The Will That Cost Them a Sale: When Upselling Stops Feeling Like Service

How Do You Choose to Use the Force?

I've been reading $100M Offers by Alex Hormozi this week. He's the American entrepreneur behind Acquisition.com, and the book has become something of a bible for people who want to sell more.

One of his key ideas is to build a chain of upsells.

Sell someone one thing. While you're delivering it, a genuine follow-on problem surfaces. Fix that too—for a fee. Then the next one appears.

Hire a car. Now you need petrol. Now you need insurance.

Each step is logical. Each step is another charge on the card.

Clever, I thought.

Good business.

A decent book, too.

Then I Remembered the Week Before...

The week before, Mandy and I had been getting our wills written.

We found a firm online. Cheap deal. Quick turnaround. Job done.

So far, so good.

Then, halfway through the conversation, another issue appeared.

The house.

What happens if one of us dies? Should it go into trust?

A fair question.

An extra fee to sort it.

Then came secure storage for the will.

Then a bereavement helpline for whoever was left behind.

Then Lasting Power of Attorney—which, I'll admit, was actually something I wanted.

Reading Hormozi's book, it suddenly clicked.

That wasn't a conversation I'd had.

It was a sales script I'd been taken through.

The Moment It All Changed

Then the conversation tipped completely.

Money had become tight partway through, and I said so.

The response?

"But you mentioned some savings earlier—why not use those?"

That's not advice.

That's a sales target wearing a headset.

We bought the will.

Cheap.

It did the job.

Everything else?

Gone.

No storage.

No helpline.

Not even the Lasting Power of Attorney—the one thing on the list I genuinely needed.

The Tool Isn't the Problem

Here's the thing about Hormozi's upsell chain.

It's just a tool.

Like the Force.

It doesn't care whether you're Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader.

It's neutral.

What you choose to do with it is entirely down to you.

Please Make Me Feel Special (PMMFS)

What that firm missed is something I call PMMFS.

Please Make Me Feel Special.

I try to build it into everything I do with clients.

Not through flattery.

Not by pretending everyone is unique.

Simply by making people feel that I'm listening to them, rather than steering them towards their own wallet.

Every offer they made was technically correct.

Every single one also made me feel like I was being processed.

That's the difference.

The Sale They Lost

Had they genuinely listened, they'd probably have sold me everything.

Instead, they sold one inexpensive will.

Nothing else.

Because they wanted today's revenue more than tomorrow's relationship.

Sometimes you have a choice.

Sell today.

Or keep the customer for life.

You don't always get both.

They picked the wrong one.

How Do You Choose to Use the Force?

Every business has moments where it can solve another problem for a customer.

The question isn't whether you should.

The question is why you're doing it.

Are you helping someone move forward?

Or are you simply following the next step in a sales script?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Where's your line between a business genuinely solving your next problem and one simply running a script?

Have you ever felt the moment the machine took over?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is upselling always a bad thing?

Not at all. Spotting a genuine follow-on problem and offering a genuine solution is simply good business. Upselling only becomes a problem when the focus shifts from helping the customer to hitting a sales target.

What's wrong with the upsell chain Alex Hormozi describes?

Nothing in principle. It's an effective sales framework. The issue isn't the technique—it's the intent behind it. If you're listening to your customer and solving real problems, it adds value. If you're simply following a script, customers notice.

What does PMMFS mean?

PMMFS stands for Please Make Me Feel Special.

It's about making clients feel genuinely heard and understood rather than processed. People want to feel like you're solving their problem—not the next item on your sales checklist.

Does putting clients first cost you sales?

Occasionally, in the short term.

In the long term, trust is almost always worth more than an extra sale.

Clients who feel listened to come back, recommend you to others and become advocates for your business. Clients who feel processed rarely do.

Ready to Build a Business People Want to Come Back To?

At Magnitude, we believe sustainable business growth isn't about squeezing every possible sale from every customer—it's about building trust, creating value and developing relationships that last.

Whether you're looking to improve your sales approach, strengthen your leadership, develop your people or create a customer experience that genuinely stands out, we're here to help.

Call us: 01902 214323Email: patrick@magnitude.bizVisit: https://www.magnitude.biz

Let's have a conversation about helping your business grow in a way that customers remember—for all the right reasons.