a hundred dollar budget is making a hundred dollar offer to someone with a thousand dollar budget.” (33:08)
• “A proper anchor gets the gasp.” (39:17)
• On rollovers: “This one thing, the rollover upsell, changed my life, thousands of gym owners’ lives and the lives of our customers.” (46:21)
• “You lose nothing by offering to solve someone’s problem.” (18:41)
• On urgency: “If they want the credit, they got to take it now. If not, no big deal. They can still pay full price later.” (55:19)

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Topic/Quote/Story | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Why upsells are crucial: The McDonald’s model | | 12:16 | Classic upsell: fur coat + earmuff story | | 22:02 | Menu upsells: the supplement consult ‘breakthrough’ | | 25:14 | Prescription upselling lesson | | 27:55 | Unselling story (“I kept products just to cross them out”) | | 33:08 | Anchor upsells explained by “the suit store gasp” | | 39:17 | The “gasp” principle in anchor offers | | 46:21 | Rollover upsell revelation in gym business | | 53:55 | Personalized “win back” video campaign results | | 55:19 | Rollovers urgency: one-time, now-or-never offers |

Recap & Core Lessons

• Upsells transform mediocre margin businesses into high-profit machines.
• The key is diagnosing exactly what your customer’s next problem is, and ethically, confidently offering the solution at just the right moment.
• Use the four upsell models to maximize every customer interaction:
  • Classic: Solve the next problem as soon as it arises.
  • Menu: Organize and guide choices, using “unselling,” personalization, and easy payment.
  • Anchor: Lead with premium to make core offers feel irresistible.
  • Rollover: Let customers apply what they’ve already spent to upgrade or renew.
• “Don’t assume people won’t say yes — assume they will, as long as you ask well and solve a real problem.”
• Always have upsells ready, systematize them, and watch margins soar.

Final Thoughts

Alex wraps with a challenge to listeners: gather and share cool upsell ideas—and always keep the process ethical and focused on genuine customer problems.

“Solve rich people problems. They pay better. Anytime you offer something next, you upsell. Upsells play a key role in money models by getting more cash upfront for customers than you otherwise would have.” (56:44)

For further detail and bonus training videos on these models, visit acquisition.com.

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