You're both right and the only answer is...
 

> John, you are right...we are all getting
> 'innoculated' against sales pitches.

> We are bombarded with them. We have read
> (sorry skimmed)soooo many.

> OK, I understand that being a student of
> selling its my job to recognise the
> 'tactic's that most use. In fact most of the
> time I am embarrasingly so far ahead of them
> 'cos its all the SAME.

> It's the same offline too.Local businesss
> owners see another cold call sales pitch
> coming and have worked out more ploys for
> saying 'no' politely than the salesman can
> ever cope with. They are ahead of them and
> can see everything coming!

> The same goes online. So if you are using
> exactly the same tactics as everyone else
> you are more likely to insipre a yawn than a
> sale. You KNOW what I mean...

> HEADLINE - PROBLEM- TESTIMONIALS- SOLUTION-
> BULLETED BENEFITS- TRIAL CLOSE- BONUSES-
> CLOSE

> So we skim. We learn how to avoid the
> 'formula'. I want to know if I am interested
> in the problem then I go to the benefits and
> then to the bottom of the page...studiously
> ignoring the bonuses.

> If it represents value I buy...if it doesnt
> I dont.

> I wince as I see the 'herd' using yesterdays
> tactics in the information age. ie as it
> gets tougher to sell anything because of the
> sheer number of 'pitches' the 'herd' use
> MORE hype as an attempt to sell more...

> Not realising all they are doing is adding
> to the problem by using the same old tired
> ploys... and of course not selling much in
> the process :o)

> Its advesarial selling that went out in
> the...well decades ago anyway

> You have to be different and have NEW tools
> for the job because the territory has
> changed *forever*

> Great thread again

> Regards
> Andy

to create products that really are best of their class. The problem is that there is a lot of mediocre products out there that have to rely on "strong" marketing to attract any attention at all (and most likely few sales).

People with out-standing products don't have to do that. The benefits of the product are carried along at street level by the people that are using/consuming them.

Take care,

Mike Winicki

Another example of this
 

Hey Rooster!

Great to see you again! And congratulations on discovering the model you've shared here. I visited your site and it's a joy to see what you've done :--)

A couple Januarys ago, I attended (as a participant) a weekend workshop facilitated by a wonderful guy named Mark LeBlanc. Mark's company is www.SmallBusinessSuccess.com and is based near me here in southern California. His weekend workshop is called Achievers Circle, and is kept at a maximum of 7 people, many of whom fly in from around the country to attend.

Like you, he puts no price on the weekend, and tells people to pay what they think it's worth and what they can. He also promises there will be no pitching of products or upsells to anything. Period. He provides a free copy (or as many copies as you'd like to take) of his small book called 'Growing Your Business.' Brilliant marketing by having satisfied clients pass his book along to others. People put their check or credit card details for the weekend into an individually sealed envelope at the end of the weekend, and no one knows what anyone else pays. I am quite sure there is a very wide range of payments, though Mark would never divulge what those numbers are.

It is obviously working out very well for him, business-wise, since he continues running this workshop many weekends of the year. And people rave about how life-changing the weekend was for them, myself included.

As others have told you, it takes courage to stand by your product as you have. I join with the others in applauding you.

All the best for continuing success,

Paulette




A place to transform your knowledge into tips booklets for marketing, motivating, and making money.

Re: What's worked for me....
 

> ....with "Information"
> products....is to offer "Bonuses"
> with HIGHER "Perceived Value" than
> the main product.

> Potential customers see the "High
> Perceived Value" of the Bonuses and
> feel "compelled" to order.

> I once failed to include a certain
> "FREE Bonus" in one of my programs
> and people got all "pissy", even
> though I explained it was "coming in a
> few weeks".

> They wanted the "Bonus" more than
> the "main" product so...I made the
> "Bonus" the main program in my
> next sales material.

> Don Alm
And where do you find all these "wonderful toys"? I am new to the internet and have thought about starting a e-magazine, but don't have the faintest idea how to get started. "Kin ya help me?"




Cajun Country Candies

Another example of "Pay what you think it's worth"....
 

Hi Rooster,

Thanks, an amazing post! Thank you for sharing your experiences....

I know about two examples of "pay what you think it's worth" - but both are "offline" examples. Both are restaurants.

The first example is a restaurant here in my city - Melbourne, Australia. It's a vegetarian restaurant - I first heard about it from one of my brothers, who's vegetarian.

It's just a small restaurant, but nowadays, whenever I pass by it, it's always packed full, it seems no matter what the time of day. When you go there, the "menu" is written up (in big letters) on the wall, and there are no prices listed.

After your meal, when you go to pay, and ask "how much do I owe you?" the staff member simply replies with "Whatever you feel like". And they mean that literally - you pay whatever you feel like you want to pay!

(The restaurant is called "Lentil As Anything".)

The second example is one I read about once. It's about a restaurant which was operating, I think in the 1970s or so. It was a normal restaurant, where also, you simply paid what you felt your meal was worth. From what I've read, this restaurant was always full too, and got a lot of business. And here's the surprising part....

In this restaurant, the owner found that people often "overpaid". That is, most people chose to pay MORE than they otherwise would for their meal. And they loved it too.

So, it seems in some situations, the "pay what you feel it was worth" business model is a successful business model. I think what Marcia Yudkin said is true though - one of the keys is that the customer is not "anonymous".

Remember Stephen King experimented with a system, where you paid a "donation" to read a chapter of his next book. His experiment failed, though - many people just wanted it for free, and didn't pay anything. I think the problem in his experiment was that people could download anonymously. If you had to identify yourself to download it, then perhaps his experiment may have turned out differently....

Fascinating topic, though. Thanks Rooster (and everyone else)!

- Dien Rice