If you work in sales, business development, or client management, you’ve probably heard that your CRM can help you “unlock” cross sell opportunities. But let’s be honest: most people stare at dashboards and reports and have no idea where to start. This guide is for anyone who wants to move past vague advice and actually use Introhive to find real cross sell leads—without wasting hours poking around data for the sake of it.
Let’s cut through the noise and get practical.
Step 1: Understand What “Cross Sell” Really Means in Your World
Before you even open up Introhive, get clear on what cross selling is for your team. It’s not just “selling more stuff.” It’s selling relevant, valuable products or services to clients who already trust you.
Ask yourself: - What’s your company’s actual cross sell motion? (New products? Upgrades? Services?) - Which combinations of products or services make sense together? - Who are your ideal customers for each cross sell?
Pro tip: If your definition is “everyone can buy everything,” you’ll waste time chasing dead ends. Get specific.
Step 2: Set Up (or Clean Up) Your Data in Introhive
Introhive is only as good as the data you feed it. Garbage in, garbage out. If you skip this step, your insights will be misleading or just plain wrong.
Checklist: - Make sure your CRM data is current—contacts, account owners, product usage, recent meetings, etc. - Sync email and calendar data if you haven’t already. This is where Introhive starts to find real relationship patterns. - Check for duplicates and merge or remove them. (Seriously, don’t skip this.) - Verify that client notes and key fields are being filled out consistently.
What to ignore: Fancy dashboards won’t fix bad data. If you’re missing basic info on major accounts, fix that first.
Step 3: Get to Know the Relationship Insights
Here’s where Introhive shines: it maps out who knows whom, how strong those relationships are, and where there’s heat (or not) in your network.
What to look for: - Relationship strength: Who on your team has the deepest connections with each client? - Engagement history: Have there been recent meetings, emails, or activity? - Hidden connections: Are there people interacting with your clients who aren’t in your CRM?
How this helps: Cross sell is about trust. Warm intros and strong relationships make all the difference. If you see a client only interacts with one person, that’s a risk and an opportunity.
Don’t get distracted by: Vanity metrics. A high contact count doesn’t mean you have real influence.
Step 4: Use Account Intelligence to Spot Gaps
Introhive’s account insights show you what products or services a client is using—and, crucially, what they’re not.
How to use it: - Pull up the account view and look at the “products owned” or “services active.” - Compare similar clients or peer accounts. What’s the “standard” bundle in your best accounts? - Make a list: What’s missing? Where do you see obvious gaps?
Example: If your top 10 clients all use Product A and B, but a similar client only has A, that’s a flag. It’s not guaranteed they need B, but it’s a conversation worth having.
Step 5: Map Internal Champions and Connectors
Cross selling isn’t just about pitching new stuff. It’s about finding the right person who can open the door.
With Introhive: - Identify who inside your company has the strongest ties to your target account. - Look for “warm paths”—maybe your colleague in a different region has a great relationship you can borrow. - Check for internal champions at the client—people who already “get” your value.
Take action: Don’t just send a cold email. Ask your internal connector for a warm intro or background before reaching out.
What doesn’t work: Blindly emailing everyone in the org chart. You’ll burn bridges fast.
Step 6: Watch for Triggers and Timing
Introhive can surface signals that someone’s ready for a new conversation—if you know what to look for.
Signals to track: - Sudden uptick in engagement (meetings, emails, calls) - New stakeholders joining calls (especially from different departments) - Recent big wins, expansions, or contract renewals
How to use this: If you see a spike in contact just after a renewal, that’s a prime time to float a cross sell. If there’s radio silence, don’t force it.
Pro tip: Not every “trigger” is a green light. Sometimes it’s just noise. Use your judgment.
Step 7: Build a Shortlist and Prioritize
Now you’ve got a pile of insights. Don’t try to chase everything.
How to shortlist: - Prioritize accounts with strong relationships and clear product gaps. - Sort by likelihood of success, not just size of deal. - Focus on 3–5 real opportunities, not 30 vague maybes.
What to skip: Don’t waste time on accounts with no recent engagement or no obvious product fit. Your time is better spent elsewhere.
Step 8: Collaborate—Don’t Go It Alone
Introhive is most useful when teams share what they see. Don’t hoard insights.
Ways to work together: - Share your shortlist with your team or manager for feedback. - Ask around for internal context—has someone already tried (and failed) to cross sell this account? - Use Slack, Teams, or whatever chat you use to circulate key findings.
Caution: Cross sell often fails because people work in silos. Get others involved early.
Step 9: Reach Out with Context (Not a Blind Pitch)
When you finally talk to the client, use what you’ve learned. Reference the relationship, timing, and relevance—not just “Hey, want to buy more?”
How to approach: - Mention recent projects or wins they’ve had. - Reference your internal champion or connector. - Be specific: “I noticed you use X, but not Y. Other clients in your space have found Y useful for [real problem]. Would it make sense to chat?”
Skip: Generic sales scripts. Nobody likes them.
Step 10: Track What Works—and Adjust
Finally, don’t just rinse and repeat blindly. Measure what actually turns into new business, and tweak your approach.
Keep tabs on: - Which triggers and signals led to real cross sells? - Which internal connectors opened doors? - Where did you waste time chasing dead ends?
Honest take: You’ll get it wrong sometimes. That’s normal. The goal is to learn, not just to tick boxes.
Wrapping Up
Most people get lost in the weeds of dashboards and “insights.” Keep it simple: use Introhive to spot real relationships, look for smart gaps, and talk to actual humans. Don’t expect software to do the selling for you—it’s a tool, not a silver bullet.
Start small, focus on a few accounts, and build from there. Iterate, learn, and don’t let the hype distract you from what really works: knowing your clients and offering them something they actually need.