Building and automating your business is simple, if you structure your sales to build upon each other and focus on the L.T.V. There are several reasons to sell a product – quality, fill a want and need, provide value, etc… Of all the reasons, there should be one that is at the forefront of your mind. You sell a product to prepare the next sale of another product.
It works best if that product is a part of your product funnel (see below).
All strong, profitable companies use this approach – especially on the Internet and in the Information Marketing Business. I have many clients in the infomercial business. In the infomercial business, most outsiders and people who watch the show have the feeling that, “They make all their money selling that product on the show.” The reality: the average information type product sold on TV loses almost $100 per unit sold up front.
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Infomercial marketers typically don’t make any money on the front end sale. They understand the Funnel Process To Selling and so should you.
The hardest customer to acquire will always be the first one. It will also likely be the most expensive. If you want to play the game big or small – there will be a “cost” to acquire the customer, either in the form of trading time and labor for that customer, or trading money for the customer.
For example, you might trade time doing things like posting to chat rooms, placing free classified ads, etc… Money on the other hand, is an additional “lever” in the game of business to help speed things up in your business. It can also be a hindrance to building a successful business too…
Without knowing the mechanics and behind the scenes pieces of a campaign, amateurs get in business whether it’s a traditional business, on the Internet or in the Information Business and throw money at the problem thinking that will be the answer to their problems.
One thing I know for sure, is if someone can’t build profits and success on a small scale model, they can’t do it on a bigger, more expensive model. I hope you write this down and put it somewhere for the rest of your life. I wish someone would have taught me the idea years ago when I was starting out. I had to learn it the hard way – spending and losing a lot of money.
Joshua Shafran for example - is a master of understanding the mechanics of the Funnel Process to Selling. He understands the mechanics top to bottom of a campaign and understand that each sale is a feeder to the next…
What does this mean for you?
1. Offer a high quality entry level product. If someone wouldn’t pay money for it, then don’t give it away for a low cost or as a FREE item. You can offer great products that are virtually free to duplicate, especially with the Internet today – Books, audio’s, video’s, newsletters, etc…
2. The first sale feeds the next sale. In your entry level product, you should start the process to feed the next sale. For example, if you write an EBook, you could have a final section in the book titled: “Recommended Resources” and feature a product or two with links that take people to the next step in yours sales process. In the offline world, you could include a separate letter or flyer with a specific call or step to take action to go to the next step.
A key point here is to have only one of two main actions for someone to take. A confused mind does what?
Nothing!
And the surest way to have a client you bring in to the top of the sales funnel doing nothing is to give them 10, 15, or 20 choices. Give them 1 or 2 to start. You can always add more later; or send out a supplement as part of your follow up sequence.
This could come in the form of bonuses. For example, as the next step in your sequence to your Free EBook, you might include something like – Register at www.prosperitybasedliving.com/tele/register.htm and receive access to over $500 in Bonus Gifts including my Free Ebook, Downloadable Audio Seminar and Tickets To an Upcoming Seminar, and more. This step can help take them to the next part of your sales process while offering tremendous value at the same time.
One way to do this is to offer your “XYZ Success Directory” with Recommended Vendors and Contacts. Of course, in most cases, make sure to have your affiliate links there, so you get credit for any referrals you might send a company. By offering it as a separate bonus, you’ve established value for it and created another step to develop a stronger follow up and driving the relationship deep.
3 – Track the process. If you have an entry level product to bring people into the top of your sales funnel, you should be able to track the process to the next step – including how many responded and how many converted to sales in the process. Tracking is easy to set up both on and offline.
4– Provide ten times the value to people who do business with you. Make it easy for people to want to work with you. Even clients who say no to your offer deserve respect and follow through. Timing may keep them from ordering your products. However, if you treat them with respect, dignity, and class and continue to nurture the relationship, you’ll find that people you initially made contact with a year ago or longer will become clients so long as you’ve built trust and consistency.
I think I learned the idea from Joe Polish - one of the true great marketers in the world today: structure your business to move from the “transaction business” to creating clients with “LTV – long term value”. When you operate a “transaction business” you operate it under the philosophy, how many transactions can I get from this client how fast, and then move to the next.
When you operate it with the LTV in mind, you structure a Funnel Process that brings potential clients into it in the following manner and leading to the next step. Picture the following as a sales funnel with the wide opening at the top and the narrow end at the bottom. Also picture the funnel with a root through it. The root gets deeper and stronger the further down into the funnel it gets. Here is an example of a strong funnel model:
- Free Offer up front – Ebook, Audio, Seminar, Newsletter
- Low Cost - $10- $100
- Low Cost Tier 1: $100-$500
- Low Cost Tier 2: $500-$1000
- Medium Cost: Tier 1: $1,000- $3000
- Medium Cost: Tier 2: $3,000- $5,000
- High Cost: Tier 1: $5,000-$10,000
- High Cost: Tier 2: $10,000+
Each one has an overlapping layer, leading to the next step. If you follow up consistently, you can maximize the LTV of your business and build something you can be proud of…
ACTION STEPS: In your business right now, identify how many of these 8 levels you have set for your product line. If you don’t have products right now in the following 8 levels, identify the following:
- What products could I create or add immediately to fill all 8 levels?
- What products could I create for the long term to fill the need of all 8 levels?
- Who could I team up with immediately, that offers complementary products or services, until I can create my own?
The last question is critical. So many business people spend a majority of their time working in the top layer of this funnel. The real profitability is in the depth of the funnel. Make an effort to fill all 8 levels in your funnel starting immediately and watch your profits soar.
Soon, you’ll be another of the thousands of successful businesses short and long term.
Until next time, make it a great day,
Dan Kuschell
http://www.prosperitybasedliving.com/
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Dan Kuschell is one of the Premier Real World Marketing Experts today and has helped individuals and companies alike increase their revenues and profits by millions of dollars. To get access to his Free Ebook, “Prosperity Secrets Revealed” and attend a Free TeleTraining: “The A to Z Blueprint Of How I Built A $17.3 Million Dollar Information Empire in 48 Months” visit his website at www.prosperitybasedliving.com.
As a contributing author to the newsletter, Dan also welcomes your feedback for future issues. Please send your topic requests and questions to ideas@achampionvision.com .
