What are "toll positions"? (A refresher post!)

[GordonJ]

The I'm the expert model is great, because the products are proprietary.


So being an AFFILIATE is one way to borrow that expertise and the other, as we've discussed many times, is to be the Certifier for the use of a name. gkic (Kennedy) uses the affiliate way

and Jeffrey Gitomer uses the Certification way.

I agree there is NO across the board definition for a toll booth, copywriters who license their ads have one, like musicians who are paid when the song is used.

Also, most experts like these have products they control, some they create and others they acquire like Kennedy did with Maxwell Maltz.

No right or wrong on any of this stuff other than if it works for you.

Some projects don't need two years to develop, others may take 5, all depends on your goals.

Gordon

PS a good toll measurement is survivor ship.
When Dan goes so do the 100k consulting gigs.
Phil Straw took over for Jim Straw and holds on to the toll position of having control over Jim's decades of products.

So a toll preserves the legacy and continues as the expert takes his personal consulting with him and leaves behind his products,

Originally Posted by MichaelWinicki

Great points as usual Gordon!

Maybe this is where the concept of the "toll booth" becomes a little fragmented.

What I mean by that is maybe we need to consider if it's a toll booth that can command .05 and one that can command $5?

Meaning that some business models are going to be more lucrative with far less work involved than others, but that doesn't mean a toll position that makes a net profit of $20,000 a year and requires a half-dozen hours of work per week is a worthless toll booth. For many folks they would be all over that.

Personally I think the "I'm the expert toll position" is in many cases more easily achieved and is easier to maintain long-term than the "find a product" toll position. In this day and age the ability to knock-off a product is beyond epidemic... which makes the lifespan of products (and a product toll position) shorter and shorter.

And while Dan is both prolific in his ability to churn out content and disciplined about doing it... keep in mind that much of his new content is simply regurgitated from earlier content and he's very good at commenting on someone else's content. I don't fault him for that, it's how I would do it. That doesn't make him gifted. If makes him sharp for knowing what he can get away with while doing as little as possible in the way of brand spanking new content creation.

I've got a toll position product that does reasonable well for me. But it sure wasn't easy nor inexpensive getting it started. In addition you many times need additional funds to achieve market acceptance.

Yeah, you can go the wholesale route but that arena is filled with tiny margins and demanding retailers.

As far as what Don does, once you get an advertising product off the ground, and if it makes sense in the market, reselling existing clients/customers on the idea will become easier over time. Again, is this a $5 toll? No. But for many who would like a toll position and neither have the funds to develop their own products nor the time to become a "I'm the authority" toll position holder, the Don Alm approach is better than a sharp stick to they eye-socket.