The Most Overlooked Upsell in Service-Based Businesses
If you're already running a service-based business—whether as a designer, coach, nutritionist, publicist, or salon owner—you probably know how to sell your main thing. But what many miss? The chance to elevate average order value (AOV) through subtle, on-brand upsells that don’t feel pushy or off-position.
When I say upsell, I don’t mean tacking on extra hours or bundling in a generic “bonus.” I mean creating intentional opportunities for your best-fit clients to go deeper, faster, or smarter—while making your business more profitable without needing to chase more sales.
Because here’s the truth: increasing your AOV by 20% is often easier than finding 20% more clients.
The Upsell You’re Probably Overlooking
The most overlooked upsell?
An exclusive next step that builds on your client’s momentum immediately after they’ve had a win.
This isn’t a whole new offer. It’s a thoughtful extension of the service they just experienced.
Think:
For a designer: A retainer-lite “on call” week for client-led updates after a brand or website is launched.
For a coach: A check-in session one month post-intensive, positioned as accountability or refinement.
For a Pilates instructor: A seasonal 4-pack focused on stress or energy, building off what you noticed in their body during your first few sessions.
For a facialist: A custom-at-home ritual kit with products that extend the results they loved from the treatment.
The common thread? Each upsell is a natural continuation, not a new decision.
People Buy Solutions, Not Sessions
Clients don’t always want more time with you. They want more of the result they just experienced.
This is where strategic upsells shine. They’re not filler. They’re facilitators of ease, speed, or simplicity.
Let’s say you’re an interior stylist. After wrapping a room restyle, a client might love your eye—but hesitate to invest in a whole-home reno. A smart upsell might be a monthly moodboarding service, or seasonal sourcing support. It's light-lift for you, and high-impact for them.
One client of mine added a “Styling Sprint” offer post-project, inspired by the visual merchandising concepts seen in brands like Toteme and COS—polished, minimal, intentional. It booked out in two weeks.
What Makes It Work?
For an upsell to work (and feel aligned), it needs three things:
Relevance – it’s directly tied to the service the client just bought.
Timing – it’s offered when the client is still in motion, not months later.
Ease – it's simple to say yes to, and ideally doesn’t require major prework from you.
In other words: if your upsell needs its own launch plan, it’s probably too big.
The Income Shift That Doesn’t Drain You
You don’t need a million new ideas to increase income—you need a clearer path for your existing clients to keep working with you.
Your next cash injection might not be from a new launch or wider audience. It might be sitting quietly inside your current service flow—waiting for a line at the end of the invoice that reads:
“Add-on: Post-project review call (optional).”
The difference between a $1.2k and $1.5k client might be one elegant sentence.
Ready to rework your service flow and make it more profitable? Start by mapping your core offer, and then ask: What would feel natural, useful and seamless for a client to do next? The upsell doesn’t have to scream—it just has to support.
Let me know if you’d like this repurposed for your Substack, turned into carousel content, or clipped into a short-form script.