What It Is

Cross-selling is the strategy of offering complementary products or services from a partner alongside your own. In B2B, cross-selling through partners helps you add more value without building everything yourself. It's about solving a bigger piece of the customer's problem. Many technology partners rely on cross-selling to increase customer stickiness and deal size. When done well, it creates a win-win for your customer and your partner, without competing on price.

When to Use Cross-Selling

Implement cross-selling when your customers need additional capabilities that complement your core offering but fall outside your product roadmap. It's valuable when customer retention depends on solving broader problems than your product addresses alone, when competitors offer more complete solutions, or when expansion revenue opportunities exist within your customer base. Cross-selling works best with established technology partners, integration partners, or service providers whose solutions naturally extend your value proposition. Use it to increase deal sizes, improve customer lifetime value, and differentiate from single-product competitors.

How It Works

Cross-selling partnerships require product compatibility and aligned go-to-market strategies. Sales teams receive training on partner solutions so they can identify cross-sell opportunities during customer conversations. When customers express needs beyond your core product, sales reps introduce partner solutions as part of the package. Revenue models vary: you might earn referral fees for successful cross-sells, partners may reciprocate by selling your product to their customers, or both companies bundle offerings with shared economics. Effective cross-selling includes clear handoff processes, shared customer success responsibility, and tracking systems to measure cross-sell conversion rates.

Benefits for Partner Programs

Cross-selling increases average deal values without product development investment. It improves customer satisfaction by providing complete solutions rather than forcing customers to find additional vendors themselves. In partner ecosystems, cross-selling creates stickier customer relationships because integrated solutions are harder to replace than point products. Cross-selling partnerships generate recurring revenue opportunities as partners introduce new capabilities to your existing customer base. For B2B partner programs, successful cross-selling validates partnership value and creates natural incentives for partners to stay active and engaged.

Cross-Selling vs Co-Selling

Cross-selling focuses on offering partner products to your existing customers or vice versa. Co-selling focuses on jointly pursuing new opportunities where both partners sell into the same prospect simultaneously. Cross-selling happens within established customer relationships. Co-selling happens during active sales cycles for net-new accounts. Cross-selling expands wallet share with current customers. Co-selling acquires new customers through combined efforts. Many successful partner programs excel at both: co-selling to win new accounts together, then cross-selling to expand those accounts over time.