Upsell

An offer to a customer to purchase a higher-tier, more feature-rich, or more expensive version of a product or service. The upsell aims to increase the value of the transaction by aligning the customer's willingness to pay with a more capable offering. Unlike a cross-sell, which adds complementary products, an upsell moves the customer upward within the same product line. The architecture of the upsell — timing, framing, data, pricing, and ecosystem design — is the central subject of this book. A well-designed upsell feels like a natural next step; a poorly designed one feels like an intrusion.

Example: A project management SaaS prompts a team to upgrade from the free plan to the Business plan after the team hits the project limit, offering enhanced features that match their growing usage.