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You know how when you buy one thing, you get asked to buy another. You know what I’m talking about …

“Would you like fries with that?”

“People who bought this, also bought that.”

These kind of product pitches go by many names: up sells, down sells, cross sells. But all are “back end” sells — those sales made after the initial sale has been made.

If you’re just starting out in business or for any other reason only have one product of your own to sell, affiliate programs can help you increase your sales.

Basically, after you sell your product, you recommend a similar affiliate product. This way you get — potentially — two sales for only one effort.

And, selling a back end product is often easier than the initial sale … for several reasons. One, the customer’s wallet is already out. This makes him or her more likely to spend some more. Also, if a customer has already purchased from you, there is a level of trust established, which also enhances the chances of a second sale.

For many years, back end selling has helped boost sales for both online businesses and brick and mortar companies. If the customer is happy with the initial product purchased, she’ll logically assume that the online company is offering quality products and will come back again.

The normal technique with back end selling is to make the customer aware of other products, as these products can cater to other needs that the customer may have. When the customer becomes aware of the second or back end products, she will look into it and may make a second purchase.

The technique of back end selling has is a proven one for augmenting the income of many companies. Therefore, back end selling has made hundreds of online companies flourish and expand. If you use it correctly, it can work very well for you — and you can get started today with affiliate marketing!

Heck, even if you don’t have your own product, you can still use this technique. You sell one affiliate product, then recommend another. This is one reason why having some form of opt-in list is so important when you are an affiliate marketer. It gives you the opportunity to sell to the same customers over and over again.

Some marketers have even used an affiliate sale as the front end and their own product as the back end! It just takes a little creativity to get the system that works for you.