---
title: "Hands on experience with cross sell and upsell."
author: "Lax Mariappan"
date: "2026-06-02"
categories: ["Marketing4devs"]
tags: ["Lightbulb Moment", "Stories"]
excerpt: "The best cross-sells don't feel like selling. They feel like the obvious thing to do next."
canonical_url: "http://laxmariappan.com/hands-on-experience-with-cross-sell-and-upsell/"
---

# Hands on experience with cross sell and upsell.

I went to a mall last weekend.Clothes. Shoes. Normal family outing.

At the billing counter, the person said:“Become a member. Your discount gets bigger.”I said okay.She handed us coupons.Three other stores. Fourteen days to use them.

One store was on the floor above us.Elevator right there.We went up.We didn’t plan to.But we went.

At the second store, we were about ₹200 short of the next discount slab.So we looked around.A store assistant appeared.

“You need ₹200 more? A pillow works. Or a plant. Or a set of glasses.”We picked something.Did we need it urgently? No.Did we buy it? Yes.

And when I looked around the store, I realized it wasn’t just us.

Every family was doing the same mental math.₹200 short. ₹300 short. Let me find something.Kids pointing at things.Parents nodding.Staff cheerfully suggesting add-ons.The whole floor felt like a friendly scavenger hunt.

On the drive home, it hit me.That was one of the best cross-sell experiences I’ve ever seen.Not aggressive. Not pushy.Just designed well.

Start with a happy customer.Give them a reason to walk into your other store.Create just enough urgency so they stay a little longer.Make them feel like they’re winning, not spending.The coupon had a fourteen-day expiry.That’s not a gift.That’s a deadline dressed as a gift.And it works.

There’s a version of this in software too.You try a plugin. It does what it promises.You trust the brand.They offer a bundle. You upgrade.

You buy a design tool. You love it.Annual plan, small discount, early access.You pay for a year without overthinking it.Same mechanism.

Happy customer. Small bridge. Natural next step.The best cross-sells don’t feel like selling.They feel like the obvious thing to do next.

Most developers I know focus entirely on building the product.Which is right.But the experience around the productthe onboarding, the upgrade nudge, the coupon-equivalentthat part deserves the same care.

Your first-time user is standing at the billing counter.What are you handing them?

This is part of my #marketing4devs series.