How Business Coaches Can Use Upsell and Cross-Sell Strategies to Help Salon Clients Boost Profits

Case Study: Beauty Salon Profit Growth with Adrian Ulsh

As a business coach or consultant, you’re constantly searching for ways to help your clients increase sales, drive revenue, and improve profitability—without increasing overhead. One highly effective (and often underutilized) tactic that can deliver immediate results is a well-designed upsell and cross-sell strategy.

In this case study, we’ll break down how a beauty salon client increased profits by 30% instantly, using a simple yet powerful strategy any small business can implement—at zero cost.

Why Upselling and Cross-Selling Are Critical for Small Business Growth

Before we jump into the tactics, let’s clarify what we mean by upselling and cross-selling:

• Upselling is when you offer customers a higher-end version or larger quantity of the product they’re already buying. Think: “Would you like to upgrade to the deluxe package?”

• Cross-selling is when you offer a complementary product or service related to their original purchase. Think: “Since you’re getting a facial, would you like to add a vitamin C treatment?”

According to multiple studies, up to 30% of customers will accept an upsell or cross-sell—but only if they’re asked. Most business owners never ask.

That’s where you, as the coach, can step in and help your client capture that untapped revenue.

Step 1: Build a List of High-Margin Add-On Products or Services

Help your client brainstorm products or services that naturally complement their existing offerings. For a beauty salon, this might include:

• Add-on treatments (scalp massage, eye mask, hot oil)

• Premium hair or skin care products

• Gift cards or future service bundles

If the business doesn’t currently offer high-margin add-ons, look into affiliate partnerships. This allows the business to promote complementary products from other vendors and earn a percentage (typically 10–50%) of each sale.

Be sure to calculate the gross profit margin of each item. Since upsells and cross-sells occur after the initial sale, the fixed costs are already covered—meaning this revenue is nearly all profit.

Step 2: Introduce the “Fishbowl Discount” Strategy

Once your client has their upsell/cross-sell items and margins mapped out, it’s time to introduce a proven tactic called the Fishbowl Discount Method.

Here’s how it works:

1. After a customer completes their purchase and declines any additional offers, the employee says:

   “You’ve just earned a chance to draw a discount from our fishbowl!”

2. Inside the fishbowl are small folded slips of paper. Each one shows a discount—5%, 10%, up to 25%.

3. But here’s the twist: every slip actually shows the maximum discount (for example, 25%), but the customer doesn’t know that.

4. The employee congratulates them on drawing the “highest” discount, then hands them a curated list of eligible high-margin products or services they can apply it to.

Why this works:

• It triggers a psychological “win” response

• It uses urgency and exclusivity to encourage immediate action

• It doesn’t interrupt the original sale flow

The result? 40% to 70% of customers make an additional purchase they weren’t originally planning to make—at a high margin.

Step 3: Test a Variation Using Reciprocity

Want to boost conversions even further? Test this variation:

• Instead of every slip showing the highest discount, have them show the lowest (e.g., 5%).

• When the customer draws and shows their result, the staff member “upgrades” them to 25% on the spot, with a wink and smile.

This leverages the reciprocity principle, which is one of the strongest psychological triggers in marketing. Customers feel like they’ve been treated special—and want to return the favor.

Why This Strategy Works for Business Coaches and Small Business Clients

• No cost to implement – just a bowl, some paper, and 15 seconds of staff time

• Taps into buyer psychology – excitement, surprise, urgency, and reward

• Increases average transaction value – without new customer acquisition costs

• Scalable and repeatable – works in salons, spas, retail, gyms, auto shops, and more

If your client isn’t seeing consistent revenue growth, they may not have a traffic problem—they have a conversion and value-per-customer problem. This strategy solves both.

Bonus Tip: Use Affiliate Products to Expand Profit Potential

If your client doesn’t have enough high-margin products to make this work, explore affiliate relationships:

• Partner with a skincare company

• Sell premium retail products in exchange for a percentage of the sale

• Offer wellness supplements, beauty tools, or online training courses

As long as the offer is relevant and valuable to the customer, it works—and the profit is nearly all upside.

Final Thought: Test Everything, Track Everything

As a business coach, your job isn’t to guess. It’s to help your client test, track, and optimize.

Start with a small test run of the fishbowl strategy. Measure:

• Total add-on revenue

• Participation rate

• Top-performing offers

• Employee adoption

Then optimize the script, the offers, and the delivery—and scale up what works.

Recap: The Fishbowl Discount Tactic for Coaches

• Help clients create a list of upsell and cross-sell products

• Calculate margins and choose a discount structure that’s profitable

• Use the fishbowl to offer a compelling “chance to win”

• Track results and refine the offer based on real data

When implemented correctly, this simple strategy can increase profits by 30% or more with little to no additional marketing spend.