How to Upsell a Battery Replacement

It’s more crucial than ever that third party repair locations educate their Apple customers about battery health and how it relates to performance. Taking the time to educate your customer pays off not only by establishing good practices and PR, but also may lead to an upsell opportunity. The question is: When and how exactly should stores upsell battery replacements?

After years of working alongside retail stores, we’ve developed a tried-and-true method for bundling services for customers. Keep in mind that this method doesn’t just apply to Apple users. In fact, with some tweaking, you can develop this program to work for all of your customers!

Many retail locations use only two customer touchpoints as an upsell opportunity. Normally, these points are when the customer comes in to drop off their device and then when they return to pick it up. However, our most successful stores report that they use five customer touchpoints. Check out some quick breakdowns of these steps below:

1. Drop off: This touchpoint may seem obvious, but we still wanted to make sure to mention it because of how important it is. The customer walks into the store, drops off their device for repair, and walks out. In order to upsell a battery, you want to make sure to get a secondary phone number from the customer where you can reach them about their repair. Most stores already do this as a basic check-in procedure, but it’s essential to any sales opportunity.


2. During Repair: This is the sweet spot for upselling a battery replacement, and it can be performed by front of house staff or technicians. Make sure that when you call your customer, their phone is still open on your table. Here is a simple talk track you could use on a call:
   
   

“Hi customer. This is (name) from Phone Repair Shop. I just wanted to let you know that we performed your complimentary battery diagnostic. We normally recommend replacing your battery when it reaches 80% capacity to ensure your device runs at optimum performance. We found that your battery tested at 70% capacity. Did you want us to go ahead and replace that while we have your device open today? We’d be happy to waive the labor fee for you on that.”

If the customer’s battery tests fine, it’s still important to give them a call. A simple talk track like this can help instill trust and value, and maybe even inspire them to give you a positive review:

“Hi Customer, this is (name) from Phone Repair Shop. I just wanted to let you know that we performed your complimentary battery diagnostic. We normally recommend replacing your battery when it reaches 80% capacity to ensure your device runs at optimum performance. We wanted to let you know that your battery tested at 90%, so there is no reason you should run into any performance issues!”

3. Pick up: If you weren’t able to get the secondary phone number from the customer or even forgot to for some reason, you can still try to upsell when the customer comes back for their phone.Techs can leave out the bottom screws and battery shield at the end of the repair and place them with the device. Front of house staff will see the shield and remember to follow the talk track we included above in order to get that upsell. Regardless of whether or not your customer wants the battery, don’t forget to push accessories for their newly repaired device!


4. 30 Day Follow Up: If you’re not calling customers 30 days after a repair, you’re missing out! Here are a few tips on how to get started:
   • Ask how the customer’s device is performing.
   • Let them know that as a small business, you live and breathe on reviews and referrals. If they had a satisfactory experience, ask them to leave you a review.
   • Ask for referrals. See if they have any friends or family that are running into device performance issues right now. You could even offer a discount for those people as an incentive to come in.
   • Let them know you will be following up again in 10 months for another complimentary check up. During that call, you’ll check in on the performance and remind them if they need any service (see the next step for more).


5. 11 Month Follow Up: Don’t let your customers forget about you! For this follow up call, here is what you want to cover:
   • Ask how their device is performing.
   • If their device is approaching the end of its life cycle, remind them that you have a wide selection of pre-owned devices at some great prices that they can take a look at.
   • If their device still has some time on it, remind them that the warranty on their battery is approaching and remind them to come in for a diagnostic to see if it needs another replacement. Tell them this is based on usage.
   • If you installed a liquid glass product at pickup after successfully upselling accessories, remind them that the warranty period on that service is approaching renewal and in order to continue that coverage, they will need to come in for reinstallation. Ask: “When is a good time to schedule that service for you?

Keep these tips in mind and we know you'll grow your battery business quickly. With everyone working at your store aware of these upsell opportunities, and you stick to them, these talk tracks will help you create value for your customers and added revenue for your store.